For more information on the Indian Child Welfare Act, please visit our ICWA page at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/icwa.html

For more information child welfare issues involving children and youth of color, please visit our Hot Topics page at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/children-of-color.html

For information on the disproportionate representation of children and youth of color in the child welfare system, please visit our Hot Topics page at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/disproportionate.html

Resources

• Working With Urban American Indian Families with Child Protection and Substance Abuse Challenges
  The Denver Indian Family Resource Center produced a resource guide for other practitioners who work with urban American Indian families in the child welfare system. The first part of this guide focuses on providing the worker with relevant historical and contextual information, including information about Tribal affiliation and enrollment. Suggestions for engaging families are also included. The second section offers both system-level approaches and direct practice interventions to support successful outcomes for children and families.

• Tribal-State Relations
  The issue brief from the Child Welfare Information Gateway was developed in partnership with the National Indian Child Welfare Association. It examines:
  • Factors affecting Tribal-State relations in child welfare
  • Components of successful Tribal-State relations
  • Examples of promising practices in Tribal-State relations
  It is intended to help States and Tribes find ways to work together more effectively to meet the goals of ICWA. Understanding the principles of effective practice identified here, along with the history and context for Tribal-State relationships, will assist readers in developing positive Tribal-State relations in their communities.

• Adapting Evidence-Based Treatments for Use with American Indian and Native Alaskan Children and Youth
  This article from Focal Point, from the Regional Research Institute for Human Services at Portland State University describes the adaptation of several evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for child traumatic stress for use in Native American communities. The EBTs that are discussed attend to the broad cultural, historical, and intergenerational traumas that are part of the life experience of many Native American youth.

• Child Protection in Indian Country
  The Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs co-sponsored the development of a handbook to assist professionals who deal with the issue of child abuse and neglect among Indian families. The online publication provides an overview of the legal and policy aspects of such issues as child abuse reporting, criminal background checks of persons who work with children, and developing child protections.

• The Indian Child Welfare Act: A Family's Guide
  This brochure from the National Indian Child Welfare Association provides answers to questions frequently asked by families about ICWA.

• Native Americans and Child Welfare
  This learning tool, presented by the Friends National Resource Center for Community-based Child Abuse Prevention, was written by the National Indian Child Welfare Association.

• Indian Child Welfare Acts Checklists
  These checklists were created to assist juvenile and family court judges in assuring that the necessary inquires are being made to determine as early as possible in every case whether the Indian Child Welfare Act applies. These checklists will help judges ensure that the necessary parties are present in all cases where ICWA may be applicable.

• Are They Really Neglected?
  This article in First Peoples Child & Family Review looks at caseworker perceptions of neglect in American Indian communities, and concludes, “In summary, American policies, practice, and habits regarding Indian children have led to variations in attitudes toward and treatment of Native children and families by mainstream child welfare workers.”

• Coming Home: The Lingering Effects of the Indian Adoption Projecy
  This article from CWLA's Children's Voice magazine describes a policy of assimilation that took place in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, when thousands of Indian children were removed from their families by missionaries or social workers and placed in foster homes or with non-Indian adoptive parents.

• Indian Child Welfare Act: Existing Information on Implementation Issues Could Be Used to Target Guidance and Assistance to States
  This Government Accountability Office report describes (1) the factors that influence placement decisions for children subject to ICWA; (2) the extent to which, if any, placements for children subject to ICWA have been delayed; and (3) federal oversight of states' implementation of ICWA.

• Promising Practice for Maintaining Identities in First Nation Adoption
  The purpose of this article from the First People's Child & Family Review is to explore the importance of identity in First Nation adoption. It is adapted from a PhD study completed by the author in 2005. The objectives of this study were: (1) describe how connectedness relates to health for First Nation adoptees, and (2) explore legislative, policy and program implications in the adoption of First Nation children. The findings suggest that, for First Nation adoptees, there is a causal relationship between connection to birth family, community and ancestral knowledge, adoption and health. The major finding is that loss of identity may contribute to impaired physical, spiritual, mental and emotional health for First Nation adoptees. This article provides suggestions on how identity can be preserved in First Nation adoption through programs, policies and practice.

• Tribal Programs Harness Cultural Strengths to Improve Conditions for Families and Youth
  The April 2006 issue of The Exchange from the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth highlights a number of initiatives around the country that look to harness cultural strengths of Native Tribal communities to improve conditions for families and youth. Some of the programs that are highlighted include: Host Homes for Native Americans, Domestic Violence shelters on Native American land, and the Mentoring Children of Prisoner's program.

• Time for Reform: A Matter of Justice for American Indian and Alaskan Native Children
  This briefing paper from the National Indian Child Welfare Association and the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care provides information on federal financing for tribal child welfare services and critical issues in accessing this funding for tribal governments.

• California Judges' Benchguide: The Indian Child Welfare Act
  This 2000 guide is from the law offices of California Indian Legal Services.

• Minnesota
  Clinical Guidelines for Culturally Competent Mental Health Services for American Indians
  The Minnesota Department of Human Services has published guidelines for health and human services organizations to enhance their abilities to serve individuals from diverse cultures.

• New Mexico
  Preserving Native American Families in New Mexico
  A resource for judges, attorneys, social workers, child advocates, and others who work with children and families.

• New York
  Indian Child Welfare Act Compliance Desk Aid for New York State Child Welfare Workers
  This Informational Letter introduces the Indian Child Welfare Act Compliance Desk Aid for New York State Child Welfare Workers and model notification letters to social services districts and voluntary authorized agencies. The desk aid was developed to be a ready resource for staff that work with the placement of children, to assist in improving compliance with the requirements of ICWA.

• North Dakota
  Tribal Liaison
  This website describes the tribal liaison position, created in 1997 to enhance working relationships and communication between tribal social service programs and the Department of Human Services. It contains many valuable resources, such as: "Journey to Understanding - An Introduction to North Dakota Tribes" as well as forms, including a Social Worker Checklist on the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Webcast

• Building Positive Collaborations and Relationships Between Tribes and States to Work Effectively with Children, Youth, and Families
  Broadcast May 11, 2006

• Building and Maintaining State-Tribal Partnerships to Improve Child Welfare Programs
  Presenters discussed strategies that have been or will be used to involve Tribes in all stages of the CFSR review process. Co-sponsored by the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Organizational Improvement and AdoptUsKids. May 31, 2007

Bibliography

• Native American Youth in Foster Care (January 2001)
  

NRCFCPPP Information Packet

• American Indian Children in Foster Care by Rachel Bennett (May 2003)

  
  

• A Broad View of Disparities Faced by American Indian and Alaskan Native Children in Human Services
  This presentation from the Indian Child Welfare Association focuses on disparities experienced by American Indian and Alaskan Native children in the areas of child well-being, child welfare, behavioral health, and juvenile justice.

• 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. Among the many useful resources on this website are:
  • American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Fact Sheets by State
    
  • Indian Child Welfare Glossary and Flowchart
    

• Native American Programs on Child Abuse and Neglect
  The Center on Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oklahoma has several projects that are specific to the needs of Native Americans. They include: Project Making Medicine - a national training program for mental health professionals from tribal and Indian Health Services agencies in the prevention and treatment of child abuse; Native American Topic-Specific Monograph Series, booklets to assist individuals in understanding issues affecting Native communities; a cross cultural training curriculum for federal criminal justice personnel; and the Indian Country Child Trauma Center.

• First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
  This group promotes the well-being of First Nations children, youth, families and communities with a particular focus on the prevention of and response to child maltreatment. Website resources include an online journal that focuses primarily on First Nations and Aboriginal child welfare practices, policies, and research.