Law and Policy
June 2019
Native leaders rebuke state officials over failed talks on Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact
The Alaska Federation of Natives and state tribal officials are criticizing Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state of Alaska for backing out of negotiations over the developing Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact signed into effect in 2017 by former Gov. Bill Walker. “The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) is disappointed to learn that Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact negotiations broke down this afternoon,” AFN wrote in a Friday news release.
National American Indian Organizations Praise US Supreme Court Decision Not to Hear ICWA Case
The Protect ICWA Campