This case presents the issue of whether a de facto parent has standing to challenge the denial of reunification services or contest the reasonableness of services offered. Because a de facto parent, like a stepparent, has no right to reunification services, we conclude that a de facto parent lacks standing to raise reunification issues.
Factual and Procedural Background
Clifford S. and his wife, Rita, have four children together; Rita has three children by previous relationships, including Chantella, the minor in question here. The department of social services (Department) filed a dependency petition on August 6, 1993, alleging Chantella had suffered accidental bums several months earlier and had not received proper medical care. An allegation the other children were at risk was dismissed. The matter was submitted, and the petition was sustained on August 19, 1993.
According to the social services report for the dispositional hearing on September 15, 1993, a parent search had been initiated the preceding month for Chantella’s presumed father, Jack L. The Department also reported that because Rita now suggested Clifford might be Chantella’s father, a paternity test was ordered. Notwithstanding the question of paternity, Clifford was, at that time, offered reunification services, including participation in medical appointments, services of a public health nurse, therapy and visitation. As to those services specifically relating to Chantella, that had to do with medical appointments and medical care, the reunification plan designated the minor as “stepchild.”
At the time of the six-month hearing, stepfather Clifford, was participating in therapy; however, his visitation was not regular since he often stayed home with the other children so Rita could visit. The Department also reported Chantella was healing.
On July 1, 1994, the juvenile court found Clifford was not the biological father. That same day, he filed to become a de facto parent, a request that was granted on August 5, 1994. In the meantime, Anthony, three months old, had been removed from the home for failure to thrive. In connection with Anthony’s adjudication hearing on August 5, the parents signed the reunification plan with both Clifford and Rita signing for Anthony, and Rita, alone, signing as to Chantella. The following spring, another of Clifford’s stepchildren, Mercy, became the subject of a dependency petition based on allegations of sexual molest.
We review the petition under section 366.26, subdivision (b)(1) and rule 39.IB. We decline to reach the merits on the issues involving reunification services since Clifford lacks standing to pursue them. 3 In that the Department does not contest Clifford’s standing to challenge the denial of a mistrial, we address the question on the merits and deny the petition finding there is no prejudice.
Discussion
I. Standing
In order to question the services offered or the conduct of the proceedings, one must have standing.
Without standing, there is no actual or justiciable controversy, and courts will not entertain such cases. (3 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (3d ed. 1985) Actions, § 44, pp. 70-72.) “Typically, ... the standing inquiry requires careful judicial examination of a complaint’s allegations to ascertain whether the particular plaintiff is entitled to an adjudication of the particular claims asserted.”
(Allen
v.
Wright
(1984)
A person becomes a de facto parent by application to the court when he or she has participated in the day-to-day care and rearing of the child over an extended period of time.
(In re B.G.
(1974)
De facto parents have the right to be present at the dependency proceedings, to have retained or, at the discretion of the court, appointed counsel and to present evidence at the hearings. (Rule 1412(e).) However, the status of de facto parenthood does not give de facto parents the rights and responsibilities of parents or guardians.
(In re Kieshia E.
(1993)
The same is true of stepparents. A person becomes a stepparent by marrying the natural biological parent and loses stepparent status should the marriage be terminated. A stepparent has no legal obligation to support his or her stepchild. Likewise, absent a formal adoption of the child, a stepparent has no right to any reunification services.
(In re Jodi B.
(1991)
In either instance, as stepparent or de facto parent, the person has the right to appeal certain issues. However, because neither has a right to reunification services, there is no standing to challenge the failure of the court to order such services. If a person is given services to which he or she is not entitled, there is no right to complain on appeal of the court’s findings.
(In re Jamie G.
(1987)
Here, Clifford entered the dependency proceedings as a stepfather. As a stepfather, he had no right to reunification services. Because Rita suggested he might be the biological father, testing was ordered at the dispositional hearing. We do not know with certainty whether reunification services were ordered at that time because of Clifford’s possible paternity. Whatever the reason, it is irrelevant for our purposes since he had no right to complain of the court’s findings. The fact he “substantially complied” with the offered services and the fact he thought the services he received were unreasonable are both issues that Clifford has no standing as a stepparent to raise.
