Filed 9/21/16 In re Ca.R. CA2/6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

In re C a .R. et al., Person s Coming Under the Juvenile Co urt Law. 2d Juv. No. B268396 (Super. Ct. No s

. J069259, J069260) (Ventura County)

VENTURA COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY,
Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.
Y.V. et al.,
Defendants and Appellants.

Y.V. (mother) and C.R. (father) appeal the juven ile court’s order s denying
their modification petition and terminating parental rights to their minor children C a .R.
and Ci.R. with adoption as the permanent plan ( Welf. & Inst. Code, 1 § § 366.26, 388 ). Appellants contend the court e rred in denying their m odification petition and in finding
that the beneficial parental relationship and sibling relationship excepti ons to adoption (§ 366.26, subd . ( c )(1)(B)(i) & (v)) did not apply. Appellants further contend th e court erred in c oncluding that C a .R. and Ci.R. ’s trial counsel, who also represented appellants’

1 All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institut ions Code.2

minor child A.R. in a separate dependency proceeding, did not have a conflict of interest in representing all three children. We affirm. 2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Detention, Jurisdiction

/ Disposition
, and 6

- and 12

- Month Review
Ci.R. was born in March 2012, and Ca.R. was born in March 2013. Three days after Ca.R.’s birth, HSA filed dependency petition s as to both children alleging that mother and Ca.R. tested positive for methamphetam ine at the time of Ca.R.’s birth.
A ppellants also had histories of substance abuse and father had prior convictions for using drugs and engaging in acts of violence.

Ca.R. and Ci.R. were placed t o gether in a foster home and a ttorney Mandee
Sanderson was appointed to rep resent them. The court sustained the allegations in the petition s and granted appellants reunification services and visitation

. At the conclusion
of the six

- month review hearing, services were continued for six months. HSA was granted discretion to libe ralize visitation to overnight and weekends and extended periods not to exceed 60 days.

A.R. was born in February 2014 and was taken into custody pursuant to a section 300 petition. He was placed with his siblings in foster care and Sanderson was appoint ed to represent him. In M ay 2014, all three children were placed with the prospective adoptive parents.

At the contested 12

- month review hearing, HSA and Sanderson

r ecommended that services be terminate d as to Ca.R. and Ci.R

. and that the matter be set
f or a section 366.26 hearing with a permanent plan of adoption. HSA reported that the children’s 60

- day visit with appellants had been terminated 30 days early after it was
discovered th e y were living in unsanitary conditions and that appellants had

2 The Ventura County Human Services Agency (HSA) recommended a permanent plan of long

- term foster care for Ca.R. and Ci.R

. Because HSA disagreed with the court’s decision to terminate parental rights , it declined to file a respondent’s brief i n this appeal. Pursuant to the recommendation of Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s trial attorney, we appointed counsel to represent them on appeal. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.661(c) .)3

misre p re sented the extent of the ir par ticipation in their case plans. The court nevertheless granted an additional six months of services as to Ca.R. and Ci.R and granted s i x months
of services as to A.R.
18

- Month Review
, Termination of Services
, and Setting of Section 366.26 Hearing

In its 18

- month report, HSA again r ecommended that services be
terminated as to Ca.R. and Ci.R. and that the matter be set for a section 366.26 hearing with a permanent plan of adoption. HSA reported that father had been discharge d from therapeutic services due to several absences and his failure to benefit from the sessions he
attended. He had also missed half of his random drug tests and appellants had yet to obtain suitable housing.

