In re Carson A. CA1/4

BACKGROUND

A. Commencement of Dependency Proceedings On May 27, 2020, the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (the department) received a referral alleging child abuse and/or neglect of then 14-year-old Carson by father. Father took Carson’s phone away while Carson was at father’s house. In response, Carson left father’s house, contacted his maternal grandmother,2 and asked her to pick him up. Father went to the grandmother’s house. Law enforcement was called because father was pounding on the doors and yelling; father had “impulsive rage and anger issues.”3 Following the incident, father forced Carson to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to go to work with father and “drag rebar across the yard.” “Carson does not have a work permit, has learning challenges at school, and his father’s actions reportedly prevent him from working on his schoolwork.” It was reported that, as discipline, father makes Carson stand and face a corner. Carson felt he was being “tortured” and had suicidal thoughts of killing himself by either hanging or shooting himself; he had a previous suicide attempt in the summer of 2019. Carson was feeling helpless, hopeless, and fearful, reportedly only…