In re K.B. CA2/4

BACKGROUND

I. Referral and Petition

Father and mother A.W. (mother) have three children: sons Ka. (born 2014), Ke. (born 2016), and Ku. (born 2017). Mother also has an older son, K. (born 2010), from another relationship.2 Mother and father shared custody of Ka., Ke., and Ku. under a 2019 family law order, which awarded mother primary physical

1 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise indicated. 2 Mother and K.’s father are not parties to this appeal. K.

was included in the petition filed in this case, but is not father’s child and is not at issue in this appeal. We include facts related to K. to the extent relevant to the issues presented here.

2 custody and granted father visitation every other weekend. The family came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on October 22, 2020, when it received a referral alleging physical abuse of Ku (then age two), and identifying Ka. (age six) and Ke. (age four) as siblings at risk for abuse. Father reported to DCFS that when he picked up Ku. from mother the night before, he saw bruises on the child’s back. Father also expressed…