Sacramento County Department of Health & Human Services v. Carmella M.

Appellant, the mother of the minor, appeals from the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights. (Welf. & Inst. Code, 1 §§ 366.26, 395.) Appellant claims there was insufficient evidence to support the court’s finding that the minor was adoptable. She also maintains the court made numerous errors in applying the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). ( 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) We shall affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In August 2005, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services (the department) filed a dependency petition concerning the newborn minor alleging that he and appellant both tested positive for methamphetamine at the time of the minor’s birth and that the minor suffered withdrawal symptoms. The petition further alleged appellant had previously given birth to two other children with positive toxicology screens for methamphetamine and that her reunification services and parental rights with these and two other children were terminated in 1998. According to the jurisdictional report, three of appellant’s other children had suffered injuries consistent with nonaccidental trauma, such as bums and bruises…