In re A.P.

Filed 8/2/06 In re A.P. CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Becky Dugan, Judge. Affirmed.

Leslie A. Barry, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Joe S. Rank, County Counsel, and Carole A. Nunes Fong, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Jennifer Mack, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minors C.R. and J.P.

Andrea Renee St. Julian, under appointment by the Court of Appeal for Minors Ang.P., Ant.P. and E.P.

Appellant A.R. (hereafter mother) appeals from an order terminating her parental rights to three of her five children. She asserts that there was no substantial evidence to support the juvenile court's finding that neither the parental benefit exception nor the sibling bond exception (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(A), (E))^[1] applied to preclude freeing the children for adoption. She also contends that the court erred in finding that the attorney who represented all five of the children had no conflict of interest.

We affirm the order.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mother and the father^[2] of her five children have a long history of drug abuse. The oldest three children, C.R., J.P. and Ang.P., were made court dependents in 1998 when Ang.P. and mother tested positive for drugs at the time of Ang.P.'s birth. The Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) also had concerns about the death of another sibling in 1997 and about the condition of the home. The children were removed from the home in October 1998 and returned home in December 1998 under a family maintenance plan. Lack of compliance with the maintenance plan, including failure to obtain necessary medical care for the children, continued drug abuse and failure to obtain drug treatment and testing, resulted in the children being detained from their parents in March 1999. C.R. and J.P. were placed with father in April 1999 after he enrolled in a substance abuse after-care program, and Ang.P. was placed with mother at her inpatient substance abuse program in May 1999. The children were detained again in July 1999 because mother was terminated from her program and father had tested positive twice. A supplemental petition was sustained in August 1999, and the children were placed in foster care. The juvenile court ordered the parents to obtain psychological evaluations to determine whether they could benefit from services.

A fourth child, Ant.P., was born in October 1999 and was immediately detained. He was placed in a foster home separate from his siblings, who had been placed together. The petition was sustained as to Ant.P., and services were ordered for both parents. Mother was authorized to have visits with Ant.P. at her inpatient program.

In November 1999, the four siblings were placed together in shelter care because a potential relative placement and their foster care placements fell through. The oldest child, C.R., was reported to be â€