N.Y.
Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services v. N.Y.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Blease, J.
The mother (mother) appeals from the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26.) 1 Mother contends the order must be reversed because the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) did not make an adequate inquiry into the minor’s Indian ancestry as required by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 ( 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.; ICWA). We affirm.
*37 BACKGROUND
We do not recite the facts underlying dependency jurisdiction and reunification efforts, as they are immaterial to the issues before us.
In June 2009, DHHS filed a section 300 petition on behalf of the then four-year-old minor, alleging mother had a substance abuse problem for which she refused treatment and which placed the minor at risk. The minor’s father is deceased, having died in November 2008. At the initial hearing, mother informed the court that the minor may have Indian ancestry and provided the court with a Parental Notification of Indian Status (ICWA-020) form. The form indicated that mother may have Indian ancestry but the name of the possible tribe was “unknown.”