San Diego County Department of Social Services v. Mark D.

Mark D. (Mark), a resident of Pennsylvania and the father of Joseph D. (Joseph), appeals a judgment under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 declaring Joseph a dependent of San Diego County *681 Juvenile Court. Mark, who had been awarded custody of Joseph in an earlier proceeding in family court in Pennsylvania, contends the San Diego proceeding violated the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (Uniform Act). 1 Mark also contends the case should have been transferred to Pennsylvania under the doctrine of forum non conveniens. Additionally, Mark assigns error to (1) the failure to appoint an independent expert to evaluate Joseph, and (2) the visitation order because it delegates too much authority to Joseph’s therapist.

Facts

This appeal stems from a dependency petition that the San Diego County Department of Social Services (Department) filed on August 18, 1992, in San Diego County Juvenile Court on behalf of eight-year-old Joseph, alleging Joseph was a person who came under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (d), because he had been sexually abused by his stepbrother, David O., and by his father, Mark. Before relating the subsequent history…