In re MIA M. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. A.M. et al., Defendants and Appellants.
B313574 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 18CCJP07738F-H)
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FIVE
Filed 2/28/22
Nichelle L. Blackwell, Temporary Judge.
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Jesse McGowan, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Seeking a new jurisdiction and disposition hearing, appellant A.M. (father) filed a petition under
Finding prejudicial error, we reverse the court‘s order denying father‘s section 388 petition and vacate the order terminating parental rights as to Mia. While our decision necessarily affects the order terminating mother‘s parental rights as well, we remand for a new jurisdiction and disposition hearing as to father only.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Dependency Petition and Detention of Mother‘s Children
In November 2019, the Department filed a petition alleging that mother‘s four children were dependents under
At the November 19, 2019 detention hearing, the court found father to be Mia‘s alleged father, ordered Mia and the younger children detained, and ordered the Department to present in its jurisdiction and disposition report evidence of due diligence in attempting to locate mother, father, and E.B. (the father of mother‘s youngest two children).
Department‘s Efforts to Locate Father
A. Available Information About Father‘s Whereabouts
The Department‘s November 2019 detention report stated that maternal grandmother gave father‘s name to the social worker. Maternal grandmother also explained that a different person, K.M.-H., “is the one who registered [Mia] as his but in reality [A.M.] is the father.” Maternal grandmother stated that father “lives somewhere in Oklahoma as child Mia goes to
The social worker interviewed Mia, who also explained that her last name matches K.M.-H.‘s last name because K.M.-H. “has her listed as his daughter,” but that her last name is supposed match father‘s name, because father is her “real dad.” When the social worker asked Mia if she knew father‘s phone number or address, Mia “stated that she does not know besides he lives in Oklahoma and she visits him in the summer time as her grandmother [Rosa] buys her the ticket and she visits them.” When asked how she knew all this information, Mia explained that she hears her maternal grandmother and mother talking.
Referring to father, the court noted at the November 19, 2019 detention hearing, “Apparently he resides in Oklahoma and Mia visits with him in the summers.” On November 21, 2019, mother told the social worker over the phone that father is Mia‘s father, and that Mia‘s adoptive father K.M.-H. was deported to El Salvador and killed. Nonetheless, the Department included as part of its jurisdiction and disposition report a due diligence search declaration for K.M.-H., but not for father. Based on father‘s minimal contact with Mia, the Department recommended
Mother‘s first appearance in court was on December 13, 2019. She identified father as Mia‘s biological father, but when asked whether he openly acknowledged Mia as his daughter, mother responded that he knew he was Mia‘s father, but he walked away and never stepped up. K.M.-H., the individual listed on Mia‘s birth certificate was not Mia‘s biological father. The court again found A.M. to be an alleged father, and again directed the Department to conduct a due diligence search for him.
B. Department‘s Search Efforts
On January 3, 2020, the Department filed a last minute information report and a declaration of due diligence summarizing the Department‘s efforts to locate father as of mid-December 2019. Unlike the declaration of due diligence submitted earlier for K.M.-H., the declaration of due diligence for father did not include copies of any actual searches or results. The Department interviewed mother and Mia about father‘s whereabouts in November 2019. Mother stated father moved to Oklahoma several years earlier, and mother had not heard from him since. Mia said she had not seen father for a long time and he lives in Oklahoma. There is no indication in the Department‘s due diligence report, or in any of its reports, that the Department asked mother or Mia if they had been in contact with Rosa, or knew any other paternal relatives or anyone else who might have father‘s contact information. Other than maternal grandmother‘s statements included in
According to the due diligence declaration, Department employees used father‘s name and date of birth to search several California and federal databases on November 25, 2019, but no matches were returned.5 A similar search of the Thomson Reuters CLEAR database also returned no results. The due diligence report did not include searches of any Oklahoma-specific databases. Based on an internet search of “telephone directory clearance,” the Department sent copies of the petition to seven addresses in Southern California and two addresses in Oklahoma.6 The Department reported that its due diligence search for father was incomplete, as the Department was still waiting for certified mail return receipts.
