In re Isabella G. CA2/1

BACKGROUND

I. The Participants in the Underlying Dependency

Proceedings In March 2018, Isabella (then, five years old) and Abraham (then, nearly two years old) came to the attention of DCFS based 4 on a referral alleging general neglect by Mother. During DCFS’s investigation of the 2018 referral, Mother identified Thomas as Isabella’s father and stated his whereabouts were unknown and he was not visiting Isabella. In or around 2013, in prior dependency proceedings involving Isabella, Thomas was deemed Isabella’s presumed father. Mother identified appellant Armando as Abraham’s father and stated he was in prison (where he remained throughout these dependency proceedings). Less than a year after Abraham’s birth, Father was arrested and incarcerated, and he was thereafter convicted of assault with a firearm and criminal threats, with a firearm enhancement. He was sentenced to 14 5 years in prison. Mother was never married to Armando or Thomas, and the dates of her relationships with each are not clear from the record before us.

4 The allegations against Mother are not germane to this appeal, so we do not discuss them herein. 5 A “CDCR [California Department of Corrections and…