In re A.H. CA3

I. BACKGROUND

Mother tested positive for alcohol and amphetamines at the premature birth of A.H. in August 2019 and admitted to drinking alcohol and using diet pills during her pregnancy, resulting in a referral to the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency (Agency). A.H. suffered from multiple birth defects and was suspected to have fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effect.2 He was placed in a neonatal intensive care unit, where mother visited him, but she was generally uncooperative with the Agency. Nonetheless, mother denied Native American ancestry and completed an ICWA-020 form to that effect. L.H., who was separated from mother, denied that he was A.H.’s father, told the Agency he had no Native American ancestry, and completed two ICWA- 020 forms to that effect.3 L.H. also signed a safety plan agreeing to seek a temporary emergency order for full custody of A.H.’s five-year-old sibling. The Agency obtained a protective custody order for A.H., and he stayed in the hospital for 42 days before going directly into foster care. On October 24, 2019, mother submitted on jurisdiction, and the juvenile court found there was a factual basis for the submission and that the…