At t he contested 18

- month review hearing, HS A reported that appellants
had recently obtained housing for the children . Although HSA still recommend ed that services be terminated as to Ca.R. and Ci.R., it also “ request [ed] the discretion to liberalize visitation to unsupervised, overnights, and week ends.” HSA referred to “ the importance of keeping siblings together ” and offered “[i]f the parents are given an opportunity have six more months of Family Reunification Ser vices with the youngest sibling, [A.R.], then it will allow them to complete the re st of their case plan services. It will also provide them an opportunity to have their visitation liberalized with [A.R.] The plan would be for [HSA] to be able to liberalize [Ci.R.] and [Ca.R.’s] vi sitation up to weekend visits. . . . If the parents co ntinue to make progress in the case plan services while meeting the needs of the children, then in approximately two months, a 388 can be filed to request to have the parents’ services reinstated and to potentially begin an
extended 60

- day visit . . . [to] coincide with [A.R.’s] extended visit. If the 60 days visit is deemed as successful then [HSA] will recommend the parents receive Family
Maintenance services for all three children. ”

At the conclusion of the hear ing, the court terminated services as to Ca.R.
and Ci.R. and set the matter for a section 366.26 hearing

. HSA’s request for liberalized
visitation was denied and s ingle weekly overnight visits as previously ordered were4

continued. Appellants did not seek writ relief from the court’s order. An additional six
months of services were offered as to A.R.
Dr. Kwan’s Bonding Study Pursuant to HSA’s request, the court appointed p sychologist Heidi Y.
Kwan to conduct a bonding study and continued the section 366.26 hearing for 90 days.
Dr. Kwan reviewe d the records, interview ed appellants and the prospective adoptive parents, a nd conducted a telephone interview with Ci.R.’s therapist

. She also observed Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s interactions with appellants and the prospective adoptive parents on two occasions each and conducted a “play session” with Ci.R. The doctor concluded that although Ca.R. and Ci.R. were attached to both appellants and the prospective adoptive parents, “the children, particularly [Ca.R.], appear to have a higher degree of attachment

to t heir [prospective adoptive] parents than to [appellants] at this time . . . .”

Dr. Kwan deemed it “difficult” to address whether Ca.R. and Ci.R. would be “greatly harmed if parental rights were terminated” and whether the benefits of maintaining the paren tal relationship outweighed the benefits of adoption. Although the

c hildren would “continue to form stronger attachments with the parental figures no matter whom they will be with permanently ” and “would experience a sense of loss” regardless of the perma nent plan, the doctor found it determinative that “[i]n addition to the
children’s emotional attachment to [appellants] , both [mother and father] have completed their mandated services, and reportedly attend NA meetings regularly to ma i n tain their sobriety . They have also maintained full

- time employment, and secured housing in the recent past. These factors suggest their motivation to regain custody of the ir children. Therefore, it is not recommended that their parental rights be terminated at this time. ”
The doctor also o pined that “both children, particularly [Ci.R.], seem to have formed a significant attachment t o their brother, [A.R.], who currently is residing with [appellants]

. Both [Ci.R.] and [Ca.R.] would experience additional loss if they sepa rate from their brother, in the event of their adoption by the ir [ prospective adoptive ] parents.” Dr. Kwan
recommend ed that any return to appellants happen “gradually
, ” that the children “receive5

therapy to address the issue of loss and separation from th eir [prospective adoptive] parents , ” and that both mother and f ather maintain their sobriety. Sanderson’s Alleged Conflict of Interest In May 2015, appellants’ attorneys alleg ed that Sanderson had a conflict of
interest due to her representation of all th ree children. At a June 2015 hearing on the

matter , Sanderson expressed her belie f that there was no such conflict. HSA’s c ounsel

a rgued that Sanderson merely had a potential conflict of interest rather than an actual
conflict. The court asked Sanderson if her recommendation that Ca.R. and Ci.R. be freed
for adopt ion created a conflict of interest in her representation of all three children.
Sanderson replied that she was recommending termination parental rights as to A.R. as well, not m erely Ca.R. and Ci.R. At a continued hearing, the court found that Sanderson
did not have a conflict of interest

.

The Section 366.26 Hearing and Appellants’ Section 388 Petition
In a May 2015 memorandum
, HSA recommended that “the permanent plan
for the children be chan ged to Long Term Foster Care, that [HSA] be granted discretion to continue liberalizing visits between [the] children and [appellants], and that a 90 day Interim hearing be set to determine the appropriateness of granting family maintenance orders to [appe llants].” The contested section 366.26 hearing began on June 24, 2015
, and was continued for further hearing

. The court also ordered a referral for an open adoption mediation.

