Filed 3/29/24 In re M.D. CA2/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

In re M.D

. , a Per son Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. B 3 2 6420

Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 22 CCJP04338A LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

J.D.

, Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from order s of the Superior Court of Los Angeles
Cou nty
, Donald A. Buddle

, Jr., Judge

. Affirmed in part, reversed in part. Sean Angele Burleigh , under appointment by the Court
of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant

. Dawyn R. Harrison , County Counsel, Kim Nemoy

, Assistant County Counsel, Sarah Vesecky , De puty County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_________________________2 Father challenges the juvenile court ’s jurisdictional finding that he failed to protect his daughter M.D. (born January 2011)
from mother’s substance abuse

. 1 He also challenge s the court’s disposition al or ders that he participate in individual counseling
and random , on

- demand drug testing. Substantial evidence supports the court’s jurisdictional finding , which we affirm.
We also conclude the court reasonably exercised its discr etion
in ordering father to participate in individual counsel ing

. We agree with father, however, that there is no basis in the record

to require him to undergo random and on

- demand drug testing

. Accordingly, we reverse that portion of the court’s disposi tional
order and remand the m atter for further proceedings.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. Investigation
In late October 2022, t he Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services ( DCFS ) received a report that

m other had tested positive for marijuana and amphet amine
when she gave birth to O.S. (M.D.’s half

- brother) the day before

. Mother admitted consuming “edibles” for insomnia and bone pain but denied knowingly consuming amphetamin e s. James, who is not a party to this appeal, is the f ather of O.S. and mother’s then

one

- year

- old child N.S. Each of m other’s three other children
has a different father : S. B . ( then age two) , I.G. ( the n age 17),
and M.D. (then age 11 ). T he children , except for I.G., lived with

1 Mother also appealed. This c ourt di s missed mother’s appeal after her appellate counsel filed a brief under In re Phoenix H. (2009) 47 Cal.4th 835.3

mothe r and maternal grandmot her

. 2 Only M.D. is the subject
of this appeal.
A social worker interviewed mother at the hospital.
Mother said father was “ not active in ” M.D.’s life , and “his
whereabouts are unknown.” She said the only drug she ever
had used was marijuana, and she had been using it for about
15 years. Mother did not inhale marijuana

— she consumed edibles “laced with marijuana.” Mother believed an edible she
had a week earlier may also have been laced with amphetamines, leading to her positive test. James also disclos ed m arijuana use.
He had no knowledge of mother using any drug other than marijuana. 3 They both signed a safety plan

, agreeing mother and the
children would stay with maternal grandmother, and agreed to drug test on demand. Maternal grandmother agreed to supervise
the children. She had no concerns about how mother cared for
them. She also denied any knowledge of substance abuse by
mother or James

. The social worker also spoke to M.D. M.D. stated she
had been living with mother but began living with pat ernal grandmother in August 2022 due to mother’s “ high risk ”

pregnancy. M.D. felt safe with paternal grandmother. She maintained regular contact, and had good relationships, with

2 I.G. lived with his father. DCFS did not initiate dependency proceedings with respect to him.

3 Although mother and James denied bei ng married or living together, during the investigation DCFS learned they had married in February 2021.4

mother, her half

- siblings, and maternal grandmother. Father
did not live w ith paternal grandmother. M.D. said “she had

not see n or talked with him for a long time.” M.D. denied ever having seen mother smoke anything. She believed mother took good care of her and her siblings

. Paternal grandmother told the social worker she “a lways” had been in M.D.’s life, “since birth.” She had no concerns with
how mother care d for M.D. Mother had arranged for M.D. to stay with her so mother could “deal with her pregnancy and have
better control of her other children .” As M.D. had started school near paternal grandmother, mother let M.D. continue to stay with her. M.D. was doing well in school . Paternal grandmother was tending to M.D.’s medical, dental, and educational needs.
Paternal grandmother also did not know where father was and

co nfirmed he was not active in M.D.’s life. She was interested in having M.D. placed with her i f M.D. were detained from mother. On October 31, 2022, DCFS obtained and served a
removal order for M.D. and her three younger siblings

. Initially,
M.D. was allo wed to remain with paternal grandmother. She ultimately was placed with a maternal cousin along with S. B

. 4
Mother’s on

- demand drug test from October 31, 2022

came back positive for marijuana but no other substances.

2

. Petition and detention
On November 2

, 2022, DCFS filed a petition under Welfare
and Institutions Code 5 section 300 on behalf of M.D. and

4 DCFS had learned paternal grandmother had a criminal history that required a waiver.

5 S tatutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code

.5

her younger siblings, alleging they were at risk of harm due

to mother’s 15

- year history of substance abuse and current amphetamine, methamphetamine, and m arijuana use

. The petition also alleged mother had mental and emotional problems. At the detention hearing, the court found a prima facie

case the children are persons described by section 300. The court found father, who was not present, to be the presu med father
of M.D. The court ordered DCFS to initiate a due d iligence search to provide father with notice. The children were detained from their respective parents.
3. Jurisdiction/disposition report
DCFS filed a jurisdiction/disposition report with th e court on December 14, 2022. By that time, DCFS had received O.S.’s meconium test results, which were positive for cannabinoids
and Carboxy THC but negative for amphetamines and other
substances

. DCFS also had located father. H e was living in
Bakersfi e ld. DCFS was in the process of filing a first amended petition to add allegations that father knew of mother’s substance abuse and failed to protect M.D., endangering her health and safety

, and placing her at substantial risk of serious harm.

a. Backgrou nd information The report noted the children had no dependency history

, but DCFS had received prior reports of neglect. As to M.D.,
in October 2011

— when M.D. was less than a year old

— DCFS
received a call alleging mother had been using marijuana in front
of M.D. and I. G

. and had left the marijuana bag and an alcohol
bottle on a po tentially accessible counter . The allegations were
deemed “ unfounded. ” In October 2016, DCFS received a call about M.D.’s acting out in school, including “aggressive/sexual
beha vior.” The caller was concerned M.D. may have viewed6

age

- inappropriate material at home. Again, the allegations were
“unfounded.” And, in June 2020, mother was reported as having tested positive for marijuana before S.B. ’s birth

