In re S.J. CA2/6

Filed 2/25/13 In re S.J. CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SIX

In re S.J. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

2d Juv. No. B242550 SANTA BARBARA COUNTY CHILD (Super. Ct. Nos. J1395309, J1395310, WELFARE SERVICES, J1395311) (Santa Barbara County) Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

J.C.,

Defendant and Appellant.

J.C. appeals a judgment of the juvenile court terminating her parental rights to her children, S.J., Jo.J. and Ja.J. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 300, 366.26.) We conclude, among other things, that: 1) the Santa Barbara County Child Welfare Services (CWS) gave proper notice under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (25 U.S.C., § 1901 et seq.) to the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians (JBCI), the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); and 2) the court's finding that ICWA does not apply is supported by the documentary evidence in the record and in the recently augmented record on appeal. We affirm.

FACTS On March 10, 2011, the police notified CWS that J.C. "had left her three children in the care of" a "heavily intoxicated" man. The children - S.J., seven years old; Jo. J., four years old; and Ja.J., eight months old - had no "clean clothing, food, or supervision." The intoxicated man did not know where J.C. was or how to contact her. The motel room where the children resided was "extremely unkempt" with "spoiled food on the floor, dressers, bathroom sink, and on top of the toilet." Vicodin and bottles of pain medication "were left within the reach of the children." CWS determined that J.C.'s "Child Welfare history place[d] the children at risk [for] abuse and neglect." It removed the children from the home. CWS filed a juvenile dependency petition (Welf. & Inst., § 300) alleging, among other things, that the children will suffer "serious physical harm" as a result of J.C.'s failure "to supervise or protect" them. On April 18, 2011, the juvenile court sustained the petition. On November 3, 2011, the court found CWS had provided appropriate reunification services, but J.C. did not comply with her requirements under the case plan. It terminated family reunification services. On June 4, 2012, the court terminated J.C.'s parental rights to the children. ICWA On a "parental notification of Indian status" form, J.C. stated that she had no Indian ancestry. M.J., the children's father, stated that he "may have Indian ancestry," but he did not know the name of the tribe. M.J. claimed D.G., his mother, would have the information. D.G. contacted CWS. She claimed the children's Indian ancestry originated from L.R., their great-great-great-great-grandmother, who was a Choctaw Indian born in 1841. CWS sent notices of "child custody proceeding for Indian child" forms (Judicial Council form ICWA-030) to the three Choctaw tribes - the JBCI, the CNO and the MBCI. It also sent notice to the BIA. These forms included a family tree attachment which listed the names, dates of birth and dates of death of 11 ancestors on the children's paternal grandmother's