B.H. v. People ex rel. X.H.

B.H., the natural mother of X.H., sought review of the court of appeals unpublished opinion affirming the district court’s order terminating the parent-child relationship. The district court proceeded to trial and granted the state’s motion to terminate parental rights, despite notice never having been given to any Indian tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs that X.H. might be an Indian child within the meaning of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the applicability of the Act had not been established.

Because the El Paso County Department of…