L.A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. K.A. (In re M.J.)

• Docket Number: B329926
• Decision Date: 22 April 2024
• Parties: In re M.J. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. v. K.A., Defendant and Appellant. LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

1

In re M.J. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
K.A., Defendant and Appellant.

B329926

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Eighth Division

April 22, 2024

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County No. 23CCJP00531A-B. Lisa A. Brackelmanns, Referee. Dismissed in part and affirmed in part.

Jesse McGowan, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Dawyn R. Harrison, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Jessica S. Mitchell, Senior Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

GRIMES, J.

2

Mother, K.A., appeals the juvenile court's dispositional orders for two of her daughters, M.J. and K.J., based on a claim of noncompliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA; 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.). We dismiss the appeal as to M.J. because, as an 18-year-old, there is no possibility of a finding that she is an Indian child.^[1] We affirm as to K.J.

BACKGROUND

We limit our recitation of the facts to those essential to the determination of this appeal.

The juvenile court most recently declared M.J. and K.J. juvenile dependents in 2023 following a referral that mother physically abused K.J. and put her other children at risk of harm. M.J. turned 18 in July 2023. M.J. and K.J. were subjects of two prior dependency proceedings, commenced in 2009 and 2014, respectively. No Indian heritage was found as to the girls in either of those proceedings.

In the present case, the juvenile court and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) each inquired whether M.J. and K.J. might be Indian children. Between them, they asked mother, father, and extended family members on both sides of the family.

Only father, paternal grandmother, and maternal grandmother reported possible Indian ancestry. Father claimed some association with the Cherokee tribe in "Oklahoma?". Paternal grandmother reported two paternal great-greatgrandparents were each half Cherokee. Maternal grandmother, despite initially denying Indian ancestry, claimed Indian ancestry on her mother's side, "[m]aybe" Cherokee.

3

In March 2023, the Department mailed form ICWA-030 notices of the juvenile court proceedings to the Secretary of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and three Cherokee tribes: the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Cherokee Nation. The notices included the names of the children, parents, maternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, and paternal grandmother. They did not include birthdates or middle names for any of the grandparents.

All three tribes responded to the notices. The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma disclaimed any interest in the proceeding without request for further information. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians did the same.

The Cherokee Nation, however, responded the children "could POSSIBLY be connected to the Cherokee Nation through the maternal grandmother and maternal grandfather, but without a middle name and/or date of birth for [those individuals], an accurate determination cannot be made." The letter invited submission of additional information to ICWAEligCherokeeNation@cherokee.org.

Here is where the parties' telling of the facts materially differ. According to mother, the Department "inexplicably failed to ask [maternal grandmother] for her middle name and date of birth, and [the Department] failed to provide any updated information to the Cherokee Nation." But as the Department points out, the record shows that, immediately after the Cherokee Nation requested this information, the Department "emailed ICWAEligCherokeeNation@cherokee.org the additional information requested and requested an update regarding the determination of tribal eligibility." Mother did not file a reply

4

brief to explain how her recitation of the facts can be reconciled with the record. We are not directed to any evidence the...