In re A.E. CA2/1

BACKGROUND

We will limit the presentation of facts to those pertinent to the only disputed issue on appeal: Whether the failure of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to make inquiries under ICWA requires reversal. In a prior dependency case in 2014, mother and father both submitted a signed ICWA 020 form in which they indicated they had no American Indian ancestry. The juvenile court found there was no reason to suspect A.E. was an Indian child as defined by ICWA, and therefore found the child did not fall within the provisions of ICWA. The court ordered the parents to keep the department, their attorney and the court aware of any new information relating to possible ICWA status.

2 On September 4, 2019, a tow-truck driver called in a referral to DCFS alleging mother was intoxicated in a vehicle with A.E. seated inside. DCFS communicated with the maternal grandmother and the maternal grandfather, and was given the name of mother’s half brother, but made no inquiry about A.E.’s possible Indian ancestry. DCFS filed a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b), on behalf of then- five-year-old A.E. based on the parents’ history of…