In re A.F. CA4/2

INTRODUCTION

A juvenile court terminated the parental rights of defendants and appellants A.F.

(father) and C.H. (mother) as to their children, A.F., Jr., and J.F. (the children).1 Father

and mother (the parents) have filed separate briefs on appeal and join in each other’s

arguments. Father contends the juvenile court abused its discretion and denied him due

process by not allowing him to testify at the Welfare and Institutions Code2 section

366.26 hearing. Mother argues the court abused its discretion by not granting her request

for a short continuance of the section 366.26 hearing. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 29, 2019, San Bernardino County Children and Family Services (CFS)

filed a section 300 petition on behalf of the children. J.F. was six years old at the time,

and A.F., Jr., was two.3 The petition alleged that the children came within section 300,

subdivisions (b) (failure to protect), (g) (no provision for support), and (j) (abuse of

sibling). It included allegations that mother had an untreated mental illness, the parents

Some parts of the record refer to father as A.F., Jr., and the child, A.F., as A.F. III. In order to avoid…