California Laws: Welfare and Institutions Code Section 224.3
Section 224.3
(a) The court, county welfare department, and the probation
department have an affirmative and continuing duty to inquire whether
a child for whom a petition under Section 300, 601, or 602 is to be,
or has been, filed is or may be an Indian child in all dependency
proceedings and in any juvenile wardship proceedings if the child is
at risk of entering foster care or is in foster care.
(b) The circumstances that may provide reason to know the child is
an Indian child include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) A person having an interest in the child, including the child,
an officer of the court, a tribe, an Indian organization, a public
or private agency, or a member of the child's extended family
provides information suggesting the child is a member of a tribe or
eligible for membership in a tribe or one or more of the child's
biological parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents are or were a
member of a tribe.
(2) The residence or domicile of the child, the child's parents,
or Indian custodian is in a predominantly Indian community.
(3) The child or the child's family has received services or
benefits from a tribe or services that are available to Indians from
tribes or the federal government, such as the Indian Health Service.
(c) If the court, social worker, or probation officer knows or has
reason to know that an Indian child is involved, the social worker
or probation officer is required to make further inquiry regarding
the possible Indian status of the child, and to do so as soon as
practicable, by interviewing the parents, Indian custodian, and
extended family members to gather the information required in
paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 224.2, contacting the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and the State Department of Social Services
for assistance in identifying the names and contact information of
the tribes in which the child may be a member or eligible for
membership in and contacting the tribes and any other person that
reasonably can be expected to have information regarding the child's
membership status or eligibility.
(d) If the court, social worker, or probation officer knows or has
reason to know that an Indian child is involved, the social worker
or probation officer shall provide notice in accordance with
paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 224.2.
(e) (1) A determination by an Indian tribe that a child is or is
not a member of or eligible for membership in that tribe, or
testimony attesting to that status by a person authorized by the
tribe to provide that determination, shall be conclusive. Information
that the child is not enrolled or eligible for enrollment in the
tribe is not determinative of the child's membership status unless
the tribe also confirms in writing that enrollment is a prerequisite
for membership under tribal law or custom.
(2) In the absence of a contrary determination by the tribe, a
determination by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that a child is or is
not a member of or eligible for membership in that tribe is
conclusive.
(3) If proper and adequate notice has been provided pursuant to
Section 224.2, and neither a tribe nor the Bureau of Indian Affairs
has provided a determinative response within 60 days after receiving
that notice, the court may determine that the Indian Child Welfare
Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq.) does not apply to the proceedings,
provided that the court shall reverse its determination of the
inapplicability of the Indian Child Welfare Act and apply the act
prospectively if a tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs subsequently
confirms that the child is an Indian child.
(f) Notwithstanding a determination that the Indian Child Welfare
Act does not apply to the proceedings made in accordance with
subdivision (e), if the court, social worker, or probation officer
subsequently receives any information required under paragraph (5) of
subdivision (a) of Section 224.2 that was not previously available
or included in the notice issued under Section 224.2, the social
worker or probation officer shall provide the additional information
to any tribes entitled to notice under paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) of Section 224.2 and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Section: 224.3
