C.A. 4th;
E066818

The Fourth Appellate District reversed a dependency court order and remanded. The court held that, in a dependency case focusing on neglect by a minor's legal guardians, the dependency court erred in also terminating the parental rights of the minor's father, without any finding of unfitness or detriment.

In 2010, the probate court placed two-year old D.H. in a legal guardianship with his paternal grandparents. In 2014, the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services received a referral alleging that the grandparents were neglecting D.H., and that there was drug activity in the home. The county learned that D.H.'s father, D.H., Sr., and his girlfriend were living in the parents' garage, and, as a result, the minor had been exposed to both drug use and domestic violence. The county took D.H. into protective custody and initiated dependency proceedings, alleging neglect by the grandparents. No allegations were made as to father. The grandparents failed to reunify with the minor, and their guardianship was terminated. At the permanency planning hearing, the court also terminated father's parental rights.