CHILDREN AND THE LAW
...Dependency Petitions
......Jurisdictional Hearing
.........Admiss. of Social Study
5 Cards On This Topic:

Admissibility of social study reports.

Admissibility of social study report in dispositional hearings.

Trial court erred in dismissing W&IC 300 petition without considering Ws' statements as to mother's abuse where there was corroborating evidence in record; standard analogous to corroboration reqs of accomplice testimony.

Hearsay stmts in social studies admissible even if they don't meet reqs of child dependency exception and even if M incompetent to testify; they may not be sole basis for jurisdictional finding unless court finds special indicia of reliability.

Father did not have statutory or due process "right" at Welf. & Inst. Code §366.26 hearing to cross-examine authors of social worker reports.