In re A.H. CA3

BACKGROUND

A.H. was born to mother and father in 2024. Shortly thereafter, the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) filed a petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 3001 seeking to assert dependency jurisdiction over A.H., alleging she was at risk of harm as a result of her parents’ substance abuse. Prior to the detention hearing, father told a social worker that his mother’s family had ancestry from an unspecified Cherokee tribe. At the outset of the detention hearing, the juvenile court informed the parties that ICWA required it to conduct an inquiry into A.H.’s heritage. A.H.’s maternal grandmother told the court that she was unaware of any Indian heritage in her family but reported that the maternal grandfather said he had some Indian heritage, although subsequent DNA testing did not show any. Father reported that he had “possible Cherokee ancestry through his grandmother’s side, but he d[id]n’t really have much more information other than that.” The court asked the parties to provide contact information for relatives who might know about any Indian heritage. Prior to the jurisdiction and disposition hearing, a social worker from the Agency…