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

We reverse the juvenile court’s order terminating Alex C.’s parental rights over his daughter Gladys L. Before a juvenile court may terminate a presumed father’s parental rights over his child, the juvenile court must find by clear and convincing evidence that the presumed father is unfit. Here, it was neither alleged nor proven that Alex was an unfit parent.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Gladys and her two siblings became dependants of the juvenile court while they were in the custody of their mother, who is not a party to this appeal. Gladys’s father, Alex C., appeared at the detention hearing in August 2002 and submitted to the court’s jurisdiction. He was represented by counsel. The juvenile court found him to be Gladys’s presumed father. Alex was a nonoffending parent, but at the detention hearing the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) warned that it might amend the Welfare and Institutions Code 1 section 300 petition to name him. The court refused to make “anticipatory orders,” without any petition alleging that Alex either abused or neglected Gladys.

Alex then disappeared. In his three-year absence, Alex did not request…