In re K.S. CA3

Filed 12/2/24 In re K.S. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Tehama) ----

In re K.S. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile C100509 Court Law.

TEHAMA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL (Super. Ct. Nos. 23JU000026, SERVICES, 23JU000027, 23JU000082)

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

B.S. et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

Appellants B.S. (mother) and J.S. (father), parents of the minors, appeal from the juvenile court’s orders terminating their parental rights as to K.S., R.S., and H.S., and freeing the children for adoption. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 366.26, 395.)1 Parents contend the initial inquiry under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) by the Tehama County Department of Social Services (Department) was insufficient because the Department

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

1

failed to identify or speak to any paternal extended family relatives and failed to ask available maternal relatives about possible Native American ancestry. (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.; § 224.2.) The Department does not dispute that the inquiry in this case was inadequate in light of the guidance recently provided by In re Dezi C. (2024) 16 Cal.5th 1112 (Dezi C.). We agree with the parties and will conditionally reverse subject to full compliance with the ICWA and related California law. BACKGROUND This background is limited given the sole issue on appeal. On March 16, 2023, the Department filed a dependency petition under section 300, subdivisions (b)(1) and (f) on behalf of then seven-year-old K.S. and six-year-old R.S. alleging that the minors were at substantial risk of serious harm or illness due to father’s negligent supervision and mother’s failure to protect by delegating supervision to father. Specifically, due to father’s negligent supervision, the minors’ 10-month-old sibling, J.S., Jr., drowned in the family dog’s water bowl on March 14, 2023, when father left J.S., Jr., with the minors unattended. K.S. also reported that father does not watch them, is always sleeping downstairs, and cannot be woken. Further, the petition also alleged the minors were at risk due to the family home’s unsanitary condition and mother’s history of substance abuse. Mother told the Department in an interview on March 15, 2023, that she had no Native American ancestry. On March 17, 2023, the juvenile court detained the minors.2 At that hearing, father’s counsel informed the court father did not believe there was Native American ancestry in either his or mother’s family. The court’s written orders following this hearing included a finding that the ICWA did not apply.