CILS won a significant appellate victory in a case involving a foster care placement in Sacramento County. The county social services department had refused to place two-year-old Jullian, a child forced to enter the foster care system due to his mother's substance abuse problems, with his great- uncle and aunt, preferring to place him in a non-Indian home in disregard of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Jullian's Tribe had approved the relatives' home, which ironically had already been approved by the county for successful foster care placements in the past.

The trial court showed a stunning lack of sensitivity to Indian concerns, upholding the county's position and cutting the child off from all contact with the Tribe. CILS took the case to the Third Appellate District, which reversed the trial court. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeal ruled that the superior court had failed to find "good cause" to place the child outside the federally mandated family or Tribal placement. The opinion sets an important precedent for California courts, telling them that foster and adoptive placements of Indian children must follow the letter and spirit of the ICWA and that county social service departments must "search diligently" for Indian foster or adoptive placements for Indian children if they must be removed from their homes.

CILS attorneys litigate dozens of ICWA cases in state superior courts year-round. Appellate victories such as this make it easier to achieve positive results in those cases, benefiting numerous families, children and Tribes.