In re Juliana P. CA4/3

Filed 12/10/21 In re Juliana P. CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

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

ORANGE COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY, G060338 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 19DP0625) v. OPINION MONICA P.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Isabel Apkarian, Judge. Conditionally affirmed and remanded. Richard L. Knight, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Leon J. Page, County Counsel, Karen L. Christensen and Aurelio Torre, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. No appearance for the Minor.

INTRODUCTION The sole issue in this appeal from a juvenile court order placing minor Juliana P. in legal guardianship is the application of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to the facts of this case. Specifically, Juliana’s mother, Monica P., asserts that the juvenile court and Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) did not fulfill their duty of inquiry under ICWA. The record in this case indicates that the court and SSA did not fulfill their duty of inquiry under ICWA. SSA simply dismissed Monica’s statements regarding possible Indian ancestry without, apparently, seeking to interview family members who would presumably have been able to confirm or negate Monica’s claims. The court likewise did not, at least as far as this record indicates, conduct any inquiry into Juliana’s possible Indian ancestry. Accordingly, we conditionally affirm the juvenile court’s order of legal guardianship for Juliana and remand the matter to the juvenile court for further proceedings with respect to compliance with ICWA. FACTS Juliana was 10 years old when she was detained in May 2019. Monica had left her with an elderly roommate, who called police, stating that she did not know where Monica had gone or when she would return. Juliana told SSA at a later interview that she 1 had been “‘scared all night.’” The detention report documented telephone calls from two of Monica’s sisters regarding Juliana and a conversation with the husband of one sister. SSA also spoke with Juliana’s adult sibling, with whom Juliana had been staying just before she and Monica moved in with the roommate. Monica told her case worker in late May 2019