Riverside Cnty. Dep't of Pub. Soc. Servs. v. S.A. (In re N.G.)

*477 I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant and appellant, S.A. (Mother), is the mother of N.G., a boy born in 2005. Mother appeals from the April 5, 2018, judgment terminating parental rights to N.G., then age 13. ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26.) 1 Mother claims only that the juvenile court erroneously failed to ensure that plaintiff and respondent, Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), fully investigated N.G.'s paternal lineal ancestry and gave adequate notices of the proceedings to all federally recognized Cherokee tribes and to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) ( 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq. ) and related California law ( Welf. & Inst. Code, § 224 et seq. ).

*478 We agree Mother's claim has merit and conditionally reverse the judgment. We also conclude that DPSS must be ordered to further investigate N.G.'s paternal lineal ancestry, and include any newly discovered information concerning N.G.'s paternal lineal ancestry in the ICWA notices to all federally recognized Cherokee tribes, the *306 BIA, and all previously noticed tribes. DPSS must also inquire whether N.G. may have maternal lineal ancestry and, if so, send…