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The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978 to try to keep children who had been removed from their parents’ custody within the tribe if at all possible.
If you have a child who is Native American, or part Native American, you may have to deal with this law.
One of the first questions a worker must ask when a child is removed from a home deals with ethnic heritage. The worker can not presume a child’s heritage simply by sight, the question must be formally asked of the parents and/or the child if old enough.
If the child is or can be a member of a tribe, the tribe must be notified. The tribe has the option of moving the child to a tribunal court rather than “regular” court.
This can be a very scary time for parents. You worry that you may lose your child. As long as all procedures are followed and the adoption has been finalized, the tribe has no claim on your child any longer.
However, at any point up until finalization the tribe can claim jurisdiction. If this is a concern for you, be up front with your placing worker and let the worker know that this is something you will not deal with.
We went through a scare with Mackenzie when she was placed with us. When she was first born she had a full head of very black, very straight hair and her facial features appeared to be Native American. Her birth mother named a Native American man as Mackenzie’s potential father. We sat on pins and needles until the DNA test eliminated the man. By that time she had already been with us for six months and we were very attached to her.
In order for the Indian Child Welfare Act to apply, the child’s parent must be affiliated with a federally recognized tribe. You may find a list of the tribes here.
If you have any doubts or want to be certain, ask your worker if the child falls under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
There is good news though, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has awarded a $1.5 million grant to help prevent child abuse and delinquency within the Native American communities. Maybe this will lead to fewer Native American children ending up in the foster care system.
Photo credit – Mackenzie at about six weeks old
