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Name: J.A. v. Superior Court
Case #: C072117
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Opinion Date: 03/07/2013
Summary

The juvenile court could not deny services under Welfare and Institutions Code section 361.5, subdivision (b)(10) where prior failure to reunify was not with a sibling but with the same child. In a dependency proceeding, the trial court denied father services pursuant to section 361.5(b)(10), relying on In re Gabriel K. (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 188 for the proposition that the (b)(10) bypass provisions could apply not just when a parent failed to reunify with a sibling, but also when the prior dependency and failure to reunify involved the same child as the current dependencyaction. Father filed a a timely notice of intent. The appellate court granted his petition, declining to follow Gabriel K. The court held that the better reasoned approach to construing the statute is found in In re B.L. (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 1111. The limiting language in section 361.5(b)(10) is not ambiguous, and it requires that the prior failure to reunify be with a sibling. Extending the statute to include the same child is a matter for the Legislature to address.