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

Deanna O. appeals a judgment 1 terminating her parental rights to her son, Jeremy, pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code 2 section 366.26 entered after her petition to modify or set aside an earlier order terminating reunification services had been summarily denied without affording her a hearing. She contends the court abused its discretion by denying her section 388 motion to modify its order terminating reunification proceedings without conducting a hearing to evaluate her claim of changed circumstances; there was insufficient evidence to support a termination of parental rights; and the termination of her parental rights violated the guarantee of due process granted by the Fifth Amendment of.the United States Constitution. As we shall explain, we conclude Deanna established her entitlement to a full section 388 hearing through declarations submitted in support of her petition and therefore reverse the judgment and remand with instructions to conduct a full section 388 hearing.

*1410 Factual and Procedural Background

Jeremy was bom September 3, 1985, to Deanna, who has a history of emotional, violent outbursts and attempted suicides. 3 During Jeremy’s first five…