At the January 9, 2020 combined jurisdiction and disposition hearing, the court found notice of the proceedings had been given in accordance with the law. It noted father‘s whereabouts were unknown, that the Department had conducted a due diligence search for him, and that he was only an alleged father. Contact with Mia would not be permitted until father contacted the Department. The court declared Mia, and also her half-siblings R.V. and S.V., dependent children under
Six-Month Review Report
In a March 2020 phone conversation, mother told the social worker that father was in Oklahoma, but that mother didn‘t understand why the Department would want father‘s contact number because he was “not in the picture.” When the social worker explained that the father had the right to know of the open dependency case, mother agreed to call father and infоrm him of the case. The Department noted this conversation in its July 2020 review report, along with a comment that, on other occasions, mother had stated she did not know father‘s whereabouts. The report also related a conversation with N.G.‘s paternal great aunt, who stated she
Initial Contact with Father and Rosa
In a last minute information filed with the court on October 15, 2020, the Department reported that the social worker spoke by phone with father, Rosa, and paternal aunt J.A. in early October 2020. The Department‘s report did not explain how father or paternal relatives initially obtained the social worker‘s contact information, or alternatively how the social worker located father.7
Both father and Rosa told the social worker they had been in cоntact with mother, but mother had not informed them of Mia‘s involvement in the dependency case. Rosa stated that whenever she asked mother about Mia, mother would say Mia was outside playing. It was not until Rosa insisted on getting more information about the child, in a conversation on October 1, 2020, that mother told Rosa that Mia was in foster care. Rosa was devastated to learn that Mia was in foster care when the child had paternal relatives who love her. Father asked for Rosa to be considered for possible
J.A. also contacted the social worker, offering to be considered as an alternative placement if the Department would not consider placing Mia with Rosa. According to J.A., Rosa had a DNA test administered for father when Mia was an infant, to confirm that father was Mia‘s biological parent. J.A. substantiated that Rosa had always looked after Mia and considers Mia a daughter.
Father provided the social worker his address in Oklahoma, his full name, and his correct birthdate. The social worker informed father of the upcoming six-month review hearing date and stated she would forward his information to the court. Father said he would participate by videoconference. The record shows that notice of the October 27, 2020 hearing was mailed to father the day he spoke with the social worker, October 2, 2020.
Father did not appear at the October 27, 2020 six-month review hearing. The court discussed the Department‘s October 15, 2020 last minute information summarizing the recent contacts with Mia‘s paternal family. The court pointed out the ambiguity in the record as to whether the social workers found father or he contacted them. The court also posited that perhaps mother reached out to father in a last-ditch effort to save the children from permanency. The court emphasized that it had already declared father an “alleged” father, that his name was not on Mia‘s birth certificate, and that he had never come to court, “despite the due diligence the Department has provided and submitted when we did the adjudication/disposition.” Neither the court nor any party raised the possibility of continuing the hearing to permit the Department to investigate the reason for father‘s non-appearance.
The court stated it was awarе that Rosa helped raise Mia between the ages of two months and two years, but also noted that Mia was now nine years old. Acknowledging that Mia used to visit Rosa in Oklahoma, the court nonetheless concluded that neither father nor Rosa had any custodial rights. The court denied the Department‘s recommendation for an ICPC for Rosa, emphasizing that father was an alleged father only and he had not yet appeared in court. K.M.-H., not father, appeared on Mia‘s birth certificate, and father had neither allowed Mia to live with him or held her out as his child. Because father had no custodial rights to Mia, paternal
The court found mother‘s compliance with reunification services had been minimal; it terminated mother‘s reunification services and scheduled a
Initial Section 366.26 Report and Hearing
In a section 366.26 report filed February 2021, the social worker did not specify when she spoke to father, but relayed that father was provided with notice of the upcoming February 23, 2021 hearing. Father had acknowledged he was Mia‘s biological father, he was aware of the hearing, he had called the number provided and was assigned an attorney, and he was ready to establish paternity. According to father, Rosa had previously verified father‘s paternity through a DNA test. Father provided a copy of the DNA test to the social worker, and a copy was to be attached to the report. However, the report that appears in our appellate record does not include a copy of father‘s DNA test as an attachment.
The Department also reported that mother “has stated she does not understand why the Department wants the fathers’ or relatives’ number if they are not in the picture.” Mother alternately claimed she did not know their whereabouts or would reach out to them to provide the social worker‘s contact information. The report concludes, “[i]t is clear that mother continues to be dishonest as to the fathers.”
Father appeared by videoconference at the February 23, 2021 hearing, and an attorney made a special appearance on his behalf. The court continued the section 366.26 hearing to
Review Hearings and Section 388 Petitions
In April 2021, Rosa filed a pro per section 388 petition, seeking to have Mia placed with her. Rosa alleged she had cared for Mia off and on since Mia was two months old. After learning in October 2020 that Mia was in foster care, Rosa re-established communication with Mia. Rosa only learned in March 2021 that she could file a section 388 petition to seek custody. Attached to the petition were (a) Rosa‘s explanation for why she was now filing a section 388 petition; (b) a document notarized in August 2012, in which mother stated she was appointing Rosa as Mia‘s legal guardian for an eighteen-year period, from 2012 to 2029, with authority to enroll Mia in school, sign documents on her behalf (e.g., government, medical, school), and travel inside and outside of the United Statеs; (c) a copy of Mia‘s birth certificate, (d) DNA test results from October 2011 stating father could not be excluded as Mia‘s biological father; and (e) copies of various other documents, including Mia‘s social security card, her immunization record, and records showing Mia received medical care and benefits in Oklahoma.
