In re E.O. CA5

FACTS

Initial Removal On July 6, 2023, the Kern County Department of Human Services (department) received a suspected child abuse report that both parents were arrested and no other caregivers were available for the children. The children were taken into protective custody by law enforcement, and a social worker from the department was assigned for further investigation. The social worker spoke to the children on the following day through video chat due to a positive test for COVID-19. K.O., at eight years of age, did not initially speak to the social worker, but he would nod his head in agreement. K.O. eventually explained that he lived in a house with E.O. and his parents. His seventeen-year-old sister, B.O., lived with their grandmother, and he also had a twelve-year-old brother, Z.O. K.O. reported that he was never hungry at home. He recalled the events that led to him witnessing his parents’ arrest. K.O. disclosed that his parents pushed each other during fights, and E.O. cried when his parents pushed each other. Law enforcement had been to his home on two prior occasions, and he stayed with his grandmother after the police came. K.O. claimed he felt safe with his parents…