The Second Appellate District affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment. The court held that a failure to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act did not mandate reversal of a dependency court’s orders where the affected tribes received notice of the proceedings as to one of two minor siblings and disavowed any tribal affiliation with that sibling.
Dependency proceedings were initiated as to siblings Miracle and Faith M. due to their mother’s inability to care for them. Pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services sent notices of the proceedings to three Cherokee Indian tribes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of the Interior. The notice which was sent documented the proceedings as to Miracle, but inadvertently failed to mention the pending proceedings as to Faith. Copies of the notice were not sent to the minors’ mother or father.
