In re Juliana P. CA4/3

INTRODUCTION

The sole issue in this appeal from a juvenile court order placing minor Juliana P. in legal guardianship is the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to the facts of this case. Specifically, Juliana’s mother, Monica P., asserts that the juvenile court and Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) did not fulfill their duty of inquiry under ICWA. The record in this case indicates that the court and SSA did not fulfill their duty of inquiry under ICWA. SSA simply dismissed Monica’s statements regarding possible Indian ancestry without, apparently, seeking to interview family members who would presumably have been able to confirm or negate Monica’s claims. The court likewise did not, at least as far as this record indicates, conduct any inquiry into Juliana’s possible Indian ancestry. Accordingly, we conditionally affirm the juvenile court’s order of legal guardianship for Juliana and remand the matter to the juvenile court for further proceedings with respect to compliance with ICWA.

FACTS

Juliana was 10 years old when she was detained in May 2019. Monica had left her with an elderly roommate, who called police, stating that she did not know where…