At an April 27, 2021 post-permanency planning review hearing under
On May 14, 2021, father‘s counsel filed California Judicial Council form JV-505, “Statement Regarding Parentage” (JV-505) asking the court to appoint counsel and enter a judgment of parentage. Father‘s counsel also filed a section 388 petition, arguing the Department‘s inadequate efforts to locate father and give him notice of the dependency proceeding violated father‘s right to due process. Father‘s petition noted that father was non-offending, and the reason for denying reunification services at the original January 9, 2020 disposition hearing was that father‘s whereabouts were unknown (
On the date of the next hearing, May 18, 2021, the Department reported that despite earlier problems with Rosa telling Mia she was going to Oklahoma, an in-person visit with Rosa in April 2021 had gone well. Mia‘s caregivers were willing to maintain ties with Mia‘s biological family, as long as communication was appropriate and beneficial to Mia‘s well-being. Rosa wanted Mia to live with her in Oklahoma, but Mia wanted to stay in her current home. At the hearing, the court appointed counsel for father. The court heard argument on Rosa‘s section 388 petition from Rosa herself, as well as counsel for father, the Department, and minor‘s counsel. In response to the court‘s questioning, Rosa explained that Mia stayed with Rosa from May through September 2019, just months before the petition in this case was filed in November 2019. Rosa and father‘s counsel argued the court should grant Rosa‘s section 388 petition, so Mia could be with family. The Department and minor‘s counsel emphasized that Mia had found stability with her foster family and that denying Rosa‘s section 388 petition would be in Mia‘s best interests. Mia‘s counsel also mentioned that Mia would like to have visits with Rosa, even flying out to Oklahoma, but that she wanted to be adopted by her foster family. The court denied Rosa‘s section 388 petition. The court acknowledged there had been a change in circumstances justifying the filing of the 388 petition, given that Rosa was previously unaware Mia was in the dependency system “because the mother was not being honest with [Rosa].” However, the court found that the requested relief was not in Mia‘s best interests because Mia
The juvenile court next turned to father‘s section 388 petition, stating the court was aware father‘s petition was based on Ansley. The court would grant a hearing “but the court itself went through great pains with the Department and them conducting due diligences on him in trying to locate him. [¶] And so while I‘m granting this particular hearing, I‘m not hopeful that the hearing [sic] will actually be granted on its merits because the Department has gone through the thorough assessment and analysis and due diligence in trying to find him. [¶] And, again, the father would also have to meet that second prong of best interest, just like I imposed on the grandmother. That is the law. That is the requirement.” The court scheduled the hearing on father‘s section 388 petition for June 22, 2021, the same day as the section 366.26 hearing, and directed the Department to file a response in advance.
The court asked father about his address and possible Indian heritage, and advised father of his obligation to meet with a financial evaluator to confirm he was entitled to
In early June 2021, mother filed a section 388 petition, seeking to take the section 366.26 hearing off calendar and to have reunification services reinstated. The court scheduled mother‘s section 388 petition to be heard the same day as the section 366.26 hearing.
In an interim review report filed June 14, 2021, the Department reported that samples had bеen collected for father‘s DNA test, and results were still pending as of June 11, 2021. The report contained the following summary of the Department‘s search efforts: “During the life of the case [Department] staff has asked mother, child Mia, paternal family members, [N.G‘s father], and searched public media regarding father‘s whereabouts.” Echoing and adding new details to prior statements made in the Department‘s six-month review report and its section 366.26 report, the social worker explained that during the few in-person or phone conversations with mother, the social worker asked mother “multiple times about father‘s whereabouts and other relative
The Department gave the following description of the Department‘s first contact with father: “In the month of October 2021, [the social worker] was able to locate father [A.M.] Paternal family was able to provide [father‘s] information and immediately established communication with him. During the few conversations father was informed of Mia‘s foster care status. Father stated that he wanted his daughter sent to [Rosa] as she cared for her when she was a baby and traveled to her, but didn‘t indicate wanting to
Hearings on Parents’ Section 388 Petitions and Termination of Parental Rights Under Section 366.26
On June 22, 2021, the court started by considering the section 388 petitions filed by father and mother. The court denied father‘s section 388 petition after argument from the parties. The court‘s ruling included conflicting statements about whether the Department had exercised reasonable diligence in its efforts to locate father, stating that “the Department may not have conducted enough of a due diligence to find [father] . . .” but also noting (incorrectly) that mother had made statements that father had left Oklahoma, so the Department had no reason to look there. The court also found that it was not in Mia‘s best interests to be placed in father‘s care, noting that father had not shown any desire to reunify with Mia and was not personally requesting custody.
