In re E.C. CA4/1

BACKGROUND

Before E.C. was born, the siblings became dependents of the juvenile court as a

result of the parents' domestic violence and substance abuse. In July 2009, when the

siblings ranged in age from nine to 13 years old, they were placed with C.H. C.H.

allowed the parents frequent contact and overnight visits with the siblings. In February

2010, a social worker from the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency

(the Agency) told C.H. that the visits had to be supervised. C.H. became the siblings'

guardian and the court terminated dependency jurisdiction in July. Before the court

terminated jurisdiction, C.H. told the Agency that the siblings no longer had overnight

weekend visits with the parents.

Although C.H. was aware of the parents' ongoing problems, including substance

abuse and domestic violence, he continued to leave the siblings in the parents' care for

extended periods. In July 2010, one of the siblings said he had recently stayed with the

parents for a couple of days while C.H. went to Las Vegas. In August, two of the siblings

reported C.H. was behaving differently, drinking more and leaving them alone more. In

All…