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ICWA Home.. U.S.C. ICWA TEXT... ICWA Case Law ..U.S. 14th Amendment This Page is going to be under construction for quite awhile. Please be patient as we allow it to remain online while we work. Although it is no where near in order yet, we know that this information is very important to certain families, so we want them to be able to get what they can as they can..... . http://msass.case.edu/downloads/vgroza/fall2004/nativeamerican.pdf The National Indian Child Welfare (NICW)
The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 http://www.nicwa.org/policy/law/icwa/index.asp The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which was adopted by Congress in 1978, applies to child custody proceedings in state courts involving "Indian" children--children of Native American ancestry. The provisions of the ICWA represent a dramatic departure from the procedural and substantive laws that most states have enacted to govern child custody proceedings. Before 1978, as many as 25 to 35 percent of the Indian children in certain states were removed from their homes and placed in non-Indian homes by state courts, welfare agencies, and private adoption agencies. Non-Indian judges and social workers--failing to appreciate traditional Indian child-rearing practices--perceived day-to-day life in the children's Indian homes as contrary to the children's best interests. It was not only the high number of children being removed from their homes, but also the fact that 85 to 90 percent of them were being placed with non-Indians that caught the attention of Congress. Congress was actively promoting the continued viability of Indian nations as separate sovereigns and cultures at that time. By enacting the substantive placement preferences in ICWA--which require that Indian children, once removed, be placed in homes that reflect their unique traditional values (25 U.S.C. 1915)--Congress was acknowledging that no nation or culture can flourish if its youngest members are removed. The act was intended by Congress to protect the integrity of Indian tribes and ensure their future. The ICWA effects: Foster care placements, termination of certain parental rights, pre-adoption placements and adoption placements. The National Indian Child Welfare (NICW) www.nicw.org National Indian Child Welfare Association ”The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is the most comprehensive source of information on American Indian child welfare and works on behalf of Indian children and families. NICWA provides public policy, research, and advocacy; information and training on Indian child welfare; and 3 community development services to a broad national audience including tribal governments and programs, state child welfare agencies, and other organizations, agencies, and professionals interested in the field of Indian child welfare.” http://www.casanet.org/library/culture/native-kids.htm. Adoption of American Indian Children: Implications for implementing the Indian Child Welfare and Adoption and Safe Families Acts Children and Youth Services Review Volume: 24, Issue: 3, March, 2002. pp. 139-158. The article examines the relationship between the applications of the law outlined within the Indian Child Welfare and the Adoption and Safe Families Acts. Under the ICWA, it is more difficult to terminate the parental rights of Native American parents than for a non-Native American under the ASFA. Therefore the author explores the dilemma of whether it is better for the child to be left in long-term foster care by Native American parents, or to be adopted by non-Native foster parents. Lostbirds: An exploration of the phenomenological experience of transracially adopted Native Americans. Peterson, Jeffrey Joseph Appears in: Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences & Engineering. Vol 63(8-B), Mar 2003, 3897. “This study examined the phenomenological experience of transracially adopted Native Americans with specific attention to the development and expression of an ethnic identity…” It would be difficult to examine America’s historical, cultural and ethnic views with regard to the adoption of Native American children without looking to our Canadian neighbors; below are links and resources addressing the adoption of Aboriginal children in Canada. Adoption Council of Canada www.adoption.ca “The Adoption Council of Canada is a federally incorporated charitable body which aims to: inform and educate about all aspects of the adoption of children for Canadians; provide understanding of the benefits and challenges of adoption for children, birth-families and adoptive parents; promote the placement of waiting children in permanent loving families; stress the importance of postadoption services for families and adoptees; and facilitate communication among all groups and individuals concerned, by providing:
First Peoples Child & Family Review A Journal on Innovation and Best Practices in Aboriginal Child Welfare Administration, Research, Policy and Practice First Nations Research Site On-line Journal http://www.fncfcs.com/pubs/vol1num1/toc.html Volume 1, Number 1, 2004 September 2004 "The First Peoples Child & Family Review is a new, online journal, published jointly by the First Nations Research Site, Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare, and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada. This e-journal focuses primarily on First Nations and Aboriginal child welfare practices, policies, and research. It is a journal that privileges the "voice and perspectives" of First Nations and Aboriginal child welfare scholars, researchers, practitioners, trainers, students, volunteers and community developers. The journal was developed by the First Nations Research Site, Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare and First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada, Inc. and will be published twice a year." http://www.fncfcs.com “The purpose of the Caring Society is to promote the well being of all First Nations children, youth, families and communities with a particular focus on the prevention of, and response to, child maltreatment.” Institute for Child Rights and Development www.uvic.ca/icrd “IICRD is a Canadian leader in community-based, national, regional and international applications of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). These applications are unique in that they provide a "culturally grounded" approach to children's rights that build on children's natural resiliency (strengths) as well as the strengths of families, communities and culture.” United Native Nations Society http://www.unns.bc.ca/family_reunification.html Family Reunification Program ”Family Reunification has been in operation since 1988. At that time United Native Nations Society began receiving calls from Aboriginal people who were separated from their families and ancestral communities by adoption and foster care. It quickly became apparent that many of these people were applying for Indian status for the sole purpose of narrowing down their search for their birth parents. After researching the process of applying for Indian status and researching provincial legislation that effected legal adoptions and the foster care system, it became apparent that this particular group required a different approach than the one used by the former Bill C-31 Legal Assistance Project. Family Reunification received funding first from the Law Foundation of B.C. and since 1994 has been receiving funding from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. “ * In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C any copyrighted work on this website is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
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