In re Ethan J.
Annotate this CaseDefendant is the mother of nine-year-old Ethan. Ethan is under the custody of his maternal grandmother and legal guardian. At issue on appeal was when the juvenile court orders a legal guardianship for a child with visitation for the mother, and the child refuses to participate in visitation, may the court terminate dependency jurisdiction with knowledge that its visitation order will not be honored or enforceable. The court concluded that absent a finding of detriment Ethan’s refusal to visit defendant constituted an exceptional circumstance under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.3, subdivision (a) and warranted ongoing dependency jurisdiction; the juvenile court, by terminating its dependency jurisdiction, impermissibly delegated its authority over visitation to Ethan and abused its discretion; and therefore, the court reversed the order and remanded for further proceedings.
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