On August 17, 2015, appellants f iled a section 388 petition requesting that
C a.R. and Ci.R. be returned to appellants with family maintenance services. Appellants alternatively asked the court to order a permanent plan of long

- term foster care and grant liberal visitation as advocated by HSA. Appellants offered that they had “par ticipated in, completed and benefitted from” their case plan as to A.R., who had been living with them
for almost five months. 3 Father also offered, “I am sober and continue to comply with

3 Although A.R. began what was supposed to be a 60

- day visit with appellants on Mar ch 20, 2015 , he ended up staying with them indefinitely.6

the testing component of my case plan.” As to A.R., a ppellants fi led a section 388 petition re questing a home

- of

- parent order with famil y maintenance services . The court found a prima facie showing had been made as to that petition, set the matter for hearing, and ordered that A.R. not be removed from appellant s absent a wa rrant or exigent
circumstances.

HSA contended that no prima facie showing had been made to support
return of Ca.R. and Ci.R. to appellant s as asserted in their section 388 petition. HSA
submitted on appellants’ alternative request for long

- term fost er care. Sanderson asserted that no prima facie showing had been made as to either request. The court ordered that a hearing on the petition be held in conjunction with the continued section 366.26 hearing.

Prior to the continued hearing, H SA reported t hat father had recently been arrested for being under the influence of drugs. 4 Although HSA found this “deeply concerning,” it was “reluctant to recommend something as permanent as terminating parental rights for the parents when there is still a chanc e t hat some mistake was made.” After the lab results came back positive, father continued to deny he had taken drugs and claimed the results were erroneous. HSA also discovered that father had four pending
criminal matters and had missed another drug test.

At the continued section 366.26 hearing, Dr. Kwan testified that father’s recent drug use and arrest “is a concern based on what I mentioned and based o n what I said in [my] report.” When asked if it a ffec ted her conclusions, she replied, “ I cannot
make any recommendations regarding the outcome of the children’s custody, because

. . . there’s [ sic ] so many factor s involved. ” When asked to identify the benefits of

4 During a court appearance on a prior arrest, the courtroom deputy observed father exhibiting symptoms of drug use. Father admitted to the deputy that he had eaten a marijuana cookie earlier that d ay and taken a four

- milligram dos e of the opiate drug Dilaudid. A dipstick test of father’s urine was positive for THC (the active ingredi ent in marijuana) and opiates. Father’s urine sample was sent to the lab for full testing. He denied to the social worker that he had used drugs or admitted doing so and claimed “the lab results will prove” the dipstick test was a “mistake.”7

reunifi cation versus adoption
, she said, “it is not really my role to make that
recommendati ons [ sic ]. It’s really the Court’s decision . . . .”

At the conclusion of the hearing, HSA reiterated its recommendation of long

- term foster care for Ca.R. and Ci.R. and asked the court to liberalize visitation so the children could begin an extended vis it with appellants . HSA also requested a 90

- day
review “ to come back . . . and see if the visit was successful and could go to family
maintenance. ” HSA recommended a home

- of

- parent order as to A.R. , who had been living with appellants for over six months

.

Sanderson recommended that a ppellants’ section 388 petition as to Ca.R.
and Ci.R. be denied and that p arental rights be terminated as to both children with a permanent plan of adoption. Sanderson also recommended that reunification services be
terminat ed as to A .R, whose dependency had reached the 18

- month review period , and that the matter be set for a section 366.26 hearing. S anderson acknowledged that the
latter recommendation was “not a very strong position, but I think a 60

- day visit should not go into . . . family maintenance and [A.R.] should be returned to the [p rospective adoptive parents].” Sanderson later stated that “because of [HSA’s] actions in moving

. . . [A.R.] too quickly [in to ] the parents’ home, ” it was apparent that “family
mainten ance exists at this point regarding [A.R.]” Although she would have “liked to argue them as a sibling group,” HSA’s actions precluded her from doing so. Sanderson also argued that the benefits Ca.R. and Ci.R. would obtain through adoption outweighed
the detriment they would suffer if their rela tionships with appellant s and A.R. were terminated. She offered
, “ they shouldn’t be bounced around anymore. And what the parents want to do and what [HSA] is proposing to the Court is going to be ju st that:
bounci ng them around.”

