In re Jaida H. CA2/4

Filed 2/26/13 In re Jaida H. CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FOUR

In re JAIDA H., B241947 (Los Angeles County a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. Super. Ct. No. CK85885)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

DESIREE H.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Steven Klaif, Juvenile Court Referee. Reversed and remanded with directions. Karen B. Stalter, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. John F. Krattli, County Counsel, and Emery El Habiby, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Mother, Desiree H., appeals from a dependency court order terminating parental rights to her minor child, Jaida H. Her sole contention on appeal is that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the dependency court failed to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act (the ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) before terminating parental rights. DCFS concedes that the requirements of ICWA were not satisfied, and we agree. The judgment is reversed and the case remanded to the dependency court with directions to conduct further inquiry into whether Jaida may have Cherokee ancestry. Should it be concluded that there is not reason to believe Jaida is an Indian child, the order terminating parental rights shall be reinstated.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Background Because this appeal concerns only the adequacy of the ICWA notices, we provide only a brief overview of the facts relating to the dependency. DCFS filed a petition seeking dependency jurisdiction over Jaida under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b), based on Desiree‟s mental and emotional problems and substance abuse, as well as alleged domestic violence between Desiree and Jaida‟s father, Bryan P.1 Bryan completed an ICWA-020 form on December 27, 2010, indicating that he had no Indian