In re D.H. CA2/5

Filed 8/24/20 In re D.H. CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIVE

In re D.H., et al., Persons Coming B302142 Under Juvenile Court Law. _______________________________ (Los Angeles County Super. LOS ANGELES COUNTY Ct. No. 17CCJP02148) DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

L.N.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Kim L. Nguyen, judge pro tempore. Dismissed. Jacques Alexander Love, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Mary C. Wickham, County Counsel, and Kim Nemoy, Principal Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

________________________

INTRODUCTION Mother appeals from the termination of her parental rights, raising a single argument — the juvenile court and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) failed to comply with the Indian and Child Welfare Act (ICWA). (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) Specifically, mother argues that neither the court nor DCFS inquired of paternal relatives whether father, who was deceased, had Indian ancestry. We dismiss the appeal as moot because while the appeal was pending, DCFS presented evidence from the paternal relatives that father had no Indian ancestry and the trial court found for a second time that ICWA did not apply. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Mother has three children (ages nine, seven, and five when DCFS initiated proceedings in 2017). Father died in 2013. On November 30, 2017, DCFS filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petition alleging that mother had a history of engaging in altercations with relatives in the presence of her children and used inappropriate physical discipline on her oldest child.1 On December 1, 2017, the court detained all three children from mother. Mother filed paternity questionnaire forms for each child, showing father was deceased. The court acknowledged the paternity forms and found father to be an alleged father. At this hearing, mother claimed to have Indian ancestry through the Tarasco tribe, which the juvenile court later confirmed was not a federally recognized tribe. The court