CHILDREN AND THE LAW
...Dependency Petitions
......Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
.........Waiver/Repudiation
8 Cards On This Topic:

SJ for adoptive parents proper where birth parents were domiciled off-reservation and voluntarily repudiated ICWA application and tribal court jurisdiction.

As parents failed to object to nonservice of JV-135, made part of court file and available at each hearing, issue waived on appeal; even if notice defective, error harmless where no showing notice would produce more heritage info.

ICWA notice requirement designed to protect interests of tribe; to extent a notice defect impairs tribe's ability to participate, another party cannot waive it.

ICWA notice requirement partially protects interests of Indian tribes, and cannot be waived by parents' failure to raise it.

Though parent cannot waive ICWA requirements re notice to tribes, possible to waive certain ICWA provisions not affecting rights of tribes, such as ICWA standards of proof and expert testimony requirements.

Where ICWA notice requirements not complied with, and tribe did not receive notice of pending proceedings, waiver doctrine could not be invoked to bar consideration of notice error on appeal.

Where good cause to avoid ICWA placement preference based on crim. conviction, DHHS must request Welf. & Inst. Code §361.4 waiver. If denied, record must establish DSS Director exercised sound discretion and must set forth reasons.

Indian mother foreclosed from appealing parental rights termination on basis of lack of ICWA notice by failure to file timely appeal.