Contra Costa County Department of Children & Family Services v. Kim S.
Opinion
lead Opinion
Pollak, J.
Kim S. is Joann E.’s grandmother, and was Joann’s guardian ad litem when a dependency petition was filed with respect to Joann. A short time after the petition was filed, the juvenile court appointed a guardian ad litem for Kim. On the record before us, it appears that there was no notice and no hearing when the guardian was appointed for Kim, and therefore that Kim’s right to due process was violated. We reverse the jurisdictional and dispositional orders and remand for further proceedings.
Background
The record reflects that from her birth in March 1997, Joann was cared for in part by her grandmother, Kim. Kim’s husband helped take care of Joann for the first two years of her life. For a short time when Kim was evicted from her apartment, Joann stayed with the Prices, a couple who were longtime friends of Kim’s, and whom Kim described as Joann’s godparents.
*350 Kim was diagnosed with hepatitis in 1978 and with HIV in 1994. She was on medication for HIV until 1999, when she decided to discontinue the medications because of the side effects. At the subsequent jurisdictional hearing, she testified, however, that she felt better and that her blood work showed that she…