Baby Girl Doe, Matter of, 92-567
| Citation | 865 P.2d 1090,262 Mont. 380 |
| Decision Date | 07 December 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-567,92-567 |
| Parties | In the Matter of Inquiry Into BABY GIRL Jane DOE, Youth in Need of Care. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Montana |
David G. Rice, Hill Co. Atty., Patricia Jensen, Deputy Co. Atty., Lawrence A. LaFountain, Havre, for Guardian Ad Litem.
Thomas J. Sheehy, Big Sandy, for mother.
The Hill County Department of Family Services filed a petition in the District Court for the Twelfth Judicial District in Hill County for an order terminating the parental rights of the natural parents of Baby Girl Jane Doe, granting permanent legal custody of the child to the Montana Department of Family Services (DFS), and giving the DFS the right to consent to her adoption. The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation intervened and moved for disclosure of the natural mother's identity in order to assure that any child placement conformed to the preferences provided for in the Indian Child Welfare Act found at 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901 to 1963 (1978). The District Court denied the Tribe's motion based on the natural mother's stated preference for anonymity and certified its order as final pursuant to Rule 54(b), M.R.Civ.P. The Tribe appeals the District Court's order. We reverse the District Court.
The issue on appeal is whether a parent's interest in anonymity, which is to be considered pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1915(c) of the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), prevails when in conflict with the Tribe's right to enforce the preferences for placement of Indian children provided for in § 1915(a) and (b) of the Act.
Baby Girl Jane Doe was born at the Northern Montana Hospital in Havre, Montana, on May 5, 1992. She is of Indian descent and eligible for membership in the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.
After the child's birth, Baby Girl Jane Doe's mother left the hospital, refused to sign the birth certificate, and expressed the intention to relinquish her to the Hill County Department of Family Services.
On May 8, 1992, the Hill County Attorney filed a petition for temporary investigative authority and protective services with the District Court in Hill County on behalf of the Hill County Department of Family Services. He alleged that Baby Girl Jane Doe was dependent, or in danger of becoming dependent within the meaning of § 41-3-102, MCA, by reason of her mother's conduct and intentions and alleged that the child's father was unknown. The petition asked that the Hill County Department of Family Services be granted authority to take the child from the hospital for placement in a foster home until the mother could sign a relinquishment of parental rights, and that the public defender be appointed as the child's guardian ad litem. On that same date, the District Court issued its order finding Baby Girl Jane Doe dependent within the meaning of § 41-3-102, MCA, granting the Hill County Department of Family Services authority to take her from the hospital for placement in a foster home, and appointing a guardian ad litem.
On May 10, 1992, court records indicate that the DFS entered into an agreement with a married couple residing in Helena, Montana, who agreed to accept the child on a foster care basis until she was available for final adoption. The agreement expressed an understanding that the DFS did not yet have legal authority to consent to adoption because, among other reasons, tribal consent had not yet been obtained, and the foster parents expressed an understanding that the child may yet have to be removed from their home and placed elsewhere.
On May 20, 1992, the child's natural mother filed with the District Court an affidavit waiving all parental rights, relinquishing custody of her child to the DFS, and consenting to her adoption without further notice or consent. She indicated in her affidavit that she had been advised of the Indian Child Welfare Act, but for reasons of privacy, wished to remain anonymous and requested that the court not contact her family or Tribe concerning placement. A minute entry also indicates that she appeared in court that day, along with the county attorney, and her child's guardian ad litem. She was advised of her rights and the consequences of her relinquishment. The court then concluded that her relinquishment, waiver, and consent were given knowingly and of her own free will.
On that date, the court also indicated that the temporary order for protective services would remain in effect until the child was placed permanently for adoption, but that the Chippewa Cree Tribe should be notified that a child eligible for enrollment as a member was being adopted.
On June 11, 1992, the Tribe was formally notified that voluntary child custody proceedings were now pending in the District Court for Hill County and was advised of its right to intervene in the proceeding pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1911. The Tribe was advised that the potential outcome of the proceedings, unless there was intervention, would be an order awarding permanent legal custody to the DFS, which would then place the child in a permanent adoptive home.
On June 11, 1992, the District Court issued its order in which it held that Baby Girl Jane Doe was a youth subject to termination of the parent-child relationship within the meaning of § 41-3-609, MCA, and that her best interest would be served by declaring her in need of care and awarding her custody to the DFS, along with lawful authority for that agency to consent to her adoption. Based on that conclusion, the District Court set a hearing on the DFS's petition for permanent custody of Baby Girl Jane Doe. Notice of that hearing was also sent to the Tribe.
On June 23, 1992, the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation moved to intervene in this matter for the purpose of assuring compliance with the ICWA. That motion was later granted by the District Court.
On August 18, 1992, at the hearing held to consider the DFS petition for permanent custody, the Tribe requested information about the identity of Baby Girl Jane Doe's natural mother and her family so that it could determine whether the child could be placed with her extended family pursuant to the preferences provided for in 25 U.S.C. § 1915(a) and (b). Since the Tribe's request conflicted with the mother's request for anonymity, the District Court ordered further briefing. After consideration of the parties' arguments, the District Court concluded that the mother's right to anonymity, provided for in 25 U.S.C. § 1915(c) outweighed the Tribe's interest in enforcing the statutory preferences for placement, and denied the Tribe's motion to reveal the mother's identity.
The District Court concluded that, while bound by the preferences provided in 25 U.S.C. § 1915(a), it also had to give consideration to the parent's request for anonymity under 25 U.S.C. § 1915(c). It further concluded that based on the notice provided to the Tribe, and the information it had already received about the pre-adoptive family, it had the ability to satisfy itself that the applicable preferences were being considered by the court and to propose a more appropriate placement if it desired to do so. The court concluded that the purposes of the ICWA could be satisfied without revealing the identity of Baby Girl Jane Doe's natural mother. The court also concluded that identity of the child's father was unknown.
Final judgment was entered denying the Tribe's motion, and that judgment was certified as final pursuant to Rule 54(b), M.R.Civ.P. The Tribe then appealed from the District Court's order.
Does a parent's interest in anonymity, which is to be considered pursuant to 25 U.S.C. § 1915(c) of the Federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), prevail when in conflict with the Tribe's right to enforce the preferences for placement of Indian children provided for in § 1915(a) and (b) of the Act?
The Indian Child Welfare Act was enacted by Congress in 1978 for the principal purpose of protecting the integrity of Indian tribes by preventing, where possible, the removal of Indian children and placement in non-Indian homes. After extended hearings over a number of years, Congress made the following findings set forth at 25 U.S.C. § 1901, which formed the basis for enactment of the ICWA:
(2) that Congress ... has assumed the responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian tribes and their resources;
(3) that there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children ...
(4) 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 and that an alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions; and
(5) that the States, exercising their recognized jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings through administrative and judicial bodies, have often failed to recognize the essential tribal relations of Indian people and the cultural and social standards prevailing in Indian communities and families.
In 25 U.S.C. § 1902 Congress also set forth a specific declaration of congressional policy which was as follows:
The Congress hereby declares that it is the policy of this Nation to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture, and by providing for assistance to Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs. [Emphasis...
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