Kern County Department of Social Services v. Jamie T.

Dylan T. was declared to be a dependent child of the court. At the dispositional hearing, the trial court ordered that there be no visits between Dylan and his mother, Jamie, while Jamie was incarcerated. Dylan’s tender age alone, reasoned the trial court, justified the order of no visitation with the mother while she was incarcerated. In this appeal, we are called upon to determine whether a finding of detriment to a minor visiting an incarcerated parent can be based on age without any further showing. We determine it cannot.

Facts and Proceedings

Jamie T. is the mother of Dylan T. (date of birth: Sept. 19, 1996). On September 23, 1997, a Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 1 dependency petition was filed seeking to declare Dylan a dependent child of the court after Jamie was arrested and jailed for possession of a controlled substance. The trial court found true the allegations that Jamie had failed to protect Dylan because of her substance abuse (§ 300, subd. (b)) and that there was no provision for Dylan’s support due to Jamie’s incarceration (§ 300, subd. (g)). 2 The court ordered that visits are not permitted if Jamie is incarcerated.

*768 A report was…