Alameda Cnty. Soc. Servs. Agency v. T.H. (In re M.H.)

*1299 The Alameda County Social Services Agency (the agency) and E.W. appeal an order denying their request that one-year-old M.H. be moved from his current non-relative foster home to the Minnesota home of his maternal great-aunt (E.W.). They contend the court erred by disregarding the statutory preference for relative placement ( Welf. & Inst. Code, 1 *153 § 361.3 ) and by relying instead on the statutory preference for caretaker placement (§ 366.26, subd. (k) ). We conclude that neither statutory preference was applicable in this instance and that faced with the difficult decision between two potentially beneficial homes, the court did not abuse its discretion in deciding that a change in placement would not be in the child's best interest. Accordingly, we shall affirm the order.

Factual and Procedural Background

On April 18, 2016, M.H. was born with a positive toxicology screening for methamphetamine and cocaine. On April 22, the agency filed a petition for dependency jurisdiction pursuant to section 300, subdivisions (b) and (g). The petition alleged that mother has a history of substance abuse and psychiatric illness that impairs her ability to care for the child. The…