No statistical data required on Indian children from State or Tribal child and family care?

Archive Photo

By Trace

I tweeted today that adoptees are the biggest threat to the adoption industry! It's true.
WHY? We watch the news, watch legislation, watch ICWA and we watch and pray for future generations.
Years ago I interviewed musician Brule (Paul LaRoche) who is a late discovery adoptee and a member of the Lower Brule Band of Lakota.  He told me, "Our grandparents prayed for us to be born, even before our parents had the idea. WE STAND IN THE CIRCLE. We are all related."
The circle includes you and me. We stand together as relatives. Future generations are our responsibility!

NEWS:

Measuring Compliance with ICWA

  April 13, 2015 by Kate Fort| Turtle Talk

 

Here is a Casey Family Programs publication, “Measuring Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act”

At present, no federal agency is tasked with ensuring state compliance with the protections mandated by ICWA. Without federal oversight, state legislatures, public child welfare authorities and courts are left to interpret ICWA provisions and definitions of “active efforts.”22, 23 Despite overall decreases in rates of out-of-home placements, Indian children remain disproportionately represented in the foster care system, at more than twice the rate of the general population,24 though this varies among states.25

Related, here is a copy of the law professors comments to the original AFCARS proposed rule on collecting data.

There is no statistical data required on Indian children from State or Tribal child and family care agencies. There is also no data on State compliance with ICWA. Under § 429(c), the ACF already possess and exercises the requisite authority to collect ICWA data. 42 U.S.C. 479(c)(3)(A)-(D).
The AFCARS regulations should follow the same requirements for Title IV-B Agencies in ICWA data reporting, as seen in the  PIs released by HHS. [ACYF-CB-PI-14-03 (2014)]. HHS has defined “Title IV-E Agency” “as the State or Tribal agency administering or supervising the administration of the title IV-B and title IV-E plans.” 77 F.R. 896. Under this definition, Title IV-B Agencies may also be Title IV-E Agencies. Due to this, ACF should also include similar ICWA data requirements in AFCARS.
In addition, the SSA also requires AFCARS to “provide comprehensive national information” regarding “the extent and nature of assistance provided by Federal, State, and local adoption and foster care programs and the characteristics of the children with respect to whom such assistance is provided.” 42 U.S.C. 479(c)(3)(d). Not only does this encompass Title IV-B Agencies, but also Title IV-E Agencies, which HHS provides direct Title IV-E funding to Tribes and Tribal child and family service programs under the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008. The American Indian / Alaska Native children in these Title IV-B or Title IV-E Agencies are ICWA children, and that data should also be collected in order to “ensure that the [AFCARS] system functions reliably throughout the United States.” 42 U.S.C. 479(c)(4).
Under this legal and policy background, and as recommended by HHS, we recommend ACF add the following data elements and questions to the AFCARS in order to comply with ICWA.

From the report:

Although the Indian Adoption Project ended in 1967, it was succeeded by the Adoption Resource Exchange of North America, which continued to promote the adoption of Indian children into non-Indian families until the enactment of ICWA in 1978. During this time, approximately 25 percent to 35 percent of all Indian children were separated from their families, tribes, and culture and were placed in non-Indian foster homes, adoptive homes, or institutions. In 1974, the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs heard testimony documenting the long-term detrimental impact of these policies and practices on Indian children’s and families’ well-being.