H.A.

DISCUSSION

I ICWA Error On June 14, 2022, the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency (Agency) filed a section 300 petition on behalf of the subject minors based on the parents’ substance abuse and domestic violence, and mother’s untreated mental health issues. The detention report indicated there was no reason to believe the minors were Indian children, based on the parents’ denial of Native American ancestry. Both parents had informed the social worker that they did not have any Native American ancestry and completed ICWA- 020 parental notification of Indian status forms (ICWA-020 forms) denying knowledge of any Native American ancestry. Petitioner contends that, although both parents completed ICWA-020 forms denying knowledge of any Native American ancestry, inquiry of relatives and family members about the minors’ potential Indian heritage is necessary to meet the requirements of the ICWA. We agree. As this court has explained: “ ‘The ICWA protects the interests of Indian children and promotes the stability and security of Indian tribes by establishing minimum standards for removal of Indian children from their families, and by permitting tribal participation in dependency…