After taking the matter under submission, the court denied appellants’
section 388 motion , terminated parental rights as to Ca.R. and Ci.R., and selected adoption as the permanent plan. The court found by clear and convincing evidence th at the children were likely to be adopted and that none of the exceptions to adoption had8

been established. Appellants were granted a farewell visit. A.R. was placed in appellants’ custody under family maintenance services.
DISCUSSION Appellants’ Section 388 Petition Appellants 5 contend the court abused its discretion in denying their section
388 modification petition, which requested that Ca.R. and Ci.R. be returned to them with family maintenance services or placed in long

- term foster care

. We disagre e.

The grant or denial of a section 388 petition is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed unless abuse of discretion is clearly
established. ( In re Shirley K. (2006) 140 Cal.App.4th 65, 71.) “ After the terminatio n of reunification services, the parents ’ interest in the care, custody and companionship of the child are no longer paramount. Rather, at this point, ‘ the focus shifts to the needs of the child for permanency and stability ’ [c itation]

. . . . ” ( In re St ephanie M. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 295, 317.) To prevail on a section 388 petition, the parent bears the burden of proving by

a preponderance of the evidence (1) that new or changed circumstances exist ; and (2) that the proposed order would promote the best inte rests of the child. ( In re D.B. (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 1080, 1089; In re Marcelo B. (2012) 209 Cal.App.4th 635, 641

- 642.) “ The denial of a section 388 motion rarely merits reversal as an abuse of discretion. [Citation.] ” ( In re Amber M. (2002) 103 Cal. App.4th 681, 685

- 686.)

The court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellants’ section 388 petition. Although the court found circumst ances had changed to the extent appellants “appear to have made some changes that have stuck” and “have a stable h ome,” circumstances had not changed in one very significant respect. Appellants’ drug use was the primary reason for the children’s removal. Not long after appellants filed their
section 388 petition , father was arrested for being un der the influence of drugs. HSA chose to characterize father’s drug use as a mere one

- time “relapse
, ” but his c ontinued

5 Although appellants make the same claims, their arguments are not identical. For ease of reference, we treat each argument as if it were raised by both parties.9

refusal to acknowledge the incident raises serious concerns regarding his commitment to sobriety. The court re asoned that “although the parents . . . appea r to be doing better, we have what I find an unexplained and, frankly, not credible explanation for a positive drug test by the father. [¶] So I just don’t think returning now would be in the best interest of the children, and I don’t think long

- term fos ter care would be in the best interest o f these
children. Both of them

— well, at least the latter would certainly create instability. And the former, I don’t think . . . the parents are ready yet.”

Appellants downplay the significance of father’s recent drug use and his refusal to acknowledge it. They also fault the court for focusing on Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s need for permanence and stability to the detriment of their interest in family reunification. Appellants’ cited cases make c lear, however, that the ch ildren’s need for permanence and stability became the paramount consideration after reunification services were
terminated. (See, e.g., In re Marilyn H. (1993) 5 Cal.4th 295, 309 [“Once reunification services are ordered terminated, the focus shifts to th e needs of the child for permanency and stability”]; In re Michael D. (1996) 51 Cal.App.4th 1074, 1083 [same].) Contrary to appellants’ claim, the court did not “engage[] in an exercise of weighing which we re the preferable caretakers.” Instead, it reaso nably found that appellants had failed to meet their burden of demonstrating they are current ly capable of providing permanency and stability to these children.

