For additional resources and information, visit the following NRCPFC webpages related to Indian Child Welfare Issues:

• Fostering Connections – Tribal Issues
• ICWA – Indian Child Welfare Act
• Children & Youth of Color
• Disproportionate Representation of Children and Youth of Color in the Child Welfare System

Resources

• Children’s Bureau Express: Spotlight on Working with Tribes
  This issue of CBX, the Children's Bureau Express online digest, includes an example of a successful Tribal-State agreement and information on grants, the Indian Child Welfare Act in practice, Native Americans living in urban areas, and Tribal resources. CBX covers news, issues, and trends of interest to professionals and policymakers in the interrelated fields of child abuse and neglect, child welfare, and adoption. (March 2009)

• CultureCard: A Guide to Build Cultural Awareness – American Indian and Alaska Native
  SAMHSA created this pocket resource for service providers working with Tribes. It is a portable guide that provides brief summaries of customs, beliefs, and social norms to improve cultural competence when serving families in Tribal communities. Workers are encouraged to carry the guide with them and read it as a refresher before they visit Tribal communities. Some of the many topics addressed in the guide include: communication styles; self-awareness and etiquette; spirituality; the role of veterans and elders; community strengths; historic distrust; and, regional and cultural differences.

• Strengthening Indian Country through Tribal Youth Programs
  This report by the American Youth Policy Forum and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provides preliminary findings based on site visits with five Tribal Youth Programs in 2007 and 2008. The purpose was to investigate how individual programs are succeeding in improving the lives of at-risk youth and strengthening families in tribal communities. (2009)

• Ensuring the Seventh Generation: A Youth Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Tribal Child Welfare Programs
  Studies show higher suicide rates and attempted suicides among Native American youth compared to the general population. To better prepare Tribal child welfare workers to prevent and respond to suicidal behavior among the youth they serve, the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) recently released a new resource, Ensuring the Seventh Generation: A Youth Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Tribal Child Welfare Programs. The toolkit includes information on warning signs for suicidal behavior, risk and protective factors, and prevention and intervention methods and strategies in the context of working with Tribal communities, and encourages collaboration with other service providers. (January 2008)

• Trauma Exposure in American Indian/Alaska Native Children
  This factsheet was developed by the Indian Country Child Trauma Center for a February 28, 2008 Congressional Hearing on Trauma Exposure in Children.

• Time for Reform: A Matter of Justice for American Indian and Alaskan Native Children
  This brief 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. (November 2007)

• 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. (May 2007)

• 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. (Winter 2007)

• 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. (2007)

• Passports for Native Children: A Best Practice Approach for Tribal Advocates Working With Native Children Who Have Suffered Abuse
  This article from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute suggests an approach to evaluating the needs of native children who enter the child protection system. In addition to an approach, the article suggests a context for the assessment that is culturally consistent with most tribal child rearing philosophies. (December 2006)

• 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. (April 2006)

• 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. (April 2005)

• 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. (2005)

• 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. (2005)
  
  
• 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.” (September 2004)

• Coming Home: The Lingering Effects of the Indian Adoption Project
  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. (March 2002)

• 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 inquiries 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.
  
  
• Tribal Court Improvement Program Consultation
  The Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act (Public Law 112-34), which was signed into law on September 30, 2011, created a new Tribal Court Improvement Program (Tribal CIP). In keeping with the Administration for Children and Families’ Tribal Consultation Policy, they are seeking input to help ensure successful implementation of the program. To seek consultation with tribes on the implementation of the Tribal CIP, ACF will hold two conference calls in January to seek input on key questions regarding the administration, scope and duration of grant awards, as well as any other considerations for implementing the new program that participants may raise. The calls will be held on Wednesday, January 11 and Thursday, January 12, 2012, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST. Below, please find links to the Tribal CIP Letter and Questions for Tribal Consultation on the Tribal CIP.
  Tribal CIP Letter (December 5, 2011)
  Questions for Tribal Consultation on the Tribal CIP
  

• California: California Judges' Benchguide: The Indian Child Welfare Act
  This guide from California Indian Legal Services provides an overview of the California laws and procedures for handling Indian child custody proceedings subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act. (2010)

• Maine: Tribes and State Leaders Create the first Truth and Reconciliation Commission of its kind in the US
  In Maine, the State government and the Wabanaki tribes have started the process of creating a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This effort, the first of its kind in the nation, comes from over a decade of work between tribal and state welfare agencies, to address the long term effect of child welfare practices on tribes. Meredith DeFRancesco reports from WERU in Maine, in this brief news segment available via Free Speech Radio News. (June 2011)

• Minnesota: Cultural Competency Guidelines For the Provision of Clinical Mental Health Services to American Indians in the State of Minnesota
  The Minnesota Department of Human Services has published guidelines for health and human services organizations to enhance their abilities to serve American Indian people. (January 2003)

• Nevada: Indian Child Welfare Resource Guide
  This guide provides information about culturally responsive child welfare practice as well as background about ICWA and Nevada tribes. (Revised 2006)

• 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. (Revised May 2005)

• 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. (Revised September 2006)

Webcast

• Building Positive Collaborations and Relationships Between Tribes and States to Work Effectively with Children, Youth, and Families
  Collaborations at their best can be challenging, but gratifying in that all parties’ interests are represented and served. In this NRCPFC webcast, viewers are provided with insights and strategies for building positive collaborations between Tribes and States as they work with children, youth, and families. Presenters provide an overview of collaborative efforts on a national perspective and take a look at the types of collaborative efforts operating between the tribes and the State of North Dakota. (May 11, 2006)

Teleconference

• 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. *Scroll down the page to access the teleconference, which is archived according to chronological order. (May 2007)

Trainings and Training Curricula

• The Other Side of ICWA: A Cultural Journey to Fairness and Equity (Version 2.0)
  Goals for this training from the California Social Work Education Center are: 1) To provide an experiential learning experience on the relevance of historical, cumulative, and collective trauma to working with Native Americans and communities; 2) To develop an understanding of Native American cultural and communication styles in relation to the non-tribal child welfare systems; 3) To provide engagement techniques and strategies for identifying a Native American child, and for developing culturally appropriate resources and tools; and, 4) To value the application of principles of Fairness and Equity to skills and strategies in working with other culturally diverse families within child welfare systems. (May 2011)
  
  
• Ethical Considerations with Confidentiality, Disclosures, and Communication in Child Welfare Practice
  This free online training module is available through the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota. While confidentiality can be complicated by a variety of factors and in many practice areas, this module presents the unique and complex confidentiality issues child welfare workers may encounter in their work with cases subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act, adoption and kinship care. The module is intended to give child welfare workers a basic understanding of these potentially complex issues as well as some practical guidelines for resolution. The option of earning Continuing Education Hours is available; this requires a processing fee. (2010)

Bibliography

• Native American Youth in Foster Care (January 2001)
  

NRCPFC 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.

Websites

• The National Resource Center for Tribes
  NRC4Tribes is the newest resource center within the Children’s Bureau Training and Technical (T&TA) Assistance Network. Following an initial planning/assessment year, this new resource center will become the focal point for coordinated and culturally competent child welfare T&TA for Tribes within the T&TA Network.

• NRCYD – Tribal Pages
  The National Resource Center for Youth Development website includes Tribal Pages, which include information, resources, and links to other related websites.

• National Indian Child Welfare Association
  The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is a 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

• TribalSTAR
  This site from the Academy for Professional Excellence, San Diego State University School of Social Work is designed to provide Technical Assistance to tribes, tribal programs, county social workers working with Tribal youth, and all others who work with Tribal youth as they go from foster care to emancipation.

• 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.