California Court of Appeal

In this case, the juvenile court ordered defendant Cindy C.'s children into a permanent plan of legal guardianship without dependency. Cindy C. petitioned the juvenile court to modify its order under Welfare and Institutions Code section 388 and to order family maintenance services for her. Following an evidentiary hearing, the juvenile court ruled that section 388 does not authorize the termination of a guardianship and denied Cindy C.'s petition on legal grounds. The judgment of the juvenile court is reversed, where: 1) allowing a parent to attempt reunification with his or her children by means of a section 388 petition serves the Legislative intent and public policy of encouraging parents to correct earlier problems to preserve the family unit, and this intent would be thwarted if a parent lost all ability to regain custody despite having demonstrated that he or she can provide the most desirable permanent plan; and 2) a parent’s ability to file a section 388 petition does not undermine the child’s stability in a guardianship because there are safeguards to protect against a frivolous petition.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/04/2015
• Published 03/04/2015

Judges

• Gomes

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel