San Bernardino County Department of Public Social Services v. David O.

—David O. (father) has appealed from an order terminating his parental rights as to Andrew V. (minor), following a trial of the consolidated matters of father’s action to establish paternity and the department of public social services’ (DPSS) subsequent petition to terminate father’s parental rights.

Facts

Father and the minor’s mother lived together. When the minor’s mother told father she was pregnant with the minor, father left to live with his family *1289 in Missouri. Mother contacted DPSS about a month before she gave birth to arrange to have the minor adopted. The child was born on April 22, 1989, and placed in a foster home specially licensed to care for drug-exposed infants after medical reports indicated the minor had been exposed to drugs while in útero.

The DPSS social worker assigned to the case spoke with father about four days after minor’s birth, telling him of the mother’s plan to have the minor adopted and warning him that he would need to seek a judicial determination of his paternity of minor if he did not want the minor to be adopted. On May 9, father was served with a notice pursuant to Civil Code section 7017, subdivision (b) 1 advising him that…