Opinion
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, No. J512536B Josephine Dedina, Juvenile Court Referee.
McDONALD, J.
Lisa M. appeals the judgment terminating her parental rights over her son, Angel P. She contends the evidence is insufficient to support the adoptability finding. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
In June 2005 the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (the Agency) filed a dependency petition for Angel P. because his mother Lisa tested positive for methamphetamine when Angel was born. Lisa admitted using methamphetamine during pregnancy, including the day before Angel was born, and admitted a history of drug use. She gave birth to a child in 1998 who tested positive for methamphetamine, and Angel's father, E.P., was unable to stop Lisa's drug use and had a history of drug use himself.
Angel was detained in a foster home, which later became a placement. In October 2005 he began a 60-day trial visit with Lisa, which also later became a placement. In August 2006 following a report of domestic violence between Lisa and E.P., Angel was placed in a foster home. The foster family decided not to adopt Angel and asked that he be removed on short notice, apparently for financial reasons. On May 25, 2007, Angel was moved to another foster home for five days before being placed in a prospective adoptive home. At the time of the August section 366.26 hearing, Angel remained with the prospective adoptive family. The family wished to adopt him, and had been approved to adopt.
ADOPTABILITY
"The issue of adoptability posed in a section 366.26 hearing focuses on the minor, e.g., whether the minor's age, physical condition, and emotional state make it difficult to find a person willing to adopt the minor." (In re Sarah M. (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1642, 1649, italics omitted.) "[A] prospective adoptive parent's willingness to adopt generally indicates the minor is likely to be adopted within a reasonable time either by the prospective adoptive parent or by some other family." (Id. at p. 1650, italics omitted.) The Agency must prove adoptability by clear and convincing evidence. (In re Gregory A. (2005) 126 Cal.App.4th 1554, 1557, 1559-1561; In re Zeth S. (2003) 31 Cal.4th 396, 406.)
Here, substantial evidence supports the adoptability finding. (In re Josue G. (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 725, 732.) At the time of the hearing Angel was two years old. He was happy, sweet, and in generally good health. He was bilingual, with borderline language skills, and average cognitive and motor skills. He did not have a parent-child relationship with Lisa or E.P. Angel's caregivers wished to adopt him, as did a relative, and there were at least 34 approved adoptive families available to adopt a child with his characteristics.
The juvenile court did not err by finding Angel adoptable within a reasonable period of time.
DISPOSITION
Judgment affirmed.
WE CONCUR: NARES, Acting P. J., HALLER, J.