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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
In re ATHENA H. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE COUNTY OF LAKE,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
JESSICA H. et al.,
Defendants and Respondents;
CYNTHIA H. et al.,
Objectors and Appellants.
A109735, A112506
(Lake County
Super. Ct. No. JV320013)
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES FOR THE COUNTY OF LAKE,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
JESSICA H.,
Defendant and Appellant;
CYNTHIA H. et al.,
Objectors and Appellants.
A111434
In re JESSICA H.,
on Habeas Corpus.
A112930
In re ATHENA H. et al.,
on Habeas Corpus.
A115422
The old saw is that â€
Description
The old saw is that "haste makes waste." When court act too quickly we err and end up with a poor result. Our review of the record in this case bears out the wisdom of this idiom. The trial court, spurred by counsel and what appears to be a persuasive and influential social worker, treated termination of parental rights and removal of these children from family placement as a foregone conclusion, and over the course of these proceedings often erred. One of these errors was consequential enough to warrant reversal and a limited remand. All of them are troubling. Athena H. and Israel P. were removed from the care of their mother, Jessica H., after she set her boyfriend's home on fire with the children inside. Since then, Jessica has been incarcerated or confined in a state mental hospital. The dependency proceedings resulted in two orders terminating parental rights as to Jessica and all known and alleged fathers.
Court conclude that the court and the Department of Social Services for the County of Lake (the Department) failed to comply with mandatory notice provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and we conditionally remand to the dependency court to require proper notice. Despite a record replete with deficiencies and inappropriate haste by the court and questionable handling of this case by the Department, careful review of the record reveals no other error that warrants reversal.
