Cal. COA Decides ICWA Notice Case — Information about Great-Great-Ancestors Not Required

Here:

In re JM

An excerpt:

V.M. (mother) challenges the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights to now four-year-old J.M. and three-year-old B.M. Father is not a party to this appeal. Mother contends that the order must be reversed because the Department of Children and Family Services failed to comply with the notice requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in that: (1) the notices sent did not include the names of maternal great-great-grandparents, alleged by the maternal grandmother to have Papago Indian heritage; and (2) J.M. was not included in the notices. We disagree, finding the law does not require the inclusion of information about great-great-ancestors in ICWA notices, and any error in failing to include J.M. was harmless. We therefore affirm.