In re S.S. CA2/3

BACKGROUND

1. Proceedings leading to termination of parental rights In November 2019, shortly after her birth, the Department detained S.S. due to immediate concerns about mother’s mental health stability, and her unresolved substance abuse issues. In an earlier dependency case in San Bernardino County, mother also had failed to reunify with S.S.’s older full- or half-sibling J.S., who had been removed from her care for similar reasons. Tina W., mother’s former foster mother and apparently mother’s aunt (maternal great aunt),2 was granted legal guardianship of J.S.

Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code. Because ICWA uses the term “Indian,” we do the same for consistency, although we recognize other terms are preferred. (In re Benjamin M. (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 735, 739, fn. 1 (Benjamin M.).) Mother referred to Tina W. as her children’s maternal grandmother. As we discuss, the Department and its

2 During its initial investigation, a Department social worker interviewed Tina W. and maternal aunt Tashae W., who lived in Texas. Both had concerns about mother’s mental health. Maternal grandmother, mother’s biological mother, was…