In re M.F.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Section 300 Petition and Prior Referrals M.F. and S.S. were born in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Their younger sibling, R.S. was born in 2019. R.S. was eight months old when she suffered multiple nonaccidental, traumatic head injuries while in father’s exclusive care during an overnight visit for the weekend of July 4, 2020. Mother and father were not living together at the time but mother reported they were trying to coparent, and father would sometimes watch the children when her family members were not available. However, mother acknowledged that under a no-contact restraining order issued in January 2020,

3 father was not supposed to have the children that day. The restraining order allowed him only supervised visitation with the children. Mother disclosed that father had been violent with her but never with the children. Prior referrals to the department had occurred in September 2016 and in August and November 2019. Both parents had agreed to participate in voluntary services with the department after the August 2019 incident to address domestic violence in their relationship. They began participating in more intensive, informal…