In re Juan A. CA2/1

BACKGROUND

On September 7, 2020, DCFS received a referral alleging 3 Father and Rosa L. (Mother), the parents of then four-year-old

1 Further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code. 2 We include here only the facts related to the issue on appeal: the juvenile court’s and DCFS’s compliance with California law implementing ICWA. 3 Mother is not a party to this appeal.

2 Juan A., engaged in a violent altercation at a gathering at the home of Juan’s maternal grandmother. During DCFS’s investigation of the referral, a social worker spoke with Juan’s maternal grandmother, maternal aunt, paternal grandmother, and Father’s cousin. During her interview, the maternal aunt provided the social worker with the name of another maternal aunt. There is no indication in the record that the social worker asked any of these relatives whether Juan may be an Indian child. The record shows that Juan’s maternal and paternal grandmothers communicated with one another regarding conflicts between Father and Mother. On September 9, 2020, the social worker interviewed Mother, who reported Juan has no known Indian ancestry. At this point, DCFS was not yet in contact with Father. On…