We reject appellants’ assertion that the court’s finding regarding A.R. is
inco nsistent with i ts findings regarding Ca.R. and Ci.R. Reunification was still the goal
for A .R. , while the primary concern of Ca.R. and Ci.R. was the ir need for stability and

permanence . In light of father’s unacknowledged relapse, the court did not abuse its
discretion in finding that Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s best interests would not be served by returning them to appellants or placing them in long

- term foster care

. 6

6 Appellants assert that because “the juvenile court apparently relied upon a clear and convincing legal standard when reviewing the section 388 petition for [A.R.], it cannot be presumed” the court applied the correct bu rden of proof (i.e., preponderance of the evidence) in ruling on the section 388 petition as to Ca.R. and Ci.R. W e can infer,10 Mother also complains that “[t]he court failed to recognize the extent of Mother’s changes independently from Father, and the significance those changes had on the question of stability for the children if they were returned to her care.” It was made
clear to mother and her counsel , however, that mother and father were being treated as “ a package deal” for purpos e s of the section 388 petition. In arguing against the petition, Sanderson also asserted that appellants should be treated as a couple rather than individuals because they lived together as a couple. Mother did not object o r inform the
court that she was prepared to separate from father if necessary to preserve her parental rights to the children . Although two years earlier she told a social worker “I’ll do it on

my own , ” her subsequent actions indicated otherwise. Mother thus cannot be heard to

now com plain for the first time on appeal that the court treated her and father as a couple in adjudicating their section 388 petition. Beneficial Parental Relationship Exception ( § 366.26, subd. ( c )(1)(B)(i ) ) Appellants contend the court erred in finding that t he beneficial parental relationship exception to adoption did not apply. We conclude otherwise.

“At a section 366.26 permanency planning hearing, the juvenile court determines a permanent plan of care for a dependent child, which may include adoption. [ Citations.] ‘If the dependent child is adoptable, there is strong preference for adoption over the alternative permanency plans.’ [Citations.] In order to avoid termination of parental rights and adoption, a parent has the burden of proving, by a prepon derance of the evidence, that one or more of the statutory exceptions to termination of parental rights set forth in section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(A) or (B) apply. [Citations.] The court, ‘ in exceptional circumstances
, ’ may ‘ choose an option other t han the norm, which remains adoption. ’ [Citation.] The parental benefit exception applies when there is a compelling reason that the termination of parental rights would be detrimental to the child. This

however, that the court’s reference to “clear and convincing evidence” related to the assertion of HSA’s counsel that “HSA would need a warrant, exigency or consent to detain [A.R.] from his parents’ care, and they would need to show clear and convincing evidence to keep him removed from parental care.”11

exception can only be found when the parents have maintained regular visitation and
contact with the child and the child would benefit from continuing the relationship. (§ 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(B)(i).) ” ( In re Anthony B. (2015) 239 Cal.A pp.4th 389, 394

- 395.)

“ We apply the substantial evidence standard of review to the factual issue of the existence of a beneficial parental relationship, and the abuse of discretion standard to the determination of whether there is a compelling reason for finding that termination would
be detrimental to the child. [Citat ions.]” ( Id. at p. 395.)

It is undisputed that appellants maintained v isitation with Ca.R. and Ci.R.

an d that the children were a ttach ed to them. The court did not abuse its discretion
, however, i n finding that appellants had failed to meet their burden of proving the children would benefit from continuing th e relationship, i.e., that “the relationship promotes the
well

- being of the child[ren] to such a degree as to outweigh the well

- being the child[ren] would gain in a permanent home with new, adoptive parents.” ( In re Autumn H. (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 567, 575.) In making this determination, “ the court balances the strength and quality of the natural parent/child relationship in a tenuous placement against the security and the sense of belonging a new f amily would confer. If severing the natural parent/child relationship would deprive the child [ren] of a substantial, positive emotional
attachment such that the child [ren] would be greatly harmed, the preference for adoption is overcome and the natural pa rent's rights are not terminated. ” ( Ibid. )

F ather’s recent drug use supports the conclusion that the be neficial parental relationship exception to adoption did not appl y . (See In re Noah G. (2016) 247 Cal.App.4th 1292, 1304 [“drug abuse is evidence cont inuing the parent

- child relationship
would not be beneficial ”].) The court also properly considered the c hildren’s young ages and the fact they had spent the majority of their lives out of appellants’ custody in concluding the c hildren would not be greatl y harmed if parental rights were terminated. ( In re Angel B. (20 02) 97 Cal.App.4th 454, 468.)

