Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. Superior Court

The Department of Children and Family Services, represented by County Counsel, filed a petition for a writ of mandate accompanied by a request for an order changing the placement of Aquela P. (known to her family as Amber) or, in the alternative, for an order staying enforcement of an order of the juvenile court which permitted Hellen Jones, Amber’s great-aunt and court-appointed foster mother, to take her out of the state on a five-week vacation. We saw no reason to change Amber’s placement but the petition appeared to raise a legitimate question about the juvenile court’s jurisdiction to permit the out-of-state trip and a visit with an unrelated adult, and we therefore issued a stay order and a request for immediate opposition so we could address the merits of the petition before Ms. Jones’s planned departure date.

Unconcerned with our denial of the request for an order changing custody, Kate Hand (the social worker assigned to Amber’s case) arranged to have Melissia Groomes, Amber’s aunt, meet her at Amber’s day care facility and take custody of Amber away from Ms. Jones (despite Ms. Jones’s assurance that, in light of the stay order then served on her, she would…