San Mateo County Department of Social Services v. Kathy T.

In this appeal from a dispositional order removing the child from the mother’s custody, appellant challenges the jurisdictional finding of dependency (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (b)), contending that she did not constitutionally waive her rights to a contested jurisdictional hearing. We affirm and hold that in a jurisdictional proceeding, the court must advise the parents of their due process rights to a hearing and must obtain an express personal waiver of those rights if the hearing is to proceed without further evidence. Error in obtaining the waiver is subject to harmless error analysis.

Kathy T. gave birth to a daughter, Monique, on June 2, 1991. Both the mother and child tested positive for cocaine. The mother admitted to health care providers that she drank beer and smoked crack cocaine the day before the delivery. She also admitted she did not seek any prenatal care. The mother herself had been physically abused by her own mother, Jacqueline G., with whom she lives in a two-bedroom apartment, together with her *1375 sisters’ 5 children, ages 11 to 18. She was totally unprepared to care for the child. She did not have a crib for the baby and had made no…