2023 California Code › Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC › DIVISION 2 - CHILDREN › PART 1 - DELINQUENTS AND WARDS OF THE JUVENILE COURT › CHAPTER 2 - Juvenile Court Law › ARTICLE 10 - Dependent Children Judgments and Orders › Section 360.

360. After receiving and considering the evidence on the proper disposition of the case, the juvenile court may enter judgment as follows:
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, if the court finds that the child is a person described by Section 300 and the parent has advised the court that the parent is not interested in family maintenance or family reunification services and has executed a written waiver of any of those services, the court may, in addition to or in lieu of adjudicating the child a dependent child of the court, order a legal guardianship, appoint a legal guardian, and issue letters of guardianship, if the court determines that a guardianship is in the best interest of the child, provided the parent and the child agree to the guardianship, unless the child’s age or physical, emotional, or mental condition prevents the child’s meaningful response. The court shall advise the parent and the child that reunification services will not be provided as a result of the establishment of a guardianship. The proceeding for the appointment of a guardian shall be in the juvenile court.
(2) If the parent designates a specific person to be the child’s guardian, and the child, or the child’s legal counsel if the child is under 12 years of age, does not object to that person’s appointment, and if the court finds that the proposed guardian agrees to the appointment as the child’s guardian, as well as all the rights and responsibilities of being a legal guardian, the court shall appoint the proposed guardian, unless it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the person’s appointment would be contrary to the best interests of the child. The assessment under subdivision (g) of Section 361.5 shall be considered in determining the best interest of the child. If the child is an Indian child, as defined in Section 224.1, placement preferences shall be applied according to Section 361.31.
(3) Any application for termination of guardianship shall be filed in juvenile court in a form as may be developed by the Judicial Council pursuant to Section 68511 of the Government Code. Sections 366.4 and 388 shall apply to this order of guardianship.
(4) A person shall not be appointed a legal guardian under this section until an assessment as specified in subdivision (g) of Section 361.5 is read and considered by the court and reflected in the minutes of the court.
(5) On and after the date that the director executes a declaration pursuant to Section 11217, if the court appoints an approved relative caregiver as the child’s legal guardian, the child has been in the care of that approved relative for a period of six consecutive months under a voluntary placement agreement, and the child otherwise meets the conditions for federal financial participation, the child shall be eligible for aid under the Kin-GAP Program as provided in Article 4.7 (commencing with Section 11385) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9. The nonfederally eligible child placed with an approved relative caregiver who is appointed as the child’s legal guardian shall be eligible for aid under the state-funded Kin-GAP Program, as provided for in Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 11360) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 9.
(6) The person responsible for preparing the assessment may be called and examined by any party to the guardianship proceeding.
(b) If the court finds that the child is a person described by Section 300, it may, without adjudicating the child a dependent child of the court, order that services be provided to keep the family together and place the child and the child’s parent or guardian under the supervision of the social worker for a time period consistent with Section 301.
(c) If the family subsequently is unable or unwilling to cooperate with the services being provided, the social worker may file a petition with the juvenile court pursuant to Section 332 alleging that a previous petition has been sustained and that disposition pursuant to subdivision (b) has been ineffective in ameliorating the situation requiring the child welfare services. Upon hearing the petition, the court shall order either that the petition shall be dismissed or that a new disposition hearing shall be held pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) If the court finds that the child is a person described by Section 300, it may order and adjudge the child to be a dependent child of the court.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 780, Sec. 2. (AB 2309) Effective January 1, 2023.)