The court denied mother‘s section 388 petition, finding insufficient changed circumstances and that it was not in the children‘s best interests. It also terminated parental rights as to Mia, R.V., and S.V. under
Standard of Review
We review the court‘s ruling on the section 388 petition for abuse of discretion (In re E.S. (2011) 196 Cal.App.4th 1329, 1335), but consider de novo whether inadequate notice violated father‘s due process rights. (In re J.H. (2007) 158 Cal.App.4th 174, 183). An error in attempted notice is subject to a harmless beyond a reasonable doubt standard of prejudice. (In re Marcos G. (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 369, 387 (Marcos G.); In re J.H., supra, 158 Cal.App.4th at p. 183.)9
Father‘s Paternity Status
Father‘s opening brief begins with a contention that the juvenile court erroneously failed to recognize father as a biological father. “‘Dependency law recognizes three types of fathers: presumed, alleged and biological.’ [Citation.] A biological father is one whose paternity of the child has been established, but who has not established that he qualifies as the child‘s presumed father under
In the current case, the court had ordered DNA testing for father, but the results were still outstanding at the time of the June 22, 2021 hearing. Since even an alleged father is entitled to notice, we decline to consider whether the court‘s implicit decision to proceed with the
Father‘s Due Process Challenge - Applicable Law
“A
“Although alleged fathers, as distinguished from presumed fathers, have fewer rights in dependency proceedings and are not entitled to custody, reunification services, or visitation [citation], they nonetheless possess due process rights to be given notice and an opportunity to appear, to assert a position, and to attempt to change their paternity status [citation]. When an alleged father claims that a lack of notice of the proceedings caused him to fail to achieve presumed father status prior to expiration of the reunification period, his remedy is to file a
“Notice is both a constitutional and statutory imperative. In juvenile dependency proceedings, due process requires parents be given notice that is reasonably calculated to advise them an action is pending and afford them an opportunity to defend.” (In re Jasmine G. (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 1109, 1114.) “A parent‘s fundamental right to adequate notice and the opportunity to be heard in dependency matters involving potential deprivation of the parental interest [citation] has little if any, value unless that parent is advised of the nature of the hearing giving rise to that opportunity, including what will be decided therein. Only with adequate notice can one choose to appear or not, to
“There is no due process violation where a child welfare services agency has exercised reasonable diligence to provide notiсe to a parent whose whereabouts are unknown. [Citation.] On this score, reasonable diligence “denotes a thorough, systematic investigation and an inquiry conducted in good faith.” [Citation.] It includes searching not only “standard avenues available to help locate a missing parent,” but “specific ones most likely, under the unique facts known to the [Agency], to yield [a parent‘s] address.” [Citations.]” (Daniel F., supra, 64 Cal.App.5th at p. 712.)
“Social services agencies, invested with a public trust and acting as temporary custodians of dependent minors, are bound by law to make every reasonable effort in attempting to inform parents of all hearings. They must leave no stone unturned.” (Daniel F., supra, 64 Cal.App.5th at p. 711.) “[B]ecause the failure to give notice carries such grave consequences in the dependency court,” “[w]here [the agency] fails even to make an effort to provide [the parent] the procedural safeguard of notice, reversal is mandated.” (In re DeJohn B. (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 100, 102, 107, 109-110 (DeJohn B.) [reversing termination of parental rights where mother was not given notice of the six-month hearing at which reunification services were terminated and
A. No Reasonably Diligent Search for Father
The evidence before the juvenile court in this case was woefully inadequate to support a finding that the Department exercised reasonable diligence trying to find father, given the unique facts already known to the Department. Despite consistent reports from multiple sources that father and Rosa lived in Oklahoma, the Department made no documented efforts to search Oklahoma-specific databases or to search specific avenues most likely to identify father‘s whereabouts. Instead, beyond a “telephone directory clearance” database that yielded seven California addresses and two Oklahoma addresses, and a proprietary database that yielded no matches, the Department only searched California and federal databases, and took negligible steps to inquire with family members who might have additional information. The Department‘s lack of due diligence deprived father of the opportunity to appear at the jurisdiсtional hearing, to establish paternity and elevate his status above that of an alleged parent, and to seek custody of Mia.