. In June 2019

, mother had tested positive for amphetamine and cannabinoids.
Mother denied having taken amphe ta mines

. T he allegations
did not meet the criteria for abuse or neglect

— DCFS referred
the family for services.
DCFS also reported on parents’ crim inal history. James
h ad been convicted of felony possession /purchase for sale of
narcotics or a controlled substance and three other convictions

. He also had several arrests. DCFS described father as having “an extensive criminal history, including numerous arr ests as

a mino r.” As an adult, he had been convicted of a felony burglary
in June 2019 and a misdem eanor for “ [ o ] bstructi ng a [ p ] ublic [ o ] ffice r” in February 2016. H e had “multiple prior arrests ” fo r obstructi ng a public officer, “[d]isorderly [c]onduct: [i]ntoxicated [ d ] rugs/ [ a ] lcohol

, ” and in May 2022, carrying a concealed

weapon. 6 Mother had a few misdemeanor convictions from
2008 and 2009

. b. Investigation of allegations against mother
The DCFS dependency investigator (DI) interviewed parents, M.D., and other rela tives. Mother said she’d “ ‘ never done drugs. ’ ” She got her medical marijuana card as a teenager and began smoking regularly when she was about 22 years old. (Mother was 33 years old.) She also consumed edibles and used

6 DCFS did not report the date of father’s arrests for obstruction and disorderly conduct. As for the May 2022 firearm arrest, father explained the firearm belonged to his friend. The case had been dismissed.7

oils with “a combination of CBD and THC. ” Mother insisted
her marijuana use “has never affected her ability to parent her
children.” She said she used marijuana when her children were sleeping or at their grandparents, not during the day. At most, she used marijuana about three times a week. If she smoked marijuana, she did so outside or at a friend’s home . She stored her marijuana in a lock box that she kept in a cabinet. James confirmed mother used marijuana but no other drugs. He told the DI someone else always was present with the children if
mother decided to have an edible.
Mother denied ever having used methamphetamine ; she had “ ‘never taken any hard drug.’ ” Mother did not
know why she tested positive for amphetamine at O.S.’s birth.
Mother suffered from chronic back pai n for which she had been prescribed tramadol and Norco

. Mother also told the DI she
suffered from severe anxiety

, depression , and “ ‘ social phobia

. ’ ”
She had been prescribed several medication s for those conditions

, including lorazepam for anxiety and t razodone for insomnia,
both of which she took daily. She used to take Xanax and Prozac. She now claimed the positive test must have come from one
of her medications. Mother agreed to give the DI a list of her
medications but refused to drug test on dema nd until DCFS
had the complete list. As of the date of the report, mother
had not done so. 7

7 Mother ultimately gave DCFS documentati on concerning her medications shortly before the January 13, 2023 adjudication hearing. At that hearing, DCFS ’s counsel asserted nothing on the list would have screen ed positive for amphetamine.8 As for her relationship with father, mother said they had met in 2010 and were together for about five and a half years.
She had no concerns about father’s or Jam es’s ability to care
for their respective children.
The DI reviewed the substance abuse allegations against
mother with father . He responded, “ ‘That sounds like her .’ ”
Father said mother “has ‘always’ used drugs .” He knew about “mother’s ongoing drug use because he sees her ‘around the wrong people [,] ’ and he hears about her from other people.” Father was “ ‘quite sure’ . . . mother uses methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and ‘party drugs.’ ” Father described mother as a “ ‘party person’ ” and said mother would use “ ‘any type of pills’ and any drug she [could] access that would get her high.” According to father, mother had “ ‘ always been like that

. ’ ”
She was using drugs “years ago ” when they still were together.
He said he had “witnessed her us ing various drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine.” Father added, “ ‘That’s one
of the reasons the relationship fell apart.’ ”
Father believed “mother’s drug use in itself [did] not affect her parenting .” He said “ ‘it’s her environment that’s bad .’ ”
Father stated , “ ‘It’s not what you do, is [ sic ] how you’re doing
it.’ ” He thought mother did not maintain stability for her
childre n

— they had been “ ‘house to house

. ’ ” Father also reported mother was “ ‘quick to drop her kids off’ and ‘send them to somebody while she’s doing what she do.’ ” He complained
mother would never send M.D. to stay with him for “fear that it
would ‘make her look bad.’ ” Instead, she “frequently sent” M.D. to stay with paternal grandmother, whom father said “provide[d] the child with no discipline.” F ather was aware mother had anxiety and a history of depression but didn’t believe it affected9

her parenting

. Father believed mother never intentionally would place her children in harm’s way. He was concerned, however,
“t hat no one has been providing supervision to [M.D.] so, ‘she’s raising herself and probably taking care of her siblings too.’ ”
The DI met with M.D. M.D. said she went to stay with paternal grandmother when mother was pregnant with N.S. ( born June 2021). Because M.D. had started school there , mother thought it was best for M.D. to finish the school year living with paternal grandmother. M.D. told the D I she decided to stay with paternal grandmother the following (current) school year

. She
remained there until she was detained

. M.D. said she still saw her mother almost every day during the time she lived with paternal grandmother. M.D. enjoyed spending time with mother and said they had “ ‘a good bond.’ ”
M.D. told the DI mother did not use drugs , and s he never
had had a reason to suspect that mother (or James) did. M.D. said mother occasionally drank alcohol on special occasions
but was not an alcoholic

. M.D. never had seen mother drunk.
The DI asked M.D. about her knowledge of the allegations agains t mother. She replied, “ ‘I know my mom’s story’ and
‘I don’t know if she’s trying to protect me by not telling me the truth or if she is telling the truth.’ ” M.D. knew mother had tested positive for amphetamine and that amphetamine is

an ingredient in some prescriptions. She at first said she saw
mother smoke marijuana “ ‘like once

