In re Oscar A

In In re Oscar A. (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 750, the juvenile court placed out of state a juvenile who had been the subject of 10 petitions, had absconded from two placements, and had been terminated from two other placements. (Id. at p. 753.) Oscar A. summarized the efforts to find a California placement as follows: "The probation officer stated all four of Oscar's previous homes denied his readmission, and she had sent applications to all the other group homes utilized by her department. She recommended the out-of-state placement because it operated a higher level facility than California facilities, had more extensive services, and more supervision. When pressed by Oscar's counsel as to its differences from in-state facilities, the probation officer explained the out-of-state placement offers classes more frequently and provides onsite staff, such as psychiatrists. Additionally, it has an onsite school and is 'self-contained,' which would limit Oscar's access to the public and ability to run away. The probation officer further noted California had only two facilities with onsite schools, both of which had denied Oscar admission." (Id. at p. 755.) The probation officer further explained that, while other California facilities might have onsite schools, "some facilities only service specific counties, and as such, her department limits its efforts to those that will accept juveniles from Imperial County." (Ibid.) The court of appeal affirmed the out-of-state placement, because the probation department's investigation showed the California facilities were "either unavailable or inadequate." (Id. at p. 757.)