In re S.C. CA3

BACKGROUND

In February 2021, mother was a party to a pending dependency proceeding involving one of the minor’s half siblings, R.S., in which mother was arrested and charged with physical abuse of R.S. while under the influence of alcohol. The San Joaquin County Human Services Agency (the Agency) initially did not include the minor or the minor’s other half sibling, A.W., in those proceedings because their respective fathers agreed to keep the minors away from mother and to file for legal custody of their respective children.2 However, when it was discovered that the minor’s father, L.C. (father), had been allowing mother to care for the minor unsupervised despite having been previously admonished for doing so, the minor was removed from father and placed in protective custody. The Agency filed a dependency petition on behalf of the minor pursuant to section 300, subdivisions (b) and (j), alleging failure to protect the minor due to mother’s unresolved history of alcohol abuse, father’s failure to protect the minor from mother, and mother’s physical abuse of R.S. The detention report noted that, in December 2020, mother had been arrested and charged with felony child abuse for…