, ’ ” but then wasn’t sure if
it had been more than one time. M.D. also denied that mother appeared mentally or emotionally unstable. M.D. wanted to participate in counselin g

. The DI met with James’s sister (aunt)

, with whom N.S.
and newborn O.S. were placed . The children were d oin g well,10

but O.S. initially had experienc ed withdrawal symptoms.
In 2020

— before N.S. and O.S. were born and S.B. was a baby

— James

, mother , and mo ther’s children had lived with aunt

. According to aunt, mother seemed “ ‘detached’ ” from her children during that time

. She said M.D. cared “for the younger children,

more so than . . . mother.” Aunt thought M.D. had “been exposed

to things” inappropri ate for a child. She said mother did not properly supervise M.D. : when M.D. was about seven years old,

m other allowed M.D. to use the stove without supervision ; M.D.
wander ed into aunt’s room and found aunt’s “private belongings”;
and M.D. “rarely” went to school because mother “did not require her to do so.” M.D. spent most of her time in paternal grandmother’s care. When asked about substance abuse, au nt said she did

not suspect drug use by mother at first. After aunt moved
out, however, mother “star ted displaying bizarre behaviors.” Nevertheless, a unt never had seen mother us e drugs

. She
had seen mother and James drink “ ‘hard alcohol ’ every night

, ”
however. Aunt als o believed mother was “mentally unstable .”
M aternal cousin , who was caring for M. D. and S.B

., confirmed M.D. had been living with paternal grandmother
for the past two years “off and on.” She told the DI she had suspected mother used drugs but “never had any proof.” She knew mother used marijuana to relieve “severe back pain.”
She a lso was aware mother “ ‘battled depression

. ’ ”

c. Information about father Paternal grandmother raised fa ther

. Father said he spent a significant part of his childhood in juvenile hall. He wasn’t involved in a gang but lived “that lifestyle” and “ ‘was i nto guns and stuff like that.’ ” Father denied having a history of drug

-11

or alcohol

- related arrests. He said his most recent arrest was
the one for possession of a firearm.
Father (born 1993) met mother when he was 17, shortly
after he was released from a correctional camp in 2010. She quickly became pregnant with M.D. Father said they were together for about a year and a half. He said his relationship
with mother ended because she got romantically involved with some of his friends and was using drugs. 8 When M.D. was younger, she lived with father for five months

— mother

“ ‘disappeared’ during that time.” Father explained that a
“few years ago” he tried to seek full custody of M.D. , but he filled out the paperwork incorrectly, and his request was “ ‘ de nied. ’ ”
M.D. had been in his care for a few months

, but he had had to return her to mother upon mother’s repeated requests. M.D.
also lived with father about three years earlier when he moved

to Bakersfield. Father sent M.D. back to mother , however,
be cause he and his live

- in girlfriend C.H. had separated. Father and C.H. had since resumed their relationship. They met in 2015 and had been together for the past seven years.
Father said that, due to mother, he rarely had been able to see
M.D. since begi nning h is relationship with C.H. M other didn’t
let him see his daughter “ ‘at all.’ ” Rat h er, m other and paternal grandmother called him when M.D. needed something or “got
in trouble.” They expected him to reprimand M.D. about her
behavior but would not allow him to spend time with her.

8 Mother said the relationship ended because father

— who

was a few years younger than mother and 17 when M.D. was born

— wasn’t mature enough.12 Father denied any medical or mental health issues. In July 2022, however, he suffered two gunshot wounds but had
recovered. 9 (

A man who had broken into father’s house, and
with whom father later got into an a ltercation, had shot at father outside father’s friend’s house, striking him twice. ) Father said he “smokes marijuana daily, approximately three times a day, at ‘breakfast, lunch, and dinner.’ ” He had been smoking marijuana “off and on” since he was a teenager. F ather said he does not smoke marijuana in his children’s presence. 10 He smokes it in
his garage. Sometimes when the children are asleep, he and C.H.
will smoke in their bedroom. Father said he stores his marijuana
in a box in his closet where the childre n do not go. He denied having used any other drugs and said he drank alcoholic beverages “occasionally”

— a beer every other day and “ ‘hard liquor’ ” about twice a month. Father stated he loved his children and spending time
with them. He described himsel f as a “ ‘fun stepdad and dad.’ ” He said he attends sports practices for his stepchildren and provides his “children/stepchildren with structure and routine.” He told the DI he “needs to be involved in [M.D.’s] life, and

not just to provide financially and to discipline her .” Father explained he only had been able to take M.D. on outings the
last few times he had seen her. He wanted t o be able to have
extend ed weekend and summer visits with M.D. at his home.

9 According to paternal grandmother , father last was seen

a few weeks before this incident.

10 C.H. had children. Father referred to them as his stepchildren or children

.13

He did not want to take M.D. from mother b u t wanted to share physical custody

. He did not mind M.D. staying with paternal grandmother or maternal cousin but wanted to approve where
M.D. lived . He wanted what was “ ‘best for’ ” her. Mother was open to joint custody but only if M.D.’s primary resi dence was
with her. Father thought one reason M.D. did not want to live
with him was because there was “discipline and structure
in his home.” He said mother and paternal grandmother let
M.D. “do whatever she wants.” He thought M.D. had been

“ ‘brainwash ed’ to fee l a certain way about him and [C.H.]

