In re P.H., Jr.

Filed 1/12/24 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

In re P.H., JR., A Person Coming B321592 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 22CCJP00872A) LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

P.H.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Mary E. Kelly, Judge. Affirmed. Roni Keller, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Dawyn R. Harrison, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Sarah Vesecky, Senior Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

P.H. (Father) appeals from juvenile dependency jurisdiction and disposition orders concerning his son, P.H., Jr., (Minor), which were made after the juvenile court found there was no reason to know Minor was an Indian child under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). We consider whether ICWA and related state law obligated the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) and the juvenile court to ensure certain tribes were formally notified of the proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND The sole issue raised in Father’s appeal is ICWA compliance, and we accordingly focus on the facts bearing on that issue. Minor, born in 2011, lived with Father and his mother, A.R. (Mother). In March of 2022, the Department filed a juvenile dependency petition alleging Minor was at substantial risk of serious physical harm based on physical abuse by Mother, Father’s failure to protect Minor from Mother, and unsanitary conditions in their home. The Department later filed a first amended petition adding allegations that Minor was at substantial risk of serious physical harm based on Mother’s alcohol abuse and Father’s history of methamphetamine and alcohol abuse. In connection with the initial detention hearing, both parents filed ICWA-020 Parental Notification of Indian Status forms indicating they may be members of, or eligible for membership in, federally recognized Indian tribes. Father indicated possible affiliation with “Yucca Indian or Navajo” tribes in New Mexico and informed the court at the detention hearing