In re M.C. CA5

INTRODUCTION

M.D. (mother) and Mark D. (father) are the parents of M.C. (born April 2021). Mother appeals the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 Mother’s sole contention on appeal is that the Kern County Department of Human Services (department) and the juvenile court failed to comply with the inquiry requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) (ICWA) and related California law because extended family members were not asked about M.C.’s possible Indian ancestry.2 The department concedes the error resulted in an inadequate inquiry, but maintains the error was harmless. For the reasons discussed herein, we accept the department’s concession of error. However, consistent with our recent decisions in In re K.H. (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 566 (K.H.) and In re E.C. (2022) __ Cal.App.5th __ [2022 Cal.App. Lexis 923] (E.C.), we conclude “the error is prejudicial because neither the [department] nor the court gathered information sufficient to ensure a reliable finding that ICWA does not apply and remanding for an adequate inquiry in the first instance is the only meaningful way to…