In re K.M. CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

Kimberly M. (Mother) appeals from the juvenile court’s jurisdictional findings and dispositional orders made on March 8, March 12, April 9, April 26, and April 27, 2021. Mother’s sole argument on appeal is that reversal is warranted because the juvenile court failed to satisfy the initial inquiry requirements under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) and related California law (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 224 et seq.)1 because it and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) never questioned minor K.M.’s maternal grandmother (Grandmother) as to her Indian ancestry. We find that the juvenile court erred in determining that ICWA did not apply without DCFS questioning Grandmother, but that the error was harmless because Grandmother denied Indian ancestry in a previous dependency proceeding involving K.M. Accordingly, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

Because the alleged failure to comply with the inquiry requirements of ICWA and related California law is the sole basis for Mother’s appeal, we recite only those facts pertinent to this claim. We first review DCFS’s unopposed request for judicial…