Yolo County Department of Social Services v. Tyrone J.

Tyrone J. and Corinna C., the parents of Marinna (the minor), appeal from orders of the juvenile court directing that the Yolo County Department of Social Services (DSS) make efforts to locate an appropriate adoptive family for the minor, denying a motion by Corinna for modification, and terminating their parental rights. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 366.26, 388, 395; further unspecified section references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.)

Tyrone and Corinna make a variety of claims, including the contention that the juvenile court committed reversible error by failing to apply various provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (the Act). ( 25 U.S.C. §1901 et seq.) In the published part of this opinion, we reject DSS’s assertion that its failure to comply with the Act’s notice requirements cannot be raised in this appeal because the parents did not raise the objection in the juvenile court. Because the notice requirement is intended, in part, to protect the interests of Indian tribes, it cannot be waived by the parents’ failure to raise it. In the unpublished portions of our opinion, we reject the parents’ other claims of error.

*734 Factual and Procedural…