In re Emma C. CA2/2

Filed 3/16/23 In re Emma C. CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

In re EMMA C., a Person B318281 Coming Under the Juvenile (Los Angeles County Super. Court Law. Ct. No. 19LJJP00831B)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

NATASHA H. et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Michael C. Kelley, Judge. Affirmed in part, vacated and remanded in part for further proceedings.

Donna P. Chirco, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Natasha H.

Carolyn S. Hurley, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Daniel C.

Dawyn R. Harrison, Interim County Counsel, and Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

****** Natasha H. (mother) and Daniel C. (father) appeal the juvenile court’s order exerting jurisdiction over their daughter, Emma C., and its related dispositional order on the ground that the court’s finding, at the detention hearing, that Emma was not an “Indian child” within the meaning of the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.; Welf. & Inst. Code, § 224 et seq.1) (ICWA) was not supported by substantial evidence. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the court’s jurisdictional and dispositional orders, but vacate its ICWA finding and remand. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Mother has two children—Larissa H. (born November 2019) and Emma C. (born September 2021). Father is the presumed father of Larissa and Emma. After mother tested positive for methamphetamines when Larissa was born, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) filed a petition asking the juvenile court to exert dependency jurisdiction over Larissa because mother’s substance abuse placed Larissa at substantial