In re A.P. CA3

Filed 7/23/25 In re A.P. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Sacramento) ----

In re A.P., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court C102967 Law.

SACRAMENTO COUNTY DEPARTMENT (Super. Ct. No. JD241612) OF CHILD, FAMILY AND ADULT SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

J.J.,

Defendant and Appellant.

J.J. (father) appeals from the juvenile court’s order terminating parental rights under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.261 Father contends this court should conditionally reverse the order for failure to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1902 et seq.). The Sacramento County Department of Child,

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

1

Family and Adult Services (the Department) agrees it is appropriate to remand to the juvenile court for ICWA compliance. We will conditionally reverse the juvenile court’s dispositional orders and finding that ICWA does not apply, and remand the matter to the juvenile court for the limited purpose of further compliance with the inquiry and notice requirements of ICWA and related law. BACKGROUND The minor was born in 2018. In October 2021, the Department filed a petition under section 300, alleging, among other things, that mother engaged in substance abuse and had tested positive for cocaine and alcohol at the hospital after she and the minor were involved in a car accident in which the driver, mother’s boyfriend, was under the influence of cocaine. According to the detention report, mother reported having Native American heritage with Cherokee and Lakota (“Siouna”) tribes through her maternal grandfather. The social worker was not able to communicate with father because his address was unknown. At the conclusion of the October 2021 detention hearing, the juvenile court found there was reason to believe the minor may be an Indian child and directed the Department to complete further inquiry as required by section 224.2, subdivision (e). On November 16, 2021, the Department filed an ICWA compliance report finding that ICWA may apply. The social worker preparing the report stated she interviewed the minor’s maternal great-grandfather, who reported his father was the chief of the Lakota Sioux tribe but refused to provide details. The maternal great-grandfather stated he would make his own inquiries and inform the social worker of who to contact regarding the minor’s ICWA eligibility. The social worker also spoke with the minor’s maternal grandmother. The maternal grandmother said that years ago, the maternal great-grandmother had reported that the minor’s Indian heritage is on the maternal great-grandfather’s side of the family,