In re Ivory H. CA

INTRODUCTION

D.H. appeals from an order terminating her parental rights to her daughter, Ivory H. D.H. argues that the juvenile court erred in failing to apply the parent-child beneficial relationship exception to termination of parental rights in Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(B)(i).1 She also contends that the juvenile court erred in concluding that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not apply based on an erroneous finding that the Department of Children and Family Services had provided adequate notice to the Native American tribes D.H. had identified to the Department. Although we conclude that D.H. has failed to demonstrate she had a sufficient parental relationship with Ivory to overcome the preference for adoption, the court erred in finding that the Department provided adequate notice under ICWA. Therefore, we conditionally affirm the termination order and remand the matter to the juvenile court for compliance with ICWA notice requirements.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. D.H.’s Children and Their Prior Involvement with the Dependency System D.H. is intellectually disabled and developmentally delayed. In 1996, when she was a…