CRYSTAL R. v. Superior Court of Santa Cruz County

Crystal R., the child who is the subject of these dependency proceedings, is seven years old. Her father, who is of Indian heritage, has been incarcerated almost all of her life and barely knows her. Her mother, a non-Indian, tried to raise Crystal by herself but, because of her problems with drug addiction, was unable to provide adequate parenting. Crystal has been cared for throughout these past seven years by her mother’s aunt and uncle, who, like the mother, are non-Indian. They have provided the only constant and continuing source of stability in Crystal’s life and she has become part of their family in recent years. In this writ petition, Crystal and her de facto parents now ask this court to allow their family ties to become permanent and legal.

In opposition to the petition, Crystal’s biological parents contend that the juvenile court must apply the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (the ICWA or the Act) before terminating parental rights and freeing Crystal for adoption by the aunt and uncle. The ICWA, enacted in 1978, was Congress’s response to statistics showing a widespread practice of unwarranted removal of Indian children from their families by…