In re E.L. CA4/1
In October 2021, the Agency filed a section 300, subdivision (b)(1) petition for then one-week-old E.L., alleging that she and her mother, S. S.-H. (Mother), tested positive for amphetamine and opiates at E.L.’s birth. In its detention report, the Agency stated that Mother told its social worker that neither she nor Father had any Native American heritage. The Agency also reported that in May 2020 the juvenile court found that ICWA did not apply to the dependency case of M.L., E.L.’s older sibling. The Agency stated that it had spoken with E.L.’s paternal grandmother in Florida, her maternal grandfather in Pennsylvania, and her paternal great-aunt who was then M.L.’s caregiver, but there is no indication that it asked any of them about any possible Native American heritage. The Agency recommended that the juvenile court make a finding that ICWA did not apply to E.L.’s case.
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