U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, John Hoeven, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Tom Udall and Jerry Moran reintroduced the bipartisan Tribal Adoption Parity Act legislation that would bring parity to tribal government for the adoption tax credit.
Read the full article at the Minot Daily News website.
[Dec. 13, 2018]WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Martin Heinrich praised the Senate passage of a bicameral resolution commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and recognizing its importance to promoting the stability and security of Tribal communities and families.
Read the full press release at the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs website.
Tester’s bill, the Tribal Youth and Community Protection Act, will reestablish the ability for tribes to arrest and prosecute any offender for drug related crimes, domestic violence against children, and crimes committed against tribal law enforcement officers.
“Tribal communities must have every tool they need to protect themselves from folks who traffic illegal drugs and harm children in Indian Country,” Tester said. “This bill gives tribes certainty and provides tribal law enforcement with the tools they need to police and prosecute every criminal in their community.”
Read the full press release at Senator Tester’s website.
The failure to protect children has a damaging impact on the quality of life on Indian reservations. Native youth are 2.5 times more likely to be victims of abuse or neglect than youth of other ethnicities. Children exposed to violence are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and suffer from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders. These issues may compound or lead to failures or difficulties in school and delinquent or criminal behavior.
Read the full report at the U.S. Congress website.
Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, praised the Senate’s passage of S. 184, the Native American Children’s Safety Act and S. 246, the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act.
Read the press release from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Highlights of the Native American Child Safety Act:
The legislation:
Applies to tribal foster care placement of Native American children for the purpose of ensuring the safety and well-being of those children
Requires that all prospective foster care parents and adults living in the home undergo a background check prior to the placement of a Native American foster care child
Requires that background checks include checking for criminal activity as well as checking child abuse and neglect registries
Requires that adults who join the household after the foster care child has been placed there also undergo background checks
Requires that foster care homes undergo recertification periodically, to ensure they remain safe for foster care children
The bill sets out that the Department of Interior will work with Tribes, as well as Indian Country, to establish necessary procedures to ensure that these safety standards for foster care children are established
The bill requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which currently does not conduct these background checks in every case when placing Native American foster care children in foster care homes, follow these same requirements when acting on behalf of the Tribes
Read the press release from Sen. John Hoeven.
The United States Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) to create a Commission on Native American Children that would efficiently combine and coordinate the federal government’s resources and expertise to best address the complicated threats and challenges facing Alaska Natives, Native Americans and Native Hawaiians.
Read the press release from Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Also see media coverage at the Alaska Public Media website and the Durango Herald website.
While the state of North Dakota has long required background checks for foster parents and other adults in foster homes, that’s not necessarily been the case on the state’s American Indian reservations, something Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he hopes to change.
Read the full article at the Jamestown Sun website.
Date: 02/26/2014 02:30 PM
Type: Oversight Hearing
Watch the video of the hearing at the Senate website (coverage begins at 10:15 of the video).
Panel 1
Ms. Linda K. Smith
Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison-for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
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Panel 2
Mr. Danny Wells
Executive Officer-Division of Education, Chickasaw Nation, Ada, OK
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Ms. Barbara Fabre
Chairman-National Indian Child Care Association; and Director, Child Care/Early Childhood Program, White Earth Ojibwe Nation, White Earth, MN
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Ms. Jacquelyn Power
Superintendent/Principal-Blackwater Community School, Coolidge, AZ
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Dr. E. Jane Costello
Associate Director for Research-Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC
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