In re N.E. CA3

BACKGROUND

In June 2023, the Department removed the minors (born in May 2019 and February 2018) from their mother’s custody. It was noted at the time that the minors may be members of, or eligible for membership in, the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. The minors were detained, and the juvenile court ordered father to have visitation with the minors three times a week, up to five hours total. Prior to the jurisdiction/disposition hearing, the Department reported that mother’s adult daughter had cared for the minors for most of their lives, until a few months prior to their removal. Father was present at the birth of the minors but did not have custody of them. At the time of the Department’s report, father was seeking custody of the minors, but he believed visitation center staff members were biased against him. Visitation center

2 The Department notes that father’s notice of appeal was broader than the issues asserted in his appellant’s opening brief. Father filed the notice of appeal without counsel on April 17, 2024. Although he checked various boxes and hand-wrote additional concerns on the form, he indicated the only order from which he was appealing was the…