In re S.E.
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. S.S.
Opinion
Opinion
Suzukawa, J.
INTRODUCTION
A.A.-E. (Father) and S.S. (Mother) appeal from an order of the juvenile court establishing guardianship of their son, S.E. Both parents contend that the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) failed to comply with the inquiry and notice requirements of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) ( 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) and the analogous California statutes governing custody proceedings involving Indian children (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 224 et seq.). We conclude that the inquiry and notice conducted was not in full compliance with the requisites of the statute. We reverse for the limited purpose of full compliance with ICWA, as explained below.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
I. Dependency Proceedings Culminating in Legal Guardianship Order
On April 16, 2008, DCFS received a referral alleging neglect of S.E. (born Oct. 2005) by Mother. The list of medical concerns for the boy included failure to thrive/oral aversion, delayed speech, anemia, eczema, undescended testes, severe tooth decay, and asthma. Mother signed a voluntary family maintenance contract but, over the ensuing months, she repeatedly failed to…