Michelle A. v. Superior Court CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. The Family

Mother has two children with her estranged husband Henry A. (father)—Travis A. (born August 2007), and Ethan A. (born April 2010).

II. The Dependency Proceedings, Generally

In November 2019, mother had allowed the maternal grandparents to have custody of Travis and Ethan. Father was living separately in Nevada. When mother came to visit the kids, she left methamphetamine and a “meth pipe” at their house and within their reach. By that time, mother and father had been using methamphetamine for more than 20 years. On December 19, 2019, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) filed a petition requesting the juvenile court exert dependency jurisdiction over Travis and Ethan based on the detrimental home environment and mother’s substance abuse. At the jurisdictional hearing in February 2020, the juvenile court sustained all of the allegations pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code, section 300, subdivision (b)(1),1 removed the children from mother as well as nonoffending father, and ordered the Department to provide both parents with reunification services. After receiving reunification…