. ”
M.D. also got overwhelmed around C.H.’s six children. Father was interested in full custody of M.D. but would “take ‘whatever [amount of custody/visitation that he] can get’ because he just
wants to have a relationship with the child.” (Alteration in original.) Although he did not want to take M.D. away from mother, he did not believe she should have custody of M .D. right now “if she is not ‘in the right space.’ ” Father thought
M.D. should stay with him for a while, as he was in a better place than mother.
M.D. told the DI , “ ‘I know [father] loves me’ and ‘we have

a go od bond. ’ ” But M.D. had concerns. She didn’t think father
communicated well and said he “ ‘doesn’t hear [her] voice.’ ” (Alteration i n original.) M.D. mentioned father having been
shot recently and said C.H.’s son , about M.D.’s age , also recently
was shot. M.D. thought “these incidents happened due to father trusting the wrong people.” She was afraid she could have been
shot had she been with father at that time. She also thought C.H. and her children treated her “badly .” M.D. loved father14

but did not want to live with him

. She was open to having visits
with him but not at his home in Bakersfield

. Maternal cousin knew father loved M.D. and believed
he would protect her and would not cause her any harm. She knew M.D. did not want to live with him, however, and hoped
he wouldn’t force her to do so.
DCFS concluded father “knew of the mother’s ongoing
substance abuse an d reported conce rn s regarding the mother’s instability; however, he failed to take actions to protect [M.D.]. Further, [father] is a frequent user of marijuana, he has

a substantial criminal history[,] and [M.D.] has express ed

an unwillingness to reside in the father’s h ome.” DCFS
recommended the court sustain the petition’s allegations
and declare the children dependents

. It recommended father participate in parent education

, individual counseling to address protective parenting, past trauma, and any other case

- related
issues , and conjoint counseling with M. D .; and comply with
random and on

- demand drug and alcohol testing. On December 20, 2022, DCFS filed its first amended petition adding allegations that father knew about mother’s
substan ce abuse and failed to protect M.D

. Father was appointed counsel on December 21, 202 2

. The juvenile court held an adjudication hearing on January 13, 2023. The children’s counsel asked the court to sustain the substance abuse allegations against mother and the failure to protect alleg ations against father and James. Mother’s counsel, joined by James’s counsel

, asked the court to dismiss
the petition in its entirety.
Father’s counsel asked the court to strike the failure to protect allegations against him

. Counsel argued father was op en15

and honest about mother’s drug use, ended his relationship with
her due to her drug use , and had attempted to gain custody of
M.D. Counsel argued father had tried to be protective: he made it clear he did not condone mother’s drug use , removed himself from the relationship, and had taken care of M.D. for “long periods of time when mother [was ] unable to.” Counsel also argued mother had “not exactly been letting [father] see . . . [M.D.] at all.” Counsel concluded, “So, if anything, we would ask
the c ourt to amend the petition to conform to proof to say that father was unable to protect as opposed to a failure to protect.”
Counsel for DCFS asked the court to sustain the petition

as pleaded. As to the allegations of father’s failure to protect,
counsel argued, “[T]his isn’t about blaming him. However, it’s clear that he was fully aware that mother was an active, ongoing abuser of drugs including methamphetamine.” Addressing
the idea father was “ ‘unable to protect’ ” M.D.

, DCFS argued

“ [it] would be o n e thing if he went to family court and followed through and attempted to convince the judge and was denied.” Instead, counsel argued, fathe r “put in paperwork one time, it got rejected for being improper, and that seems to be the totality of
his efforts over a number of years.” Counsel was hopeful fath er would be able to reunify with M.D. but believed he had failed

to protect her.
The court sustained the substance abu se count as a lleged, including father’s failure to protect M.D. The court dismissed
the second count as to mother’s mental health. The co urt immediately moved to the disposition.
Father’s counsel asked the court to grant DCFS discretion
to release M.D. to him and for a written visitation schedule. Counsel objected to the inclusion of drug testing in father’s case16

plan. Counsel asked that father be required to test “only upon reasonable suspicion ,” as marijuana use was legal in California
and father was noncustodial. Father submitted to the ordered parenting classes and family therapy but objected to individual therapy . Counsel argued it wasn’t “exactly warranted in this

case to father,” noting he denied mental health issues.
In response, DCFS ’s counsel asserted father “also has

a lengthy criminal history that includes multiple arrests for possession of narcotics ” and had been absent from M.D.’s life
“for quite a period of time.” 11 Counsel argued that, if father

was seeking to reunify with M.D., “his sobriety would need

to be established today.” As to individual counseling, counsel
noted f ather had not acted in a protective capacity as a parent
in a number of years. At the end of argument, the court declared M.D. and the other children dependents of the juvenile court under section 300, subdivision (b)

, removed them from parental custody, a nd
ordered DCFS to provide parents with reunification services.
The court granted DCFS authority to release the children to mother after she had completed four negative drug tests. The court also signed father’s case plan “as is.” Father appealed.
DISCU SSION “ ‘In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jurisdictional findings and disposition, we determine if substantial evidence, contradicted or uncontradicted, supports them.

. . . “[W]e draw all reasonable inferences fr om

11 Counsel appears to have confused James’s criminal record with father’s.17

the evidence to support the findings and orders of the dependency court; we review the record in the light most favorable to the

court ’ s determinations; and we note that issues of fact and credibility are the province of the trial court.” [Citation.] “We
do not reweigh the evidence or exercise independent judgment, but merely determine if there are sufficient facts to support the findings of the trial court. [Citations.] ‘ “[T]he [appellate] court must review the whole record in the light most favora ble to the judgment below to determine whether it discloses substantial
evidence .

. . such that a reasonable trier of fact could find [that the order is appropriate].” ’ ” ’ ” ( In re I.J. (2013) 56 Cal.4th 766,
773 ( I.J. ) .) “ ‘ The parent has the burden o n appeal of showing there is insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s
order .’ ” ( In re L.B. (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 402, 41 2 ( L.B .) .)