After the court found that Clifford was not the biological father, Clifford sought and was granted de facto parent status. As a de facto parent, he again had no right to visitation, custody or reunification services and consequently no standing to seek review of the court’s orders or lack thereof with regard to these services. At that point in time, reunification services were properly terminated as to Chantella. This is reflected in the new reunification scheme,
Clifford, in his reply brief, points out that as a de facto parent he is a full party to the proceeding—not merely an amicus curiae. He reiterates the important role a stepfather plays in maintaining familial bonds. He suggests there are numerous reasons why he should be accorded full “standing” and should be given full review on the merits.
First, he asserts that he is the only father Chantella has known. At the time of the dependency proceedings, both he and Rita believed Clifford was her biological father. After testing showed he was not, he promptly filed for de facto status. From this point on, he was referred to as “stepfather.” Clifford says he has been taking care of Chantella since she was 18 days old. He is married to Rita, and has taken Chantella into his home and held her out as his child. He has drawn no distinction between Chantella and his own biological children. He provides the financial support and is primary caretaker for all the children—including Chantella. He urges he is the strongest kind of de facto parent since he is not an outsider, but rather is a person who is a member of the immediate family, who is related by marriage and who has taken care of the minor as his own child since birth. Clifford further notes that unlike the de facto parent in
In re Kieshia E., supra,
We find commendable Clifford’s efforts to treat all of the children alike, his assumption of the day-to-day care of the children, and his participation in the proceedings involving his stepchildren. However, the role Clifford has assumed is substantially the same as most, if not all, de facto parents. Typically, de facto parents take on the role of a parent by participating in a child’s life and by providing physical and psychological support. That is how and why they sought and were designated as de facto parents.
It is the Legislature that determines which groups of persons may reunify when a child is removed from their custody. At this point, the Legislature has not included de facto parents as one of those groups. As a stepparent who has not formally adopted the minor, or as a de facto parent, Clifford has no right to request or to receive reunification services nor to complain about services that he believes were inadequate. As a result, he has no standing to
Clifford also contends because de facto status includes the right to seek appellate relief, in particular with regard to the question of custody, he too should have standing. In support of his assertion he cites
In re Joel H.
(1993)
In Joel H., custody of the minor siblings was with the great aunt, Diane L., who was never formally granted de facto parent status. After providing care for the children for more than three years, the possibility of Diane adopting them was being explored. The department, however, was concerned about Diane being an adoptive parent and shortly thereafter, due to allegations of physical abuse, the minors were permanently removed from the home. This was accomplished via a section 387 petition which provides for removal of a child from “the physical custody of a parent, guardian, relative or friend . . . .” Unlike Clifford’s circumstance, which deals with the question of reunification services, the issue in Joel H. involved the removal of children from the custody of relatives.
When Diane appealed, the question of standing was raised. Although the Court of Appeal stated there is no record that Diane was ever given de facto parent status
(In re Joel H., supra,
In contrast, here Clifford has formally acquired the status of de facto parent and the orders he is questioning do not involve removal of the child from his care; rather, they concern whether reunification services were reasonable and whether he substantially complied with them. Since he had no right to these services, he is not “aggrieved”; likewise because Rita, as the natural mother, could have sought review of the court’s decision to hear the matter, Clifford again is not aggrieved.
Finally, Clifford suggests the Department is estopped from asserting he lacks standing because the Department failed to (1) oppose the grant of de facto status, (2) object to reunification services, and (3) object to his full litigation of issues regarding Chantella.
First, Clifford points out the Department did not object to his application for de facto status nor did it appeal when the court granted him that status. Thus, Clifford asserts, the issue is waived and the Department is estopped from arguing that he lacks standing. However, because the acquisition of de facto status did not confer standing on Clifford as to the issues raised here, it is unclear how the Department’s failure to object relates to the question of standing.
Second, Clifford notes he was given a reunification plan, and he completed the requirements. Clifford further points out that while
In re Jody R.
(1990)
II. The Motion for Mistrial *
Disposition
The petition is dismissed as to the issues involving reunification services and denied as to the motion for mistrial.
Kremer, P. J., and Huffman, J., concurred.