When Is Notice Required?
Related resource: "Inquiry and Notice" PowerPoint
ICWA notice is required when any of the following entities or persons in a case covered by ICWA knows or has reason to know that the child in the case is an Indian child as defined in ICWA:
- In juvenile court proceedings—the court, social worker, or probation officer (Welf & I C §224.2(a); Cal Rules of Ct 5.481(b)); or
- In Family Code and Probate Code proceedings—the court or the party seeking a foster care placement, guardianship, or adoption (Fam C §§177, 180; Prob C §§1459.5,1460.2(a); Cal Rules of Ct 5.481(b)).
Ideally, the information that a child is or may be an Indian emerges at the beginning of a case, through initial inquiry. But notice duties are mandatory regardless of how late in the proceedings reason to know that the child may be an Indian child develops. (See In re Kahlen W. (1991) 233 CA3d 1414, 1429.)
