In re A.G. CA3

Filed 4/3/24 In re A.G. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

In re A.G. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile C099679 Court Law.

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES (Super. Ct. No. STK-JD-DP- AGENCY, 2021-0000509)

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

M.C.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant M.C., mother of the minors, H.G., A.G., L.G., and E.G., appeals from the juvenile court’s orders terminating parental rights and freeing the minors for adoption. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 366.26, 395; statutory section citations that follow are found in the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise stated.) Mother contends

1

that the juvenile court failed to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) by failing to make an ICWA finding prior to terminating parental rights. We will conditionally affirm subject to full compliance with the ICWA on remand, as described in this opinion.

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS Because the issue on appeal is limited to ICWA compliance, we need not set forth a detailed recitation of the underlying facts and procedure. It is sufficient to say that on December 26, 2021, the San Joaquin County Human Services Agency (Agency) sought a protective custody warrant and thereafter, filed a petition alleging that the newborn minor came within the provision of section 300, subdivision (b)(1), failure to protect, and subdivision (j), abuse of a sibling, based on both mother and the newborn minor, E.G., testing positive for amphetamines at the time of E.G.’s birth. Mother had previously tested positive for amphetamines at the time of L.G.’s birth in June 2020, and she failed to obtain prenatal care during her pregnancy with E.G. The detention report showed that the investigating social worker asked the parents about possible Native American ancestry prior to the filing of the section 300 petition. The Agency filed Indian Child Inquiry Attachment (ICWA-010) forms, reporting a social worker spoke with father, W.G., and mother about whether the minor had any Native American ancestry, and the inquiry gave the social worker no reason to believe the minors were or may be Indian children. At the detention hearing, the minors were ordered detained. Father subsequently provided a Parental Notification of Indian Status (ICWA-020) form, stating he had no Native American ancestry. An ICWA-20 form was not completed by mother. However, at the January 11, 2022, jurisdictional hearing, the juvenile court inquired of each parent about Native American ancestry, and both mother and father denied any such ancestry. Following some amendments to the petition, mother