1. T he court’s jurisdictional findin g based on father ’s failure to protect M.D. from mother’s substance abuse
T he juvenile court sustained the following allegations against father as pleaded in the amended petition:

“The child [M.D. ’s] father . . . knew of the mother’s substance abuse and failed to protect
the child

. . . . The mother’s substance abuse and [M.D .’s ] . . . father’s failure to protect the child[ ] endangers the child[’s] physical health and safety, placing the child[ ] at substantial risk of serious physical harm, damage, danger[,] and failure to protect.” (Boldface omitted.) Father challenges th i s jurisdictional finding

— that he failed to protect M.D. from the risk of harm mother’s substance abuse18

posed to her

. 12 H e contends DCFS failed to satisfy its burden

to prove “a sufficient nexus between any inaction by [f]ather
and the substantial risk of s erious physical harm posed to [M.D.] by [ m ] other” due to her substance abuse.

a. Applicable law
DCFS ha d the burden of proving by a preponderance of
the evidence that M.D. is a dependent of the juvenile court under
section 300. (§ 355, subd. (a); I.J. , s upra , 56 Cal.4th at p. 773.)
S ection 300, subdivision (b)(1) authorize s the juvenile court to assume jur isdiction when “ [t]he child has suffered, or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer, serious physical harm or illness, as a result of”

— as relevant here

— “[t] he failure or inability of the child’s parent . . . t o adequately supervise or protect the child ” (§ 300, subd. (b) (1)(A) ) ; or “[ t ] he willf ul or negligent failure of the child’s parent

. . . to adequately supervise

12 Father does not challenge the court’s jurisdictional findings based on mother’s substance abuse

. (§ 300, subd. (b) (1)(D) [providing dependency jurisdiction for a child who has suf fered, or is at substantial risk of suffering, serious physical harm due to parent’s inability “to provide regular care for the child due to the parent’s . . . substance abuse”].) The outcome of father’s appeal thus will not change M.D.’s dependency statu s . ( In re D.P. (2023) 14 Cal.5th 266, 283 [“ ‘ “[a]s long as there is one unassailable jurisdictional finding, it is immaterial that another might be inappropriate” ’ ”].) Nevertheless, father’s appeal is not moot

— nor does DCFS contend that it is

— because the jurisdictional finding against him arguably formed the basis of the court’s dispositional orders that father also challenges. ( Id. at pp. 277

– 278 [“a case is not moot where a jurisdictional finding . . . ‘has resulted in [dispositional] orders which continue to adversely affect’ a parent”].)19

or protect the child from the conduct of the custodian with whom
the child has been left ” (§ 300, subd. (b) (1)( B ) )

. “A jurisdiction finding under section 300, subdivision (b)(1), requires [ DCFS ]

to prove three elements: (1) the parent ’ s

. . . neglectful conduct

or failure o r inability to protect the child; (2) causation; and (3) serious physical harm or illness or a substantial risk of serious physical harm or illness.” ( In re Cole L. (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 591, 601 .)
T he statute permits jurisdiction under this subdivision

“ only so long as is necessary to protect the child from risk of suffering serious physical harm or illness

. ” (§ 300, subd. (b)(3) .) Thus, “[t]he relevant inquiry

. . . is whether circumstances at
the time of the jurisdictional hearing ‘ “subject the minor to the
defined risk of harm.” ’ ” ( L.B. , supra , 88 Cal.App.5th at p. 411

. ) In enacting section 300, however, the Legislature intended to protect children who are currently being abused or neglected and

“ to ensure the safety, protection, and physical and emotional
well

- being of children who are at risk of that harm .” (§ 300.2.) Accordingly

, “the court need not wait until a child is seriously abused or injured to assume jurisdiction and take steps necessary to protect the child. [Citation.] The court m ay consider past events in deciding whether a child presently needs the court ’ s protection. [Citation

. ] A parent ’ s ‘ “[p]ast conduct may be probative of current conditions” if there is reason to believe
that the conduct will continue.’ ” ( In re Christop her R. (2014)
225 Cal.App.4th 1210, 1215

– 1216 , disapproved on another ground in In re N.R. ( 2023) 15 Cal.5th 520, 560 , fn. 18 ( N.R. ) ;

see also In re J.N. (2021) 62 Cal.App.5th 767, 775 [Department “must establish a nexus between the parent’s past conduct

a nd the current risk of harm”].)20 b. The failure to protect finding was not based on father’s failure to seek custody of M.D. alone
Father first contends DCFS impermissibly based its allegation that he failed to protect M.D. on his failure to seek

a court order for custody of M.D. We reject this contention. Section 300, subdivision (b)(2)(B) directs that “[a] child shall not be found to be a person described by this subdivision solely due to

. . . [t] he failure of the child’s parent or alleged
parent to seek court orders for custody of the child.” (Italics added.) Thus, the court did not err in considering the fact
father never tried to correct his rejected paperwork and re

- file
for custody of M.D. in determining father failed to protect her

,

as long as it was not the sole basis for the court’s jurisdictional finding. The legislative history, on which both father and DCFS rely , supports this construction. As discussed in L.B.

, the author
of the relevant assembly bill was quoted as follows:

“ ‘ “ A paren t is not unfit solely because they

are not litigious, lacking the money or sophistication or time to seek legal redress
of family issues in court actions. Likewise,

a parent is not unfit solely because they try to work out issues with another parent infor mally and collaboratively, without seeking formal
court orders. Even so, in rare but not uncommon cases, child welfare agencies will allege that a parent has failed to protect a child under WIC 300 solely on the single ground that the parent did not initi ate child

- protecting litigation against another parent. Such allegations penalize and seek to rupture21 families based on either their poverty, lack
of legal sophistication, or efforts informally to resolve family issues. Inspired by current law ’ s
treatmen t of lack [

of ] emergency shelter, which, too, cannot all by itself be the basis of a Section 300 allegation [citation], [this bill] narrowly addresses this problem simply by saying that an alleged failure to seek protection for a child by initiating litiga tion, while permitted as one of the factors in weighing whether a parent
has adequately protected a child, cannot all by itself serve as the basis of a WIC section 300 allegation. ” ’ ” (L.B., supra , 88 Cal.App.5th

at p. 414, quoting Assem. Com. on Human
S ervices, Analysis of Assem. Bill No. 841 (2021

– 2022 Reg. Sess.) as amended Mar. 23, 2021, p. 3 ; italics added by court .) 13 Based on our review of the record, we can infer the trial
court did not base its failure to protect finding on father’s failure

to s eek custody of M.D. alone

. As we discuss more fully below,

t he record demonstrates , as DCFS notes, father did not take

any measures to protect M.D. during the years before or after he
filed the rejected custody documents. Not only did father never
attemp t to re

- file the documents to establish custody of M.D.

