In re Jacob. D. CA4/3

FACTS

Jacob was born in December 2018. Because of his parents’ substance abuse, he was removed from their care, and Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) filed a petition pursuant to section 300. SSA contacted Carrie and asked her if she wanted to pursue placement. Carrie had not seen the mother since 2015, but she had been the legal guardian of E.M., the mother’s older child, for six years. She was willing to undergo a background check and take required classes. Jacob was placed with Carrie as an emergency placement when he was approximately two weeks old, after Carrie had undergone a home assessment. At the jurisdiction and disposition hearing in February 2019, the parents did not appear, and their whereabouts were unknown. The court sustained the petition and

1 Subsequent statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code. 2 ordered SSA to place the child. No services were ordered for the parents, but the court set a six-month review hearing in August. On April 2, the Resource Family Approval (RFA) social worker, Collen Owen, interviewed Carrie at her home. Carrie had completed a lengthy assessment at that point, which covered “parenting styles, risk factors,…