In re D.L., 22 Cal.App.5th 1142

In Feb 2017 police found a loaded rifle, ammunition, gun parts, and a bulletproof vest in an unlocked bedroom closet in a home where two-year-old D.L. slept; items were confiscated and DCFS verified their presence.
Father was arrested earlier for carrying a loaded firearm and was gang-affiliated; he was in custody when DCFS investigated and later said the rifle had been in the closet for about a week and he believed it was loaded.
Mother denied seeing guns or knowing about the gun, said father was not welcome in her home, but later showed a closet closed only by a curtain and stated she would not keep the child from father; the social worker observed the child climbing on furniture.
DCFS filed a section 300 petition; at the detention hearing the juvenile court released the child to mother and detained the child from father; later the court sustained the petition, declared D.L. a dependent, removed custody from father, placed child with mother, ordered family maintenance services for mother, and maintained monitored visits for father.
Mother appealed the jurisdictional finding that she presented an ongoing risk by allowing father access despite the prior presence of the loaded gun.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether substantial evidence supported jurisdiction under Welf. & Inst. Code §300(b) as to mother based on risk from prior presence of a loaded gun	DCFS: father stored a loaded rifle accessible to the child and mother’s permissive attitude and continued access by father created ongoing substantial risk	Mother: father no longer lived with them, was unwelcome, said he would secure or not have guns in future, so any future risk was speculative	Reversed as to mother: no substantial evidence of a current substantial risk to the child by mother at time of hearing
Whether juvenile court could order services for a nonoffending parent after dependency established	DCFS: once child is declared dependent the court may make reasonable orders for care, including services for a parent	Mother: if jurisdictional finding against her is reversed, dispositional orders against her must fall away	Affirmed: court retained authority to order services for mother despite reversal of jurisdictional finding as to her because court had jurisdiction over the child

In re I.J., 56 Cal.4th 766 (review standard for sufficiency of evidence for dependency jurisdiction)
In re R.T., 3 Cal.5th 622 (parental fault not required to adjudge jurisdiction under §300)
In re B.T., 193 Cal.App.4th 685 (elements for §300(b) jurisdiction and requirement of current substantial risk)
In re Yolanda L., 7 Cal.App.5th 987 (dependency based on accessible firearms where future risk tied to ongoing criminal activity)
In re C.V., 15 Cal.App.5th 566 (gang affiliation alone insufficient for dependency jurisdiction)
In re Briana V., 236 Cal.App.4th 297 (court may impose dispositional orders on a parent even if that parent was not the subject of a jurisdictional finding)

Disposition: Reversed the juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding as to mother; all other orders affirmed.