In re A.M. CA3

Filed 6/23/25 In re A.M. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Placer) ----

In re A.M., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile C102331 Court Law.

PLACER COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (Super. Ct. No. 53005636) AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

M.M.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant, father of minor A.M., appeals from the jurisdiction and disposition order of the juvenile court. His sole contention on appeal is that the order must be reversed for failure to adequately comply with the inquiry requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) (ICWA). Because the juvenile court had not made a final ICWA finding at the time of this appeal, and because the ICWA inquiry

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is still ongoing in that court, we conclude the sole claim on appeal is premature and dismiss the appeal. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND We dispense with a detailed recitation of the underlying facts and procedure as they are unnecessary to our resolution of the limited issue on appeal. It is sufficient to say that in July 2024, the Placer County Department of Health and Human Services (Department) filed a Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 300 dependency petition on behalf of the minor. The juvenile court ordered the minor removed from parental custody, adjudged him a dependent of the court, and provided reunification services for mother. The court denied reunification services for father. At the outset of the proceedings, the Department inquired of mother, maternal grandmother, and father as to Indian ancestry. Mother and maternal grandmother denied any known ancestry. Father reported that he believed he may be Native American but was unsure as to which tribe. At the detention hearing, the juvenile court asked mother, father, maternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, and two family friends whether they had any information that the child was a member of or was eligible for membership in an Indian tribe. Each responded in the negative. Based on those responses, the court stated it found at that “time [the] ICWA does not apply.” The court explained, “So it’s an ongoing obligation. We’re going to ask a few hundred times.” Mother and father filed parental notification of Indian status (ICWA-020) forms indicating that they did not know of any Indian ancestry. On August 8, 2024, father informed the Department that his mother’s great- grandfather was Comanche Indian. The Department attempted contact with paternal grandfather and paternal uncle to gather more information but was unable to reach them.