Lloyd L. v. Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services

*483 Opinion

D.R. (bom in Nov. 1988) was declared a dependent of the juvenile court in 2001 and jurisdiction was terminated in 2003 upon the selection of legal guardianship as D.R.’s permanent plan and the appointment of Lloyd L. as D.R.’s legal guardian. Five days before D.R.’s 18th birthday, Lloyd filed a petition for modification under Welfare and Institutions Code section 388, 1 seeking to reinstate juvenile court jurisdiction over D.R., who suffered from developmental, behavioral, and medical problems. On November 7, 2006, the day D.R. attained the age of 18, the juvenile court summarily denied without a hearing Lloyd’s section 388 petition on the ground that jurisdiction could not be reinstated because D.R. was 18 years old.

Both Lloyd and D.R. appealed from the order summarily denying the petition. We agree with their contention that the juvenile court erred in concluding that, because D.R. had attained the age of 18, jurisdiction could not be reinstated. We reject the assertions of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) that the appeals should be dismissed as moot or on the grounds of lack of standing or waiver. Accordingly, the order…