In re S.M. CA3

BACKGROUND

In November 2017, the Agency filed a section 300 petition with respect to minor S.M. (then five years old) and his minor half-sibling (then two years old). The petition alleged that S.M. came within section 300, subdivisions (b)(1) [failure to protect] and (g) [no provision for support]. The petition alleged, among other things, that father’s whereabouts were unknown. The November 2017 initial non-detaining report stated that on November 30, 2017, the social worker contacted Yolo County Child Support Services and learned that Father signed a declaration of paternity at Alta Bates Medical Center in Alameda County at the time of S.M.’s birth. The report also stated that the social worker submitted a due diligence search and attempted to contact father by phone and by mail. The report included Criminal Offender Record Information regarding father, obtained through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunication System, which listed criminal convictions for father covering the time period from December 15, 1998 to January 24, 2017, and listed 25 separate convictions. Based upon the dates, five of those cases could possibly still have been on active probation status on…