Foster Family of Part-Native American Girl Taking Case to California Supreme Court

The Page family now wants to take the case to the next level

Photo: Fox11

Just one day after Lexi’s emotional removal from their home, the Page family’s lawyer announced that a request has been filed to have their appeal heard by the California Supreme Court, according to a report.

The Page’s attorney Lori Alvino also asked that until the hearing is finished the little girl – who is 1.5 percent Native American – be returned to the custody of Summer and Rusty who have been her foster parents since she was 2-years-old, the Associated Press reports.

Lexi, 6, was removed from their home on Monday in accordance with the Indian Child Welfare Act and placed with extended family in Utah.

Although the Pages have been trying to officially adopt Lexi for some time now, as well as fighting against having the girl taken from their custody, a court reportedly ruled that the family did not prove the transfer would result in emotional harm for the child.

According to the AP, the family that Lexi is currently living with is not Native American, but is related to her biological father by marriage and also have custody of her sister, while another sister is going to be living down the street.

“The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together,” Leslie Heimov, who works with the Children’s Law Center of California told the Los Angeles Daily News.

Both of Lexi’s biological parents reportedly lost custody of their daughter when she was 17 months old, as her mother suffered with substance abuse and her father had a criminal history.

Heimov also said that Lexi’s family members in Utah “are not strangers in any way, shape or form,” as she has been in contact with them through messages and they’ve made monthly visits with the girl for the past three years.

Despite Lexi’s familiarity with her extended relatives, her former foster father Rusty still questions if the child’s removal was the right thing to do, and reportedly aired his frustrations in an interview with KNX-AM radio.

“How is it that a screaming child saying, ‘I want to stay, I’m scared,’ how is it in her best interest to pull her from the girl she was before that doorbell rang?” he said.