Appellants point to Dr. Kwan’s bonding study report and HSA’s adoption
of the doctor’s conclusions as virtually irrefutable evidence that Ca.R. and Ci.R. would be greatly harmed if their relationships with appellants are terminated. Dr. Kwan ’s12

conclusions, however, were based on circumstances as they existed in May 2015. When she testified in October 2015, she effectiv ely withdrew her prior opinions and offered it was “not really [her] role” to recommend whether the benefits o f re unif ying outweighed the benefits of adoption. Moreover, the doctor’s initial recommendation erroneously deemed it determinative that appellants had demonstrated “their motivation to re gain custody of the children.” “By the time of the section 366.26 hearing, family preservation is not an object of the statutory scheme. Family preservation is of critical importance from the time the minor is removed from parental custody (§ 202, subd. (a)) through the reunification period. However, when reunification efforts cease, the scale tips away from the parent's interest in maintaining family ties and towards the child's interest in permanence and stability. [Citation.] At that point, adoption becomes the preferred permanent plan. [Citations.]” ( In re Lorenzo C. (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 1330, 1344.) 7

Other aspects of Dr. Kwan’s report support a finding that Ca.R. and Ci.R.
would not be greatly harmed if parental rights were terminated. She con cluded the children were more attached to the pr ospective adoptive parents and that “the issues of loss and abandonment,” which would arise if parental rights were terminated, could be addressed in therapy. She also recognized the children “have good capa city for attachment to parental figures ” and “will continue to form stronger attachments with the parental figures no matter whom they will be with permanently.”

Appellants cite several cases in support of their position that the beneficial parental relat ionship exception applied here. Suffice to say that the cases are inapposite.
A ppellants “ are essentially ask ing us to reweigh the evidence and to substitute [our] judgment for that of the trial court.” ( In re Casey D. (1999) 7 0 Cal.App.4th 38, 51

- 52.) The question is not whether the court could have found that the beneficial parental

7 Dr. Kwan’s report also gives short shrift to the substantial benefits Ca.R. an d Ci.R. will derive from adoption , most notably permanence and stability . Other than noting “ there are many” such benefits, the doctor merely offer ed that the prospective adoptive parents “are likely to provide the children more resources than the birth p arents can, based on their socio

- economic status” and concludes “one cannot decide on the children’s home placement based on financial resources only.”13

relationship exception to adoption applied, but rather whe ther i t abused its d iscretion in finding otherwise. This simply is not the kind of “extraordinary case” in wh ich “preservation of the parent’ s rights wi ll prevail over the Legislature’ s preference for adoptive placement.” ( In re Jasmine D. (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 1339, 1350.)

Sibling Relationship Exception ( § 366.26, subd. (c )(1)(B)(v)) Appellants c laim the court er red in failing to find that the termination of their parental rights as to Ca.R. and Ci.R. was precluded by the sibling relationship exception set forth in subdivision (c)(1)(B)(v) of section 366.26. We disagree.

