In re R.W. CA2/8

INTRODUCTION

The juvenile court terminated Mother’s parental rights to her daughter, R.W. On appeal, Mother does not contest the merits of the court’s adjudication; instead, her sole contention is that reversal is warranted because substantial evidence does not support the juvenile court’s finding that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) and related California law (Welf. & Inst. Code,1 § 224 et seq.) do not apply to

R.W.

We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Because compliance with ICWA is the sole basis for Mother’s appeal, we recite only those facts pertinent to her claim. On June 30, 2017, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) received a referral alleging physical and emotional abuse and general neglect of Mother’s youngest child, R.W., then two years old. This was not Mother’s first experience with the dependency court system. Mother had three older children who were declared dependents of the juvenile court. After Mother failed to comply with her family reunification plan, the juvenile court terminated her parental rights as to those three children. On July 28, 2017, DCFS filed a section 300 petition…