In re B.H.

Mother appealed orders finding all of her children to be dependents of the juvenile court under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300. The juvenile court assumed dependency jurisdiction over some of the minor children based on Father M. engaging in acts of domestic violence in the past. Noting that past incidents of domestic violence cannot support a jurisdiction finding of abuse unless “there is evidence that the abuse is ongoing likely to continue,” the Court of Appeal held that there was not substantial evidence to support the trial court finding the children to be dependent based on Father M. engaging in domestic violence. Additionally, the fact that Mother had a restraining order against Father H. was not evidence that there was an on-going domestic abuse to support a dependency petition. The Court of Appeal also noted that opinions about Mother’s mental health that were not supported by evidence and were made by an abusive parent were not sufficient to support a finding of jurisdiction based on mental health.