Kern County Department of Human Services v. M.J.

Bakersfield, California family law lawyer represented the Defendant dependency case.



Appellant M.J. (mother) is the mother of the now seven-year-old Je.J. and five-year-old Ja.J. (collectively, the children), who are the subjects of this dependency case. Mother appealed from the juvenile court's orders issued at a dispositional hearing on June 17, 2024, which resulted in the children being placed in foster care and family reunification services being ordered for the children's legal guardian, K.J. (guardian). After reviewing the juvenile court record, mother's court-appointed counsel informed this court he could find no arguable issues to raise on mother's behalf. This court granted mother leave to personally file a letter setting forth a good cause showing that an arguable issue of reversible error exists. (In re Phoenix H. (2009) 47 Cal.4th 835, 844 (Phoenix H.).)



Mother filed a letter brief alleging her counsel represented her poorly and she wanted to be provided family reunification services. She does not, however, allege the juvenile court erred when it failed to provide her family reunification services. We conclude mother failed to address the dispositional hearing or set forth a good cause showing that any arguable issue of reversible error arose from the disposition hearing. (Phoenix H., supra, 47 Cal.4th at p. 844.) Consequently, we dismiss the appeal.



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Legal issue Can a parent challenge the denial of family reunification services in a juvenile dependency hearing if they did not initially request custody or services during the proceedings?



Key Phrases Juvenile court's orders. Dependency case. Family reunification services. Substance abuse and domestic violence. Ineffective assistance of counsel.

Appeal dismissed.