Los Angeles County v. David H.

This case involves no risk factors justifying the juvenile court’s orders declaring the children, ages nine and 13, dependents of the court, removing them from their father’s custody and control and restricting him to monitored visits at neutral sites. Accordingly, we reverse the court’s jurisdictional and dispositional orders.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Two weeks after “Father” and “Mother” signed a mediated custody and parenting plan in their dissolution proceeding, an unidentified person contacted the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and claimed that Father was emotionally abusing the three minor children, Stacey, Daisy and David. After interviewing Father, Mother and the children, the DCFS filed a petition to have the children declared dependents of the court.

The petition, as amended, contained allegations under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, 1 subdivision (a) (risk of “serious physical harm”), subdivision (b) (parent’s failure to protect child from risk of “serious physical harm”) and subdivision (c) (risk of “serious emotional damage”). The court sustained the allegation under subdivision (a) that on prior…