The First Appellate District conditionally reversed a judgment. The court held that a family court erred in failing to require notice under the Indian Child Welfare Act to the tribes of dependent minors’ adoptive grandparent.
G.R.’s minor children were taken into protective custody based on allegations of neglect. Dependency proceedings were initiated. During the course of those proceedings, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services learned that the minors’ biological father, Richard H., was adopted and that his adoptive father was one-fourth Apache Indian. The county did not send notice of the dependency proceedings to the Apache tribes, finding that because Richard had no biological relationship with the Apache tribes, notice was not required.
