In re N.B. CA3

BACKGROUND

The minors, N.B. and C.B., entered the child welfare system in 2012. They were initially placed in a permanent guardianship with the paternal grandmother and R.B., their stepgrandfather (guardian). When the paternal grandmother died in 2018, the guardian “exhibited a decline in self-care and judg[]ment.” The maternal grandmother requested that she be allowed to assume guardianship of the minors, triggering a bonding study that included the minors, the guardian, and the maternal grandmother. Her request was ultimately denied. I 2018 Bonding Study The 2018 bonding study showed that, after the passing of the paternal grandmother, the guardian experienced a “precipitous decline in psychological functioning” and made several poor choices, the most significant of which was to allow the minors’ mother back into a parenting role despite that she had been abusing and was continuing to abuse drugs.2 The guardian reportedly had difficulty addressing his needs, and his issues affected his decisionmaking and his ability to appropriately care for the minors. However, he eventually worked to improve his parenting skills, he obtained housing, he expanded his support network, and he…