SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Benjamin Renteria and Luis Gutierrez have been told they have until January 7 to say their goodbyes to the little girl they raised from birth.
“For me on that day, I imagine I will give her a hug, kiss her on the cheek, tell her I love her. And that I will always love her. I want to tell her I’ll be there for her, but I can’t be. Because it’s not legal. We don’t have any legal standing. But how do you explain that to a three-year-old?” asked Renteria.
Court documents say the girl was removed from her birth parents after her birth mother tested positive for methamphetamine during pregnancy and a potentially unsafe living situation.
The girl was placed by Solano County in the home of Renteria and Gutierrez in February 2019, just six days after she was born. Renteria and Gutierrez say she was placed with the goal of adoption.
According to the April 2019 Caregiver Report Summary, the Solano County Department of Health and Social Services recommended the girl’s birth parents not receive family reunification services and that the next hearing be scheduled for termination of parental rights.
Renteria and Gutierrez also have a fully adopted daughter, Lila, who has grown up with the little girl.
“Five minutes before court, we were told that was not a viable option,” Gutierrez said.
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The Superior Court of Solano County Juvenile Division said there was an issue and pushed termination of parental rights back six months in order to provide reunification services. Then the court pushed it to 12 months, then 18, then beyond.
According to Renteria and Gutierrez, Solano County gave a variety of reasons for delaying, like the birth mom had been making progress, she needed interpreter services, and they needed more time finding Spanish-speaking resources.
Renteria and Gutierrez say they were treated differently by Solano County during the process because they are a same-sex couple.
“Well, I don’t think any of this would be happening if we were not a gay couple. I think the original plan for us to adopt her, the plan that was proposed to us in the beginning, I think that probably would have actually gone through,” Renteria said.
ABC10 reached out to Solano County Health and Social Services for comment about this case. They say, while California law prohibits them “from commenting on specifics of juvenile dependency cases. … Solano County does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or any other protected class. Foster parents are selected based on their ability to meet the need of the child being placed.”
They also say “For a child who is under the age of three when removed, a parent can receive up to six months of reunification services initially. However, depending on the parent’s progress and other factors, services can be extended for a period of up to 24 months. If a recommendation is contested, that time can be further delayed as the case awaits trial.”
As of January 2022, the little girl had been with Renteria and Gutierrez and their daughter Lila her entire life, 35 months, just shy of her third birthday.
However, in August 2021, it seemed to Renteria and Gutierrez all the stress, turmoil, time and financial hardship had finally paid off. Solano County Superior Court notified them a hearing had been set for November, at which time the court would terminate parental rights and a plan of adoption would begin.
But the girl’s birth mother appealed Solano County’s decision. The First Appellate District Court overturned Solano County saying, based on the evidence Solano County presented, the girl must go live with her birth mother. The appellate court cited evidence from Solano County saying the record shows that the birth mother “Complied with her case plan: she completed her parenting education program, maintained stable housing for over two years, and never tested positive for methamphetamine on her drug tests.”
ABC10 reached out to the birth mother’s attorney who said since the case was a child welfare case, neither she nor the birth mother were at liberty to make a statement.
Now, on January 7, the little girl will leave Renteria and Gutierrez’s home.
“The courts have devastated our family. By making this go out for three years, having us raise a child her entire life knowing it was our goal from the beginning to adopt a child and to be her forever family. To then ultimately rip her away from us after not even spending a day apart from us,” Renteria said.
Renteria admitted, he and Gutierrez did not know what they were getting into at the time.
“We never imagined that we would be in this position. We had no idea. We just wanted to adopt a child. And it feels like we’ve been punished every step of the way for that.”