Section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(B)(v) provides an exception to the preference for adoption when the juvenile court finds termination of parental rights would be detrimental to the child because “[t]here would be substantial interference with a child's sibling relationship, taking into consider ation the nature and extent of the relationship, including, but not limited to, whether the child was raised with a sibling in the same home, whether the child shared significant common experiences or has existing close and strong bonds with a sibling, and whether ongoing contact is in the child's best interest, including the child's long

- term emotional interest, as compared to the benefit of legal permanence through adoption.” ( In re Celine R. (2003) 31 Cal.4th 45, 54 ( Celine
R. ) .) “Reflecting the Legisl ature’s preference for adoption when possible, the ‘sibling relationship exception contains strong language creating a heavy burden for the party opposing adoption. It only applies when the juvenile court determines that there is a

“ compelling reason ” for concluding that the termination of parental rights would be

“ detrimental ” to the child due to “ substantial interference ” with a sibling relationship. ’ [Citations.] ” ( Id. at p. 61.)

Establishing the sibling relationship exception would have required

a pp ellants to show that Ca.R. and Ci.R. ha d a significant relationship with A.R. , that ongoing contact with A.R. was in their best interest s , that t ermination of that contact
would be detrimental
, and that such detriment would outweigh the benefits of adoptio n. ( In re L.Y.L. (2002) 101 Cal.App.4th 942, 951.) No such showing was made here. Although the court believed it had to assume there would be no further contact between14

the siblings if Ca.R. and Ci.R. were freed for adoption, it was appropriate to consi der the prospective adoptive parents' willingness to maintain the sibling relationship. Where evidence exists that sibling contact will continue after termination of parental rights, the court may consider th is in determining whether parental termination would substantially interfere with the sibling relationship and whether such interference would outweigh the benefits of adoption. (See, e.g., In re Valerie A. (2007) 152 Cal.App.4th 987, 1014; In re Megan S. (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 247, 254.) As of the s ection 366.26 hearing, appellants and the prospective adoptive parents were working with an open adoption medi ator. According to the mediator, both parties had expressed their willingness to develop a plan
that allows the children to mai ntain contact with each other.

In any event, the court did not abuse its discretion in finding that maintaining Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s relationship with A.R. outweigh ed the benefits of adoption. Although the children are bonded and shared some common experiences, t hey

are very young. At the time of the section 366.26 hearing, Ci.R. had yet to reach the age
of four and C a.R. was two

- and

- a

- half years old. A.R. was about twenty months old and
had been living with appellants for over seven months. During that period, Ca.R. and
C i.R. only spent one night a week with him. Although the children lived toge ther for the first year of A.R.s life, Ca.R. was less than a year old when A.R. was born and Ci.R. was

younger than two. Moreover , Dr. Kwan expressed no opinion whether the siblin g relationship was strong enough to outweigh the benefits of adoption. The doctor merely offered that Ca.R. and Ci.R. “would experience additional loss if they separate from their
brother . . . .” On this record, the court did not abuse its discretion in finding that appellants had failed to meet their “ heavy burden ” of proving that the sibling relationship exception to adoption applied. ( Celine R.
, supra , 31 Cal.4th at p. 61.) Alleged Conflict of Interest Appellants claim the court erred in failing to appoint separate counsel for Ca.R., Ci.R., and A.R. because Sanderson had a conflict of interest in representing a ll
three of them. We disagree.15 “At the outset of dependency proceedings, a court generally appoints a single attorney to represent all the s iblings. [Citation.] A court must later relieve counsel from multiple representation of siblings ‘if, but only if, there is an actual conflict among the siblings or if circumstances specific to the case .

. . present a reasonable likelih ood

an actual con flict will arise. ” [Citation.]” ( In re T.C. (2010) 191 Cal.App.4th 1387,
1390

- 1391 ( T.C. ) .) “ For an actual conflict to arise at the permanency planning stage, there must be a showing that the siblings have different interests that would require their

at torney to advocate a course of action for one child which has adverse consequences to
the other. Standing alone, the fact that siblings have different permanent plans does not necessarily d emonstrate an actual conflict of interest. [Citations.]” ( Id. at p. 1391.)

