Duty to Inquire About Child’s Potential Indian Ancestry When Child Taken into Custody Under Protective Custody Warrant

Topic: Dependency - ICWA

Status/Court: Decided CA Supreme Court

Case Name: In re Ja.O. (2025) 18 Cal.5th 271

Case #: S280572/E079651

Last Updated: August 4, 2025

Does the duty of a child welfare agency to inquire of extended family members and others about a child’s potential Indian ancestry apply to children who are taken into custody under a protective custody warrant?

The court directed the parties to file supplemental briefs addressing the significance, if any, of Assembly Bill No. 81 to the issues presented in this case. (10/23/24)

Held:

Assembly Bill 81 — which specified that the extended-family inquiry duty applies whenever a child is placed into a county welfare department’s temporary custody, regardless of how the child is removed from the home — resolves the conflict for all cases in which a child was placed into temporary custody on or after the bill’s effective date. Additionally, the county welfare department has an extended-family inquiry duty in pre-Assembly Bill 81 cases.

This case was decided on August 4, 2025. Justice Jenkins authored the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice Guerrero and Justices Corrigan, Groban, and Evans concurred. Justice Liu filed a concurring opinion in which Justice Kruger concurred.

Review on this issue had also been granted with briefing deferred in:

Fourth District

In re Robert F. (2023) 90 Cal.App.5th 492, review granted 7/26/2023 (S279743/E080073)
In re M.R. (E080328) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 9/13/2023 (S281249)
In re Delila D. (2023) 93 Cal.App.5th 953, review granted 9/27/2023 (S281447/E080389)
In re N.L. (E080557) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 10/11/2023 (S281741)
In re Andres R. (2023) 94 Cal.App.5th 828, review granted 11/15/2023 (S282054/E079972)
In re Ashton C. (E079831) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 11/15/2023 (S282099)
In re G.H. (E080501) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 11/21/2023 (S282331)
In re. L.J. (E080296) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 11/29/2023 (S282333)
In re L.C. (E081670) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 2/14/2024 (S283342)
In re S.J. (E081498) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 2/14/2024 (S283220)
In re C.B.(E082124) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 6/12/2024 (S284964)
In re L.G. (E082177) [nonpub. opn.], review granted 6/12/2024 (S284817)
In re D.M. (2024) 101 Cal.App.5th 1016, review granted 7/24/2024 (S285537/E082401)