, by all accounts he was not involved in M.D.’s life . When DCFS

13 Father omits the author’s statement that a court still is able to consider a parent’s failure to initiate custody proceedings in weighing whether the parent adequately protected a child.22

first investigated the matter, no one knew where father was

, and M.D. had n either seen nor talked to him “for a long time.”
2. Substanti al evidence supports the court’s jurisdictional finding as to father
Father alternatively contends DCFS failed to prove
his conduct was neglectful

. Father challenges the petition’s allegation that he “ ‘ knew of mother’s substance abuse, ’ ” arguing f

or the first time on appeal that his knowledge of mother’s current drug use was based only on “ hearsay accounts from other people

. ” He argues he had “no personal knowledge of
her drug use since they broke up 11 years prior.” The evidence
shows otherwise.
F at her concedes he knew mother abused drugs in the past

, and the evidence supports the court’s implicit finding that he

was aware of

— or should have been aware of

— mother’s current
substance abuse. As DCFS reported, father wasn’t surprised by the petition’s al legations that mother had a positive drug test for amphetamine and marijuana at M.D.’s half

- sibling’s birth. Father said mother had “ ‘always ’ used drugs,” including methamphetamine , cocaine

, and “ ‘any type of pills’ ” she
could access

. According to the jurisdiction/disposition report,
father told the DI “he is ‘quite sure’ that the mother uses methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and ‘party drugs.’ ” (Italics added.) Father revealed he knew about mother’s “ ongoing drug use because he sees her ‘around t he wrong people [ ,] ’ and he hears about her from other people because ‘Lancaster is small’ and many people know him.” (Italics added.) Accordingly, father’s knowledge about mother’s current drug use was not limited to “hearsay” as he contends. Moreover, the court could interpret father’s statements to the DI as his having inferred23

mother continued to use drugs based on his personal knowledge
about the people with whom he knew mother was associating. Father argues that, even if he knew about mother’s
subst ance abuse, that knowledge was insufficient to support

a finding th at h e was neglectful in failing to protect M.D. Father argues he knew mother left M.D. in paternal grandmother’s and
other s’ care and had no “ knowl edge of a single instance that [ M.D. ] was harmed or placed at a substantial risk of serious physical harm as a result of [ m ] other’s ‘substance abuse

. ’ ”
Father relies on N.R.

, where our high court recently held the meaning of “substance abuse

, ” as used in section 300, subdivision (b)(1) ( D )

, mean s “the excessive use of drugs or alcohol

. ” ( N.R.,

supra , 15 Cal.5th at p. 531 .) In so holding, the court cautioned

“ that for dependency jurisdiction to exist due to substance abuse pursuant to section 300(b)(1)(D), this abuse must render a parent

or guar dian unable to provide regular care for a child and either cause the child to suffer serious physical harm or illness or place the child at substantial risk of suffering such harm or illness. ” ( Ibid. ) 14

14 The N.R. court also rejected the “tender years presumption

. ” ( N.R., supra , 15 Cal.5 th at pp. 531

– 532 [ holding the age of the child “ may bear upon whether substance abuse renders a parent

. . . unable to provide that child with regular

care, and whether the child is thereby p laced at substantial risk of serious physical harm or illness

, ” but courts may not “treat a showing of substance abuse as always being sufficient

on its own to e stablish these other requirements for dependency jurisdiction ”] .) The N.R. opinion was filed o n December 14, 2023

, before DCFS filed its respondent’s brief.24 Father argues that, similarly, a finding that he fa iled to protect M.D. under section 300, subdivision(b)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(B) cannot be based solely on his knowledge that mother was abusing
substances. Father thus contends that, while he may have known mother was using drugs , he “did not know that she was unable to provide regular care to [M.D.] and that this inability had placed [M.D.] at a substantial risk of serious physical harm.” Father argues DCFS suggests father “had a duty to presume harm based on [m]other’s ‘substance abuse’ alone.” 15 We disagree. Father may not have had a sufficient basis, as father seems to argue, to challenge mother’s custodial rights

or to report mother to the police, as he had no information that mother actually had cared for M.D. while impaired from drug use. Nevertheless, f

ather could not simply put his head in the sand as to the risk mother’s substance abuse posed to his preteen daughter and then claim to have been unaware of any risk. (See Jonathan L. v. Superior Cour t (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 1074, 1104 [“ ‘The purpose of dependency proceedings is to prevent risk,

not ignore it.’ ”].) Rather, the court reasonably could infer from the evidence

— viewed in the light most favorable to its findings

— that father

15 As we said, father does not challenge the evidentiary bases for the jurisdictional finding s based on mother’s substance abuse

. And, as we dismissed mother’s appeal after her counsel found

n o appealable issues

— and mother filed nothing in writing containing any content ions she believed we should consider

—
we presume substantial evidence supports the court’s finding that mother’s inability to provide regular care for M.D. due to her substance ab use placed M.D. at risk of serious physical harm.25

not only knew mother abused substances but also had a reason
to belie ve mother was unable to provide regular supervision for M.D., placing her at substantial risk of harm. Father believed mother’s “ ‘environment [was] bad’ ”

— presumably as a result
of her substance abuse. He told the DI mother did not provide stability for the children, which included M.D. And f ather’s concerns were significant enough to prompt him to seek custody of M.D., but, as we discussed, he never tried to re

- file his paperwork after it was rejected. Father argues he did not believe mother’s drug use placed M.D. at risk of physical harm because he believed others

— primarily paternal grandmother

— cared for M.D

. when
mother was under the influence. In father’s words, mother

sent her children “ ‘to somebody while she’s doing what she do.’ ”
Even with pa ternal grandmother’s involvement in M.D.’s care, however, father was concerned that “no one” was supervising M.D., and she was “ ‘raising herself.’ ” The court reasonably
could find father at least should have known such lack
of supervision placed M.D.