Assuming that the claim is cognizable in this appeal
, 8 a ppellants may raise
it a s to Ca.R. and Ci.R. only because the notices of appeal are limited to the court’s rulings as to them. (See, e.g., Dakota Payphone, LLC v. Alcaraz (2011) 192 Cal.A pp.4th 493, 504 [“[j]urisdiction of the Court of Appeal is limited in scope to the notice of appeal and the judgment appealed from”].) In other words, appellants cannot claim that A.R.’s interests were adversely affected by Sanderson’s r epresentation of h is siblings.

In any event, any interests of the children vis

- à

- vis each other did not create
a conflict for Sanderson. Sande rson reasonably determined it was in Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s bests interests to advocate for termination of parental rights and a perman ent plan of adoption. The possibility this would be detrimental to their sibling relationship with A.R.
did not create an actual conflict of interest requiring the appointment of separate counsel.
T he sibling relationship exception considers the effects on the children being freed for adoption, not the ir siblings

. ( Celine R.
, supra , 31 Cal.4th at p. 54
, T.C. , supra , 191 Cal.App.4th at p. 1392.) In other words, the court could only consider “whether [ Ca.R.

8 The issue whether Sanderson had a conflict was argued at a hearing held on June 4, 2015. The court is sued its ruling at a hearing held on June 22, 2015, and issued a minute order reflecting its ruling on that same date. The notices of appeal refer only to the October 28, 2015 order denying appellants’ section 388 petition as to Ca.R. and Ci.R., the Octob er 28, 2015 order terminating parental rights, and “all other orders made on said dates [ sic ].”16

and Ci.R.’s ] interest in maintaining the relatio nship with [A. R .] outweighed [ their ] interest in the stability and permanence [ t he y ] could receive in an adoptive home.” ( T.C. , supra , at p. 1392.) Advocating for Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s interest in adoption did not adversely affect A. R .'s interest in permanen ce and stability.

Moreover, “[t] o the extent there was a ‘ conflict ’ between the applicability of the sibling relationship exception to this case and [Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s ] interest in the permanence and stability of adoption, it was not a ‘ conflict of intere st ’ caused by dual representation. Rather, it was ‘ conflict ’ arising from the tension between [Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s] competing self

- interests. These are the kinds of competing interests that counsel and the courts appropriately deal with in virtually every permanency planning hearing involving siblings. They do not require appointment of separate counsel. ” ( T.C. , supra , 191 Cal.App.4th at p. 1392.)

Appellants assert that the sibling relationship issue is only “one narrow aspect of Sanderson’s conflicted r epresentation for the three children . . . .” Accordin g to appellants, “Sanderson already had made clear on June 4 that she had decided to sacrifice [A.R.’s] interests in his relationship with h is parents for purposes of furthering her goal of adoption fo r the two older children . . . .” Appellant s further assert that “Sanderson violated the rule of undivided loyalty with her apparent advocacy for the [prospective adoptive] parents. As a result, her representation evolved into the appearance of being a

m outhpiece for the [prospective adoptive parents], rather than an independent advocate
for each child. ” Th ese a ssertions and the remainder of appellants’ arguments on the issue merely reflect their disagreements with Sanderson’s positions. They do not est ablish that

a conflict of interest required the court to appoint new and separate counsel.

Even if separate counsel should have been appointed , appellants fail to show how it was prejudicial to Ca.R. and Ci.R.’s interests. “ A court should set aside a jud gment due to error in not appointing separate counsel for a child or relieving conflicted counsel only if it finds a reasonable probability the outcome would have been different but for the error.” ( Ce line R.
, supra , 31 Cal.4th at p. 60.) Contrary to17

app ellants’ claim, the fact Sanderson took a position adverse to HSA’s does not render it reasonably probable that different representation would have led to a different result.
DISPOSITION The judgment (order terminating parental rights) is affirmed.
NOT T O BE PUBLISHED.

PERREN, J.

We concur:

YEGAN, Acting P . J.

TANGEMAN, J.Tari L. Cody, Judge Superior Court County of Ventura

______________________________

Lori A. Fields, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appe llant Y.V

.

Megan Turkat Schirn, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant C.R.

Michelle L. Jarvis, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minors
Ca.R. and Ci.R.