In re Evan N. CA5

INTRODUCTION

A.R. (mother) and E.N. (father) are the parents of son Evan N. (born May 2020). Mother and father appeal from the juvenile court’s order terminating their parental rights pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 They contend the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency (agency) 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 maternal and paternal extended family members were not asked about Evan’s possible Indian ancestry.2 The agency concedes it committed error in not conducting ICWA inquiry of the parents’ extended family members. The parties filed a joint stipulation seeking a limited remand to the court for the purposes of ICWA compliance. For the reasons discussed herein, we accept the agency’s concession of ICWA error. Consistent with our decisions in In re K.H. (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 566 (K.H.) and In re E.C. (2022) 85 Cal.App.5th 123 (E.C.), we conclude “the error is prejudicial because neither the agency nor the court gathered information sufficient to ensure a reliable finding that ICWA does not apply and remanding…