In re I.G. CA4/2

FACTS

The child was detained on November 9, 2014. On that same date, father told

Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) that he may have

Cherokee and Blackfoot ancestry. In father’s ICWA-020 form, father again identified

possible Cherokee and Blackfoot ancestry. In November 2014, the juvenile court

directed DPSS to provide notice under ICWA. DPSS filed a Notice of the Child Custody

Proceeding for Indian Child on December 10, 2014. The notice did not include complete

information for father, his parents or his grandparents.

DPSS was in contact with paternal grandfather regarding assessment for

placement. Paternal grandfather appeared several times in juvenile court. Minor was

placed with paternal grandfather on July 2, 2015. Paternal grandfather reported he was in

contact with seven members of the paternal side of the family. Despite the contact with

paternal grandfather, DPSS did not inquire about the paternal family’s Native American

ancestry, and no new ICWA notice was sent to tribes.

2 On May 13, 2015, the court found that ICWA did not apply.

The court terminated mother and father’s parental rights at the Welfare and

Institutions Code…