In re V.S. CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 24, 2024
DocketF088419
StatusUnpublished

This text of In re V.S. CA5 (In re V.S. CA5) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re V.S. CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

Filed 12/23/24 In re V.S. CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

In re V.S., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

TULARE COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN F088419 SERVICES AGENCY, (Super. Ct. No. JJV072891C) Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. OPINION G.S.,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Tulare County. John P. Bianco, Judge. Beth A. Sears, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Jennifer M. Flores, County Counsel, and Marit C. Erickson, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Levy, Acting P. J., Meehan, J. and DeSantos, J. INTRODUCTION G.S. (Mother) filed a timely notice of appeal following the termination of her parental rights to now one-year-old V.S. under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 Mother’s sole claim is that because the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) failed to conduct an adequate inquiry into whether V.S. is or may be an Indian child, in compliance with section 224.2, former subdivision (b),2 the juvenile court erred when it found that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq. (ICWA))3 did not apply, necessitating remand. (Dezi C., supra, 16 Cal.5th at p. 1125.) The Agency concedes error with respect to its initial ICWA inquiry, and the parties stipulate to a conditional reversal and remand for an adequate inquiry. (Dezi C., supra, 16 Cal.5th at p. 1125.) We have reviewed the record and agree with the parties that the juvenile court erred in finding ICWA does not apply given the absence of a documented, proper, adequate and duly diligent inquiry, as mandated by California law. (§ 224.2, subds. (b)– (c); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.481(a)(5); Dezi C., supra, 16 Cal.5th at p. 1125.)

1 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise specified. 2 As addressed in part I.B. of the Discussion, section 224.2 was amended, effective September 27, 2024, by Assembly Bill No. 81. (Assem. Bill No. 81 (2023–2024 Reg. Sess.) ch. 656 (Assembly Bill 81) [California Indian Child Welfare Act or Cal-ICWA].) The Agency’s initial inquiry and the juvenile court’s ICWA finding in this case predated Assembly Bill 81, but, for the reasons discussed by this court in In re K.H., In re E.C., and In re Jerry R., the inquiry and finding were deficient under the law as it stood prior to the passage of Assembly Bill 81. (In re K.H. (2022) 84 Cal.App.5th 566, 598–599 & 602–605 (K.H.); In re E.C. (2022) 85 Cal.App.5th 123, 141–142 (E.C.); In re Jerry R. (2023) 95 Cal.App.5th 388, 428–429 (Jerry R.).)

3 “[B]ecause ICWA uses the term ‘Indian,’ we [may at times] do the same for consistency, even though we recognize that other terms, such as ‘Native American’ or ‘indigenous,’ are preferred by many.” (In re Benjamin M. (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 735, 739, fn. 1 (Benjamin M.), disapproved in part on another ground in In re Dezi C. (2024) 16 Cal.5th 1112, 1152, fn. 18 (Dezi C.).)

2. Therefore, in accordance with the parties’ stipulation, we conditionally reverse the juvenile court’s order terminating Mother’s parental rights and remand this matter with directions to ensure a proper, adequate and duly diligent inquiry in compliance with California law. (Dezi C., supra, at p. 1125.) FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY4 V.S. was born in September 2023.5 Mother was incarcerated at the time and had a history of drug use. The Agency was notified of V.S.’s birth and took her into protective custody at the hospital. Based on Mother’s substance abuse, untreated mental illness, incarceration, and prior dependency cases involving V.S.’s two half-siblings, the Agency filed a petition under section 300, subdivision (b)(1) (failure to protect), (g) (no provision for support), and (j) (abuse of siblings). Mother denied Native American ancestry when interviewed at the hospital, and the petition included Judicial Council form ICWA-010(A) stating that Mother gave no reason to believe that V.S. is or may be an Indian child. Based on Mother’s response, the Agency’s detention report stated ICWA did not apply. At the detention hearing held in September 2023, Mother stated she was not aware of any Native American ancestry and the juvenile court found ICWA did not apply. The court found a prima facie showing had been made that V.S. was a person described by section 300 and ordered her detained from Mother and placed in the temporary custody of the Agency. At the jurisdiction hearing in February 2024, the juvenile court dismissed the section 300, subdivision (g), allegation given Mother’s release from custody and sustained the subdivisions (b)(1) and (j) allegations. The court subsequently held a disposition hearing and adjudged V.S. a dependent; found by clear and convincing

4 We include only a limited factual summary given that the sole issue on appeal is Mother’s ICWA claim. 5 C.R. was identified as V.S.’s alleged father at the outset. DNA testing subsequently excluded him as her biological father and he was dismissed.

3. evidence that there is or would be a substantial danger to the physical health, safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being of V.S. if returned to Mother’s home; and found there were no reasonable means by which her physical health could be protected without removing her from Mother’s physical custody. The court bypassed reunification services under section 361.5, subdivision (b)(10), and set a section 366.26 hearing for June 2024. The juvenile court held a contested hearing under section 366.26 in July 2024. The court found V.S. was adoptable and the parental-benefit exception did not apply; terminated the parental rights of Mother; and ordered V.S. be placed for adoption. (Ibid.) Mother appealed on the ground of ICWA error. DISCUSSION I. Legal Principles A. ICWA “ICWA was enacted in 1978 by Congress ‘out of concern that “an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by nontribal public and private agencies.” 92 Stat. 3069, 25 U.S.C. §1901(4). Congress found that many of these children were being “placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions,” and that the States had contributed to the problem by “fail[ing] to recognize the essential tribal relations of Indian people and the cultural and social standards prevailing in Indian communities and families.” §§1901(4), (5). This harmed not only Indian parents and children, but also Indian tribes. As Congress put it, “there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children.” §1901(3).’ (Haaland v. Brackeen (2023) 599 U.S. ___ [143 S.Ct. 1609, 1623] (Haaland); accord, Mississippi Choctaw Indian Band v. Holyfield (1989) 490 U.S. 30, 32–36 (Holyfield); In re Isaiah W. (2016) 1 Cal.5th 1, 7–8 (Isaiah W.).)

4. “‘[ICWA] thus aims to keep Indian children connected to Indian families.

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In re V.S. CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-vs-ca5-calctapp-2024.