In re Mykayla

Filed 3/27/06 In re Mykayla Y. CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Deborah Daniel, Temporary Judge. (Pursuant to Cal. Const., art. VI, § 21.) Affirmed.

Michelle L. Morris, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Ronald D. Reitz, County Counsel, and Danielle E. Wuchenich, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Lori A. Fields, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minor.

The juvenile court terminated the parental rights of Father and Mother with respect to their minor daughter, the subject of this dependency proceeding. Father appeals, contending (1) the court erred in denying his petition for additional reunification services upon his release from prison; and (2) the court and the agency failed to make adequate inquiry whether Minor was an Indian child. We affirm.

I

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Original Petition

The San Bernardino Department of Children's Services (DCS) filed the original dependency petition on August 15, 2003, when Minor was nearly four years old. Minor had been living with Mother but had been removed two days earlier because DCS suspected Mother's boyfriend had sexually abused Minor. The court ordered Minor placed with her maternal great-aunt, H.S.

When the petition was filed, Father was in state prison at Wasco and was not due for release until June 2005. Mother had not maintained contact with Father and had no plans to reunite with him when he was released.

Father did not contest the petition; Mother did, and the matter was referred to mediation. A negotiated resolution of the jurisdictional and dispositional issues was reached in court on October 3, 2003. The court found true allegations that Minor had been sexually abused while in Mother's care and that Father was incarcerated in state prison, and his willingness and ability to parent were in question. The court declared Minor a dependent and placed her with Mother on the condition Mother reside in the maternal grandmother's home. It ordered reunification services for both parents. Visitation with Father was to be arranged upon his release from custody, and Minor could visit him in prison as long as she was under the custody and control of a family member.

B. First Supplemental Petition

On January 7, 2004, DCS filed a supplemental petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 387,^[1] alleging that Mother had failed to protect Minor's half‑sister from Mother's boyfriend, putting Minor at risk for further sexual abuse. There were no new allegations concerning Father. Mother did not contest the allegations, and the court placed Minor in the care of her maternal aunt, L.S.

Father first personally appeared in court on January 30, 2004, the original date for the jurisdictional/dispositional hearing on the first section 387 petition. Father waived his presence â€