In re B.A. CA2/8

Filed 10/31/22 In re B.A. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

In re B.A., a Person Coming Under B318626 the Juvenile Court Law. LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN Los Angeles County AND FAMILY SERVICES, Super. Ct. No. 18CCJP06007A

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

ANTOINETTE R.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Marguerite Downing, Judge. Affirmed. William Hook, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Dawyn Harrison, Acting County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Kimberly Roura, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ___________________________

Mother Antoinette R. appeals the order terminating her parental rights to her daughter, B.A. Mother’s sole claim of error is that the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) made an inadequate initial inquiry concerning B.A.’s ancestry for purposes of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA; 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.). We affirm. BACKGROUND 1. Overview of Proceedings This dependency proceeding began four years ago, in 2018, when B.A. was an infant. She was detained from her parents for a litany of reasons, including ongoing Department cases concerning three of her siblings and a half sibling. B.A. was initially placed with her maternal grandmother. She was later removed from maternal grandmother’s home and placed in the care of a family friend who also had custody of B.A.’s siblings. The parents failed to reunify with B.A. and the court terminated reunification services in July 2019. The family friend caring for B.A. wanted to adopt her. However, he passed away while the proceedings were pending, and B.A. and her siblings were placed with a relative of the family friend, Ms. B. Ms. B agreed to adopt B.A. After a series of delays to resolve impediments to adoption, the court terminated parental rights and ordered adoption by Ms. B. as B.A.’s permanent plan. 2. Facts Relevant to ICWA Inquiry In September 2018, at the initial appearance hearing, mother filed a parental notification of Indian status form (ICWA-020) indicating “I have no Indian ancestry as far as I know.”