In re Fernando L. CA2/1

BACKGROUND

Father is the presumed father of Fernando and Andrew (sometimes referred to as the children). Father has an adult daughter, who is not a party to this proceeding. Mother’s daughter Ariana, the children’s half sibling, was a dependent of

2 the juvenile court but is not included in father’s challenge to the juvenile court’s restraining order.

1. Petition On November 3, 2020, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) filed a Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 300 petition identifying Ariana, Fernando, and Andrew as dependent children. As later sustained, the petition alleged mother and father “engaged in a violent altercation in the children’s presence.” Father threw a beer bottle at mother and hit mother with the beer bottle. Mother shot at father with father’s firearm. At that time, Fernando was three and Andrew one year old. When police arrived to investigate the referral, father fled. Social workers did not interview Fernando or Andrew about the incident because the children were too young to provide meaningful statements. Father’s adult daughter indicated Fernando was scared and crying. An undated multidisciplinary assessment…