California § 16513.5 - Any party to a dependency proceeding may bring a motion before the juvenile court

§ 16513.5. Any party to a dependency proceeding may bring a motion before the juvenile court

Any party to a dependency proceeding may bring a motion before the juvenile court to have a social worker removed from the case. The juvenile court judge in the dependency proceeding shall grant the motion if a preponderance of evidence shows that a conflict of interest has occurred that would interfere with the social worker’s ability to objectively carry out his or her duties, which may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: (a) The social worker has had sexual contact, as defined in Section 43.93 of the Civil Code, with any party to the dependency proceedings. (b) The social worker has a relationship with an individual who is adopting or attempting to adopt a child who is the subject of the pending dependency proceeding, and the relationship is of such a nature that a conflict of interest or bias may exist on the part of the social worker which may compromise his or her objectivity. (c) The social worker has been convicted of perjury with regard to the dependency proceeding before the court.