In re S.M. CA3

BACKGROUND

The 14-year-old minor came to the attention of the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency (Agency) in August 2020 when mother, having methamphetamine in her possession, drove with the minor from Utah to California to meet up with mother’s former boyfriend, B. Mother and B. met at a motel and used the methamphetamine while requiring the minor to sleep in the car all night. Mother reportedly had been using methamphetamine for the past four to five months. Later, mother and B. got into an argument while driving in a car in which the minor was a passenger. Mother tried to jump out of the moving car, attempted to strangle the minor, and then attempted suicide by ingesting pills. B. contacted law enforcement and mother was transported to the hospital where she remained for several days. The minor reported that it was mother’s second overdose in four months. According to the minor, mother had been using drugs for a long time and would become argumentative, making the minor feel very unsafe and uncomfortable while in mother’s care. The minor stated she did not want to drive back to Utah with mother and was scared for her life because mother was unstable and not safe to be…