— an impressionable preteen

— at substantial risk of harm. Moreover, mother’s substance abuse was severe enough to have contributed to the demise of father’s relationship with he r. Yet

, based on the record, father took no steps to ensure M.D. was protected fr om it. As DCFS notes, paternal grandmother

— with whom M.D. had been living “off and on” for the past two years

— was unaware of mother’s substance abuse issues. The court thus could infer father never told paternal grandmother that mother used drugs or that she should ensure mother was not under
the influence before releasing M.D. to her. Indeed, paternal grandmother hadn’t seen father since before he was shot in26

May 2022. Nor had M.D. seen or heard from father in a “long
time.” Father thus had not even c hecked on M.D.’s well

- being
for many months despite his knowledge of mother’s “ongoing” substance abuse and concerns his daughter lacked appropriate supervision. Accordingly, t he court reasonably could find father’s failure
to take any protective action pl aced M.D. at substantial risk of
harm

, as she continued to s pend time with mother almost daily

, even while living with paternal grandmother. (See § 300.2,
subd. (a) [ “The provision of a home environment free from the negative effects of substance abuse is a necessary condition for the safety, protection and physical and emotional well

- being
of the child.” ].) Finally, it would be reasonable for the juvenile court to
find father still unable to protect M.D. adequately by the time of the jurisdictional heari ng despite h is plans to play a greater role
in her life

. The court could find f ather still had not demonstrated
he could protect M.D.

, as t he evidence showed he minimized
the risk mother’s substance abuse posed to the child : he told
DCFS he didn’t believ e it affected her parenting, despite having acknowledg ed mother was in a bad environment and believing
he was “ in a better place than

. . . mother.” (See, e.g., In re
G abriel K. (2012) 203 Cal.App.4th 188, 1 9 7 [“One cannot correct

a problem one fails to a cknowledge .”].) Moreover, a s there

was no evidence M.D. would continue to liv e with paternal grandmother (or maternal cousin) after the school year ended given mother no longer was pregnant

— the impetus for M.D. ’s stay with paternal grandmothe r

— father also could not rely on her to monitor the situation for him. In any event, t he court
could infer from the record that father and paternal grandmother27

did not have much of a relationship and his past lack of
communication with her would continue. We recognize t his is a close case

. With the exception
of James’s sister

, the witnesses DCFS interviewed, including paternal grandmother and maternal cousin, had no concerns
about mother’s care of M.D. Nor did M.D. have any concerns about mother using drug s. Moreover

, M .D. was doing well in
school

, and paternal grandmother was providing for her medical, dental, and education needs. Yet, it is not our place to reweigh the evidence nor exercise our independent judgment

. V iewing
the record in the light most favorable t o the juvenile court’s
determinations

— and drawing all reasonable inferences from the evidence to support the court’s orders

— we conclude substantial evidence supports the court’s implied finding that father’s failure to protect M.D. from mother’s substance abuse placed M.D. at

a substantial risk o f physical harm.
3

. The court’s disposition orders Father argues the court abused its discretion by requiring him to participate in on

- demand, random drug testing and individual counseling as part of his case plan

. “We review the juvenile court’s disposition case plan for an abuse of discretion. ‘The juvenile court has broad discretion to determine what would best serve and protect the child’s interests and to fashion a dispositional order accordingly. On appeal,
this determination cannot be reversed absent a clear abuse of discretion.’ ” ( In re D.P. (2020) 44 Cal.App.5th 1058, 1071 ( D.P .).) “A court exceeds the limits of legal discretion if its determination is arbitrary, capricious or patently absurd. The app ropriate test
is whether the court exceeded the bounds of reason.” ( In re L.W

. (2019) 32 Cal.App.5th 840, 851.)28 “Section 362, subdivision (d) authorizes the juvenile court to ‘direct any reasonable orders to the parents’ of a dependent
child as the court deems necessary and proper to ensure appropriate care, supervision, custody, conduct, maintenance, and support of the child.” ( D.P., supra , 44 Cal.App.5th at p. 1071; see also § 362, subd. (a).) “The order may include ‘a direction

to participate in a cou nseling or education program,’ provided
that the ‘program in which a parent or guardian is required to participate shall be designed to eliminate those conditions that led to the court’s finding that the child is a person described by Section 300.’ ” ( D.P ., at p. 1071, quoting § 362, subd. (d).)

“ T he problem that the juvenile court seeks to address need not be described in the sustained section 300 petition. [Citation.] In fact, there need not be a jurisdictional finding as to the particular parent upon whom the court imposes a dispositional
order.” ( In re Briana V. (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 297, 311.) Thus, “the juvenile court is not limited to the content of the sustained petition when it considers what dispositional orders would be
in the best interests of the children. [Citations.] Instead,
the court may consider the evidence as a whole.” ( Ibid .) Nevertheless, “ the court cannot arbitrarily order services
that are ‘ not reasonably designed ’ to eliminate the behavior or
circumstances that led to the cou rt taking jurisdiction of the
child. ” ( In re M.R. (2020) 48 Cal.App.5th 412, 424 ( M.R. ) .)

a

. Drug testing Father objected to DCFS ’s recommend ation that his case plan include random and on

- demand drug and alcohol testing.
His counsel asked that father be required to drug test only upon a reasonable suspicion given marijuana is legal in California, and
father was the noncustodial parent

. In response, DCFS ’s counsel29

“note[d]”

— incorrectly

— “father also has a lengthy criminal history that includes multiple arr ests for possession of narcotics

, ” and argued father’s “sobriety would need to be established today” if he were seeking to reunify with M.D. The court signed father’s case plan “as is.” The final, court

- ordered case plan states that “[i]f any test is mis sed (unexcused) or positive, DCFS may walk
the matter on calendar for further orders.” We agree with father that , based on the evidence as

a whole, the random

, on

- demand drug testing component of
his case plan was not reasonably designed to eliminate the

c ircumstances that led to M.D.’s dependency. First, although
father admitted using marijuana daily

