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Name: In re Michael A.
Case #: C069365
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Opinion Date: 09/24/2012
Summary

Grandmother did not have standing to raise an ICWA notice issue following removal of minors from her custody. Grandmother, the de facto parent of the minors, appealed from an order removing the minors from her custody, contending that reversal was required because of failures to comply with notice and inquiry provisions of ICWA. Appellant claimed that the juvenile court failed to comply with those provisions at the outset of the proceedings, and because it did not readdress the ICWA after the section 387 petition was filed, the failure was never corrected. The appellate court found that grandmother lacked standing to raise any ICWA claim. Under the plain terms of the law, a grandparent or de facto parent lacks standing to bring an ICWA challenge unless she qualifies as an “Indian Custodian.”