Del Norte County Department of Health & Human Services v. Patricia M.

This appeal challenges an order terminating the parental rights of mother Patricia M. and father Bryan K. to their daughter Autumn K. and placing the child for adoption. Because Autumn was of Chickasaw descent and thus an Indian child, the dependency proceeding fell within the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), 25 United States Code section 1901 et seq. As such, there were particular substantive requirements with which the juvenile court was obligated to comply when selecting a permanent plan for Autumn. Most significantly, absent good cause to deviate from this requirement, ICWA obligated the court to place Autumn with a member of her extended family, a member of her tribe, or another Indian family. ( 25 U.S.C. § 1915 .) Here, there were two potentially viable, ICWA-compliant placements: maternal grandmother Teresa, who had custody *680 of Autumn’s six siblings and had sought placement of Autumn from the outset of the dependency case, and maternal aunt Beatrice. Despite that, the court, relying on a conclusion by respondent Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services (Department) that Autumn could not be placed in her grandparents’…