In Daniel F., the trial court erred in denying father‘s
Here too, the Department failed to investigate the most likely avenues for locating father. According to the Department‘s November 2019 detention report, maternаl grandmother told the social worker that Mia goes to Oklahoma every summer to spend time with father and Rosa, but she no longer had any identifying or contact information for father or Rosa, because Rosa had recently deleted her Facebook account. After that, there is no evidence that any social worker asked maternal grandmother if she had any additional information that might help locate father or Rosa, such as common friends, or more specific location information, or travel records from Mia‘s trips to see Rosa. We find nothing in the record to show that the Department even asked when maternal grandmother was last in contact with Rosa or father, or when Mia last visited Oklahoma (which, as it turns out, was quite recently for a several month period).
Instead, the Department‘s only documented search efforts were interviewing mother and Mia - both of whom stated in November 2019 that father lives in Oklahoma - and running searches on standard California and federal databases, plus a telephone directory clearance database that
The juvenile court‘s own statements at the June 22, 2021 hearing about whether the Department had exercised reasonable diligence were somewhat equivocal. To the extent the decision to deny father‘s
The Department contends, and the juvenile court found, the relief father was seeking under
The analysis of a
The appellate court in In re R.A. similarly concluded that the best interest prong of
In the current appeal, the Department argues the juvenile court correctly applied Justice P., supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at page 190, when it considered Mia‘s best interests as a basis for denying father‘s
We find Daniel F. and In re R.A. to be more applicable and persuasive than Justice P. in the circumstances present here, where an agency‘s search efforts are unreasonably lacking, and the failure to notify a parent leads to a prejudicial delay in participation. The Justice P. court reasoned that removing discretion to deny a
C. Passage of Time Before Father‘s Section 388 Petition
The Department also argues that father‘s own delay in seeking
The Department correctly observes that father did not appear at the very first opportunity after he learned of the dependency proceedings, the October 27, 2020 six-month review hearing. However, that hearing took place just a little over three weeks after father‘s first phone call with the Department. The record does not include any evidence showing whether or when the social worker provided father with information about how to request appointment of an attorney, or any of the other information usually provided to a parent before an initial dependency hearing. (In re Daniel F., supra, 64 Cal.App.5th at p. 714 [agency‘s “failure to provide Father with the statutorily required materials denied him adequate notice of his rights and the ability to access procedures for establishing paternity and obtaining reunification serviсes“].) At the time of the October 27, 2020 hearing, the Department‘s recommendation was to request an ICPC for possible placement with Rosa, which was in
The next report filed by the Department after the October 2020 six-month review hearing was the February 2021
Prejudicial Error
The Department contends father‘s lack of involvement since he learned of the proceedings in October 2020 shows that any notice error was harmless. However, considered against the absence of any documentary evidence showing that the Department timely provided father a copy of the petition or required notices about how to assert paternity and request appointment of counsel, we find prejudicial error.
After father first spoke with the social worker on October 2, 2020, the Department‘s last minute information simply stated that father was informed of the future hearing date (presumably the upcoming six-month hearing), that the social worker would forward the information to court, and father stated he would be calling WebEx the day of the hearing. On the same day, the Department mailed father notice of the upcoming six-month review hearing. We do not, however, find in the record any proof of service showing when (or whether) the petition or the JV-505 was mailed to father. Father‘s failure to attend thе six-month hearing on October 27, 2020, when the court denied the Department‘s recommendation to request an ICPC for Rosa, is not enough to support a finding that the violation of his due process rights was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. (In re J.H., supra, 158 Cal.App.4th at p 183 [harmless beyond a reasonable doubt standard of prejudice].)
Later events also reinforce our finding of prejudicial error. By February 2021, father had reported he had been assigned an attorney and was ready to establish paternity. Father‘s counsel made special appearances on his behalf in February and April 2021, and father was present at both hearings. In May 2021, father‘s attorney filed the JV-505 statement of parentage, seeking a parentage judgment. Father‘s JV-505 stated he openly acknowledged Mia to be his child and spent vacations with her. By the June 2021 hearing, father had already sought recognition as Mia‘s biological father; if granted that status, he could ask the court to
We find the court‘s denial of father‘s
Although mother filed a separate appellate brief joining in father‘s arguments on apрeal, and our decision has the effect of restoring mother‘s parental rights, we emphasize that the court‘s October 27, 2020 order terminating mother‘s reunification services and the June 22, 2021 order denying mother‘s
The juvenile court‘s order denying father‘s
MOOR, J.
We concur:
RUBIN, P. J.
KIM, J.