Welfare and Institutions Code Section 16002, which allows the court to order visitation between dependent and nondependent siblings, is not facially unconstitutional. The 15-year-old Minor was removed when Mother refused to pick him up from juvenile hall. The juvenile court ordered supervised visitation between Minor and his three-year-old sibling, who was not a dependent child, over the objection of Mother. Mother appealed and the reviewing court affirmed. Section 16002 allows the court to order visitation between a dependent minor and their nondependent siblings in parental custody as long as it is not contrary to the safety or well-being of any sibling. For the first time on appeal, Mother raised a constitutional challenge to the statute as it interfered with her right to parent her nondependent child. A facial challenge to the statute fails because the statute allows, but does not compel, the juvenile court to order sibling visitation in a particular case. The as-applied constitutional challenge in this case was waived as Mother failed to raise the issue or develop the record below.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A171105.PDF