, DCFS presented

no evidence father ever used marijuana in M.D. ’ s or his

“ stepchildren’s” presence

, or was impaired by marijuana, 16 alcohol, or any other drug while caring for M.D. or the other
children. N or did DCFS present evidence father used or abused any other drugs or that drug use was a factor in his failure to protect M.D.
DCFS nevertheless argues father’s minimization of mother’s substance abuse, h is arrest for “ [ d ] isorderly [ c ] onduct : [ i ] ntoxicated [ d ] rugs/ [ a ] lcohol

, ” and his failure to protect M.D. from mother’s substance abuse “provided a reasonable basis for

16 As father notes, section 328.2, effective January 1, 2023

— before the jurisdiction/disposition hearing in this case

— provides for the update of all regulations and instructions relating to investigations u nder section 300 “to ensure that, when a social worker is investigating an alleged case of child abuse or neglect,

a parent’s or guardian’s use or possession of cannabis is treated in the same manner as a parent’s or guardian’s use or possession of alcohol and legally prescribed medication.” (§ 328.2.)30

the court to ensure there was not an underlying substance abuse problem with unknown subst ances that caused or contributed to father’s neglectful conduct.” In essence, DCFS argues random

,

on

- demand drug testing was reasonable in case father had an underlying substance abuse problem that it didn’t know about.
Nor can we ignore DCFS ’s counsel’ s mistaken representation to the court that father had “ multiple” arrests
for narcotics possession , which counsel argued supported the random, on

- demand drug testing requirement

. Had father had

a history of arrests or convictions for possession of narcoti cs, the court may have had a reasonable basis for ordering the random, on

- demand drug testing. But it was James, not father,
who had been convicted of narcotics possession. Father had a criminal history but no n arcotics

- based arrests or convictions

. N or does the evidence show father had been convicted of or arrested for driving under the influence. DCFS mentions father’s
arrest for disorderly conduc t, which was based on intoxication

, but there is no evidence as to how long ago that arrest occurr ed

, any associated conviction, or whether father was intoxicated
due to alcohol, marijuana, or some other d rug

. Although the court was not limited to its jurisdictional findings in determining what disposition orders would be
in M.D.’s best interests, the court’s discretion did not extend

to imposing a requirement designed to alleviate a problem
DCFS only could speculate about. (See, e.g., M.R. , supra , 48 Cal.App.5th at p. 427 , fn. 7 [“ a case plan cannot include a substance abuse component before there is evidence the parent has a substance abuse problem ”].) On remand, the court , in its discretion, may hold further proceedings to determine whether
the current circumstances necessitate the entry of a new order

,31

for example, requiring father to test on sus pi cion of drug use

. Moreover, if evidence has arisen during the pendency of this appeal

— or subsequently arises

— demonstrating father has a substance abuse problem , the juvenile court “ ‘ can modify the reunification plan accordingly and order additional services. ’ ” ( Ibid

. )
b

. Individual Counseling We agree with DCFS , however, that t he juvenile court ’s order requir ing father to participate in “[ i ] ndividual counseling

to address protective parenting, past trauma, [and] case related
issues” was a reasonable exercise of its discretion . As DCFS ’s
counsel noted at the hear ing, father hadn’t “acted in a protective capacity as a parent in a numbe r of years.” As we have concluded the record supports the court’s finding that father failed to protect M.D., requiring father to undergo counseling to address how he can protect M.D. is more than reasonable , especially given father minimized the risk mother’s substance abuse posed
to M. D

. Moreover, the evidence shows M.D. did not want to stay with father in part because of his poo r communication skills. She felt unheard by father and mistreated by his live

- in girlfriend
and her six children. If father wanted to reunify with M.D.

—

as he said he did

— learning effective communication skills would be imperative and something the court reasonably could find was in M.D.’s best interests and father should address in individual counseling before participating in conjoint therapy with M.D.

4

. Father’s other purported challenges We need not consider father’s other purported challenges

. The c onclusion to father’s opening brief includes a “prayer
for relief .” In it, father argues that

, should we reverse the jurisdictional finding against him, we also should instruct the32

trial court to reconsider whether removal of M.D. is warranted.
Father al so a rgues the trial court should be instructed “to ensure” he and M.D. “receive an adequate period of reunification even if this period extends beyond the 18

- month date. ” As we have found substantial evidence supports the juvenile court’s jurisdictional f

inding against father, father’s requests are moot. In any event, father has forfeited them.
As DCFS notes, father never asked the juvenile court

to release M.D. to his custody

— only that the court grant DCFS
discretion to do so. He thus has forfeit ed a ny challenge to the removal order on appeal. ( In re S.B. (2004) 32 Cal. 4th 1287,
1293 , superseded by statute on another ground as stated in
In re S. J. (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 953 , 964 [dependency matters are not exempt from rule that “a reviewing court ord inarily will not consider a challenge to a ruling if an objection could have
been but was not made in the trial court ” ] .)
F ather also has forfeited any contention that he be provide d with more than 18 months of reunification services.
Father cited no le gal authority to support his request

. ( In re A.C. (2017) 13 Cal.App.5th 661, 672 [ “ ‘ When an appellant fails to raise a point, or asserts it but fails to support it with reasoned argument and citations to authority, we treat the point as
waived. ’ ” ].) In any event, the issue of the adequacy of father’s
reunification services i s not before us on his appeal from the court’s jurisdictional and dispositional orders.33 DISPOSITION
We affirm the juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding as
to father. We reverse t he portion of the court’s disposition order requiring father to submit to random and on

- demand dr ug/ alcohol testing. We affirm the disposition order in all other respects. On remand, the court may hold further proceedings
in its discretion to determine if the current circumstances

warrant a different or new order with respect to drug/alcohol testing for father.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

EGERTON, J.

We concur:

EDMON

, P. J.

ADAMS , J

.