San Diego County Department of Social Services v. Gavin O.

—Jasmon O. is now seven and a half years old. She has resided with her foster parents, who wish to adopt her, since she was an infant of six months. Her natural father asserts that it is in Jasmon’s best interests not to terminate his parental rights but to transfer Jasmon’s custody to him.

A court hearing an action to terminate parental rights under former Civil Code section 232 1 must consider, when a child has been in an out-of-home placement supervised by the juvenile court for a year, whether “return of the child to the child’s parent or parents would be detrimental to the child” and whether “the parent or parents have failed during that period, and are likely to fail in the future, to maintain an adequate parental relationship with the child.” (Id., subd. (a)(7).) We conclude that there was sufficient evidence in this case to support the trial court’s conclusion that detriment to the child and parental inadequacy warranted termination of the father’s parental rights. We also conclude that the Court of Appeal erred in determining that the appeal *408 from the termination judgment was moot. Finally, we conclude that the Court of Appeal erred in holding that a court…

—I respectfully dissent from the majority’s disposition and part of its reasoning. I share the majority’s sympathy toward this child, whose young life has been subject to much travail and uncertainty. As the majority acknowledges, however, the child’s father has a federal constitutional right not to have his parental relationship terminated without a clear and convincing showing of his unfitness. Although reasonable minds might differ, I am not persuaded there has been such a showing.

The very harm the majority seeks to avoid, a separation from the child’s foster parents, is largely the result of wrongdoing and misfeasance by the San Diego County Department of Social Services (the Department). Nevertheless, the majority uncritically accepts every assertion of the Department in concluding that a return of the child to her father will be irreparably detrimental and that her father is unfit. In light of the Department’s misconduct to date, I am reluctant to be so trusting. Indeed, the majority does not consider that a termination of parental rights can itself be detrimental to a child. The severance of that relationship is permanent and very well may cause serious emotional problems…