Standing Strong for Native Families
A website from the Native American Rights Fund
If you were unable to join this webinar on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, you can access the recorded version here. On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, the South Carolina adoption case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) that has garnered significant … Read more
On July 14, 2011 the National Association for Court Management (NACM) passed a resolution resolution demonstrating their commitment to ICWA. Excerpt from the resolution – “…NACM is committed to engaging tribal court managers as full partners in fulfilling the mission of NACM and in meeting the needs of all children and families served by the state … Read more
A split decision on ‘Baby Veronica’ court battle (Tulsa World) 6/26/13. Supreme Court Strikes a Hard Blow to Tribal Sovereignty in Adoption Case (Common Dreams) 6/26/13. Supreme Court says Native American child doesn’t have to be given to biological father (Washington Post) 6/25/13. Justices Rule in Favor of Adoption of Indian Child (NY Times) 6/25/13. … Read more
Find the opinion here. Commentary will be published soon on the blog. The syllabus from the ruling: “The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), which establishes federal standards for state-court child custody proceedings involving Indian children, was enacted to address “the consequences . . . of abusive child welfare practices that [separated] Indian children … Read more
Since 2011, the NCJFCJ has published Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care Technical Assistance Bulletins, which identify the disproportionality rates for all state and select Model Courts across the Country. See: Disproportionality Rates for Children of Color in Foster Care Technical Assistance Bulletin. This Bulletin, released May 2013, utilizes the most current … Read more
The Tribal/State Programs Unit of the Center for Families Children and the California Courts have created a webpage to assist those involved in Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) proceedings. The page can help them understand their legal obligations under ICWA and comply with those requirements. Subjects covered include ICWA job aids; law, rules & regulations; … Read more
The US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention invites tribal nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including non-tribal nonprofit and for-profit organizations) and tribal institutions of higher education (including non-tribal institutions of higher education) to submit applications for its Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Support to the Attorney General’s Task Force on American Indian/Alaska … Read more
On June 12, 2013, Mr. Kilmer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. HR 2332 — Adoption Tax Credit Tribal Parity Act of 2013: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to recognize Indian tribal governments for purposes of determining under the adoption credit whether a child … Read more
The Baby Veronica Case, recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, is one of the most important Indian legal battles of the last generation. It is the story of Dusten Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, who has invoked the Indian Child Welfare Act to prevent Christina Maldonado, the non-Indian mother of his baby … Read more
For the Lakota people this has been a continuation of a 100-year history of child abduction. This began in the 1880s under the U.S. government policy of forced assimilation (genocide); children as young as 5 years old were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to boarding schools hundreds of miles away. Now it is … Read more
This ICWA educational resource video is the culmination of the ongoing collaboration between the Mississippi Courts, Child Welfare Agency, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in consultation with the National Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues and the National Resource Center for Tribes. The video was produced by Mad Genius, Inc., Ridgeland, Mississippi. The … Read more
The Superior Court in Sacramento County ruled on termination of parental rights and placement under the Indian Child Welfare Act. Read the case on the National Indian Law Library website.
This case relates to claims relating to following tribal customary adoption procedures. Read the case at the National Indian Law Library website.
The court ruled that the notice provided to the Indian tribe was insufficient under Indian Child Welfare Act. Read the opinion at the National Indian Law Library website.
The future of the Indian Child Welfare Act depends on the federal government’s ability to work with state governments and ensuring that tribal courts have enough resources, the chief general counsel for the Department of Interior said Thursday. Department of Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins spoke at a panel discussion in Washington D.C. examining the federal … Read more
[O]f 440 Indian children in foster care in South Dakota as of July 1, 2011, 381 – nearly 9 in 10 – resided in non-Indian foster homes. In one recent case, grandparents of a child and their tribe threatened to prosecute the state of South Dakota for kidnapping after the state chose a non-Indian foster … Read more
Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl challenges parts of the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, this case puts one little girl at the center of a storm of legal intricacies, Native American tribal culture, and heart-wrenching personal stakes. Listen to the entire podcast (37 minutes) at the Radiolab website.
This case considered whether the earlier termination proceedings complied with statutory requirements for proceedings involving Indian children. On May 15, 2013, the Supreme Court of Montana remanded the case to the Eighth Judicial District for the purpose of curing statutory deficiencies and holding a new termination hearing. Read more about the case at the National … Read more
On April 30, 2013, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the fourth district court to terminate parental rights. Issues considered included: Whether the District Court properly concluded treatment plans were appropriate. Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to terminate parental rights under the ICWA. Whether the state made “active efforts” to prevent the … Read more
In a move that may prove to have national implications, a Los Angeles Superior Court subcommittee, Psychotropic Medication Committee, is in the process of mandating permission from American Indian tribes before American Indian children in the foster care system in Los Angeles County can be prescribed a psych medication. Read the full article at the … Read more
Certainly, there are loving, protective and caring foster care providers on South Dakota’s Indian reservations. But are there enough of them to shelter the inordinately high number of children that need such care in those places? We doubt it. In fact, we’ve reported on the trouble one tribe in our area has in getting qualified … Read more
On May 9, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that substantial evidence supported juvenile court’s findings of good cause to deny transfer of jurisdiction to tribal court and supported the juvenile court’s holding that the Department of Health and Human Services met the “active efforts” standard required by the Indian Child Welfare Act. Read more … Read more