In re Harmony B. CA2/3

California Court of Appeal Mar 14, 2014 No. B251467Unpublished

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Holding. The court held that the juvenile court's finding that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not apply was supported by substantial evidence because the mother retracted her initial claim of Indian ancestry and admitted she had no knowledge of any tribal affiliation or relatives with such information.

Issues

Whether the juvenile court erred in finding that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not apply to the dependency proceedings.
Whether the mother's initial claim of Indian ancestry, which she subsequently retracted, was sufficient to trigger the notice requirements under ICWA.

Disposition. Affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Mother’s repudiation of her initial claim is sufficient to sustain the court’s finding that ICWA did not apply.”

“The evidence was sufficient to sustain the juvenile court’s finding that ICWA did not apply.”

“However, both the federal regulations and the California Welfare and Institutions Code require more than a bare suggestion that a child might be an Indian child.”

Filed 3/14/14 In re Harmony B. CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

In re HARMONY B., a Person Coming B251467 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. CK89251) LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

ALIYAH B.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Akemi Arakaki, Judge. Affirmed.

Michelle L. Jarvis, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

John F. Krattli, County Counsel, James M. Owens, Assistant County Counsel, and Kim Nemoy, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. _____________________

INTRODUCTION Aliyah B. (mother) appeals from the order terminating parental rights to her two- year-old daughter Harmony. Mother contends the juvenile court erred by finding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) did not apply in this case and declining to order notice pursuant to ICWA. Though mother initially indicated Harmony may have Indian ancestry through the maternal grandmother, upon further inquiry by the juvenile court, mother conceded she knew of no one in her family with such ancestry. Mother’s repudiation of her initial claim is sufficient to sustain the court’s finding that ICWA did not apply. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1. Detention, Jurisdiction and Order Terminating Parental Rights In August 2011, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) filed a petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 300 alleging mother and then-infant Harmony’s father engaged in a violent altercation in which father struck mother, bruising her mouth, and mother brandished a box cutter at father. At the time, mother, also a dependent minor, resided with Harmony in a foster home.2 The juvenile court found the parents’ conduct endangered Harmony and ordered the baby removed from father’s custody and released to mother at her foster home. On September 2, 2011, the court declared Harmony a dependent and placed her in parental custody, provided the parents lived separately and with services in place.

In re Harmony B. CA2/3

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

ALIYAH B.,

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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

KITCHING, J.

KLEIN, P. J.

ALDRICH, J.

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