Breaking Down Welfare & Institutions Code 300 in Juvenile Dependency Cases

If you are dealing with a juvenile dependency case, you’ll encounter Welfare & Institutions Code (WIC) 300. These laws specify the circumstances when a WIC 300 petition can be filed in juvenile dependency court. Child Protective Services (CPS) must have enough evidence under WIC 300 to file a petition. If they don’t, your child dependency lawyer may be able to help you get the case dismissed.

Any child who matches the descriptions in Welfare and Institution Code 300 falls under the jurisdiction of the juvenile dependency court.

Children who are harmed physically by their parents are subject to a WIC 300 petition.

Under this part of the WIC code, a child is under the court’s jurisdiction if their physical harm or illness came about because of one of the following causes.

• WIC 300(b)(1)(A): The parent or guardian didn’t supervise their child properly.
• WIC 300(b)(1)(B): The parent willfully or negligently failed to protect the child from the babysitter, guardian, family member, or other person they were left with.
• WIC 300(b)(1)(C): The parent did not give the child the right medical treatment, food, housing, or clothes.
• WIC 300(b)(1)(D): Because of a developmental disability, substance abuse, or mental disorder, the parent didn’t provide their child with adequate care.

However, even if WIC 300(b)(1) circumstances are present, the court will exclude them if the following situations are the only reason the WIC would apply.

• WIC 300(b)(2)(A): The family is homeless.
• WIC 300(b)(2)(B): The parent failed to get court-ordered custody.
• WIC 300(b)(2)(C): Because of indigence or poverty, the parents couldn’t provide clothes, food, childcare, or adequate housing.

When it considers the medical treatment or non-treatment that the parent provided, the court will defer to the parent if the decision was made because of the beliefs of a recognized church or religion. However, the court must also consider four factors: the parent’s treatment, the risk to the child, the risk of the agency’s proposed treatment, and the likelihood that the parent’s option will be successful.

Children fall under the jurisdiction of the court if they are sexually trafficked or paid in any manner for sexual acts, and the parent wasn’t able or willing to stop it.

The child falls under the jurisdiction of the court if they suffered or could suffer severe emotional harm because of the parent’s actions.

Additionally, children are protected by WIC 300 if they are sexually abused by the parent or a member of the household.

Children are protected by juvenile dependency courts if they were physically abused by the parent or by anyone the parent reasonably could have known was causing the abuse.

The child will also fall under the court’s jurisdiction if the parent caused another child to die through neglect.

If the child has been voluntarily surrendered, CPS can submit a WIC 300 petition.

CPS can also file a petition if one or both parents have allowed the child to be adopted for six months.

If the child has been subjected to or wasn’t protected from acts of cruelty by parents and household members, WIC 300 petitions can be filed.

If a sibling has already been abused or neglected, the child will fall under the jurisdiction of the court.

A 300 petition is a legal document filed in juvenile dependency court that asks for the child to be made a dependent of the court. However, parents still have rights throughout the juvenile dependency process. By consulting with a child welfare court lawyer in California, you can discover the best methods for gathering evidence and fighting CPS in court.

What happens after a WIC 300 petition is filed? More importantly, what steps should you take to regain custody in California? Through the best CPS legal firm, you can learn what to expect from a child dependency case and how to get your child back. To find out more, give us a call today.