In re K.S. CA3

BACKGROUND

This background is limited given the sole issue on appeal. On March 16, 2023, the Department filed a dependency petition under section 300, subdivisions (b)(1) and (f) on behalf of then seven-year-old K.S. and six-year-old R.S. alleging that the minors were at substantial risk of serious harm or illness due to father’s negligent supervision and mother’s failure to protect by delegating supervision to father. Specifically, due to father’s negligent supervision, the minors’ 10-month-old sibling, J.S., Jr., drowned in the family dog’s water bowl on March 14, 2023, when father left J.S., Jr., with the minors unattended. K.S. also reported that father does not watch them, is always sleeping downstairs, and cannot be woken. Further, the petition also alleged the minors were at risk due to the family home’s unsanitary condition and mother’s history of substance abuse. Mother told the Department in an interview on March 15, 2023, that she had no Native American ancestry. On March 17, 2023, the juvenile court detained the minors.2 At that hearing, father’s counsel informed the court father did not believe there was Native American ancestry in either his or mother’s family. The…