In re Ernest R. CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

P.R. (Father) appeals from the juvenile court’s order at a 12-month review hearing, terminating dependency jurisdiction over his two minor children, granting joint legal custody to the parents and sole physical custody to the mother, S.R. (Mother), and ordering unmonitored visits for Father. On appeal, Father argues the juvenile court erred by granting sole physical custody to Mother without considering the children’s best interests, and by conditioning modification of its order on Father’s participation in an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program with a sponsor. We conclude that the juvenile court properly considered the children’s best interests in issuing its custody order, and that it did not place any conditions on the family court’s modification of such order in the future. We accordingly affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Dependency petition

Mother and Father are the parents of two minor children: Ernest R., born in February 2009, and Matthew R., born in May 2014. The parents also have three adult children. In 2018, both Ernest and Matthew were declared dependents of the juvenile court based on Father’s substance abuse and domestic violence against…