Sacramento County Department of Health & Human Services v. Kathleen K.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Nicholson, J.
*258 Opinion
Recently this court decided it is an abuse of discretion for the juvenile court to deny a parent a contested review hearing (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.21, subd. (e)) 1 when the parent has tendered an adequate statement explaining the basis of her request for a contested hearing. (Ingrid E. v. Superior Court (1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 751 [ 89 Cal.Rptr.2d 407 ].) Left unresolved in that case was the general issue whether a juvenile court has the power to require a formal offer of proof before a party may obtain a contested review hearing. The matter before us presents that issue. We conclude the court may not, consistent with the requirements of statute and principles of due process, deny a party the right to a contested review hearing based on an allegedly inadequate or even a nonexistent offer of proof.
Background
On September 21, 1998, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) filed amended section 300 petitions on behalf of three-year-old James and four-year-old Matthew. Those petitions alleged generally that appellant, Kathleen K., the mother of the minors, suffered from mental illness and substance abuse problems that rendered her…