San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. L. L.

L. L. appeals a judgment terminating her parental rights to her daughter, L. Y. L., under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26. 1 L. contends she established two exceptions to terminating parental rights: the recently enacted section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(E) sibling relationship exception and the section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(A) beneficial relationship exception. She also contends she received ineffective assistance of counsel because her counsel did not object to the adoption assessment report on which the court based its finding that L. Y. was likely to be adopted. She asserts the report did not contain required information about the prospective adoptive parents. We affirm the judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

In January 1999 the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (the Agency) removed four-year-old L. Y. and her younger brother J. R. 2 from L.’s custody and filed section 300 petitions on their behalf, alleging L. physically harmed and excessively disciplined L. Y. In March 1999 the court made a true finding on the petitions and the next month ordered reunification services. In December 1999 the court granted L. Y. a 60-day…