In re I.R. CA2/4

BACKGROUND

A. Prior Referrals I.R. first came to DCFS’s attention in 2020. An initial referral alleged father had thrown objects at mother and I.R., and mother had expressed thoughts of suicide. Later that year, mother’s therapist initiated another referral, alleging mother and father argued and yelled at one another with I.R. lying between

All statutory references in this opinion are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise specified. The Custody Order—Juvenile—Final Judgment filed in the juvenile court on June 9, 2023 was not included in the record. However, DCFS moved to augment the record to include this document, and we grant DCFS’s motion.

2 them. DCFS investigated the referrals but did not initiate dependency proceedings. Conflicts between mother and father continued. Law enforcement service logs for 2021 and 2022 reveal responses to multiple calls alleging that father battered and threatened mother, and mother broke into father’s home, destroyed property, and refused to leave. In November 2021, father was detained for, but not charged with, intimate partner battery.

B. Operative Referral In early June 2022, mother initiated a third…