Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. Trudy C.

Appellant Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LACDCFS) challenges the most recent decision by the Riverside County Juvenile Court (Riverside court) to reject transfer of a dependency case. The case involves four children who are in a permanent plan of long-term foster care with their grandmother in Riverside County. After the permanent plan was instituted, the Riverside court transferred the case to Los Angeles County because the mother had moved there. The case bounced back and forth between the two counties five times over nine months before appellant initiated this appeal. All parties involved— LACDCFS, as well as Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (RCDPSS), the children and the mother—agree that the case should remain in Riverside County.

The principal issue is whether the Riverside court improperly rejected the transfer from Los Angeles County on December 19, 2001, under California *987 Rules of Court, rule 1426(a). 1 We also look more generally at the interplay of rules 1425 and 1426 2 and Welfare and Institutions Code, section 375, 3 - 4 with emphasis on the factor that must take precedence in any dependency…