S.W. v. Superior Court CA1/2

── S.W. v. Superior Court CA1/2 ── Court: California Court of Appeal Date: April 17, 2026 Category: General Filed 4/17/26 S.W. v. Superior Court CA1/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION TWO S.W., Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF DEL NORTE COUNTY, A175561 Respondent; DEL NORTE COUNTY (Del Norte County Super. Ct. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND Nos. JV256025, JV256026) SOCIAL SERVICES et al., Real Parties in Interest. On May 21, 2025, 23-month-old A.N. and 12-month-old I.N., Jr., were removed from the custody of their parents S.W. (mother) and I.N. (father) after police responded to father’s overdose on fentanyl and found fentanyl and unknown pills in the home and within the reach of the children. Mother filed a writ petition for extraordinary relief to overturn the trial court’s order terminating reunification services and setting a Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 366.26 hearing to establish a permanent placement plan for the 1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code. 1 children. Mother contends there is not substantial evidence that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) offered or provided reasonable reunification services to her, and thus, the trial court erred in terminating her reunification services and setting the matter for the section 366.26 hearing. She also requests an immediate stay of the hearing. We disagree with mother’s contentions and deny the petition and the request for stay. BACKGROUND2 On May 21, 2025, the Crescent City Police Department responded to a report that father was overdosing on fentanyl in the home with the children present. Officers contacted DHHS requesting an immediate response because “the home was unsafe for the children” and also reported there had been multiple calls to the residence for domestic violence. Responding social workers observed the apartment to be “extremely cluttered and unsanitary for young children.” In the living room, they found “boxes, bags and other miscellaneous items stacked against walls and throughout the room posing a fire hazard as well as a hazard to the physical health of the children” because the stacked items could fall on the children. The bedroom where I.N., Jr. was found was “so cluttered [that] the door could not be fully opened due to the items stacked behind the door.” The door to the room where A.N. was found had several holes punched into it. On a television stand inside the room within A.N.’s reach were “unidentified pills, cigarette butts, what appear[ed] to be a pipe for smoking substances, and what appear[ed] to be cartridges for pens used to smoke marijuana,” as well 2 Father did not timely file a writ petition in our court; we provide only the facts necessary to resolve mother’s claims. 2 as a small bong. There were also two dogs in the room and “dog feces throughout the floor.” Fentanyl had been found on the bathroom counter and removed by law enforcement; additional fentanyl was still visible on the bathroom floor. Mother told the social workers that she was at Walmart when father overdosed and the children had been in the care of her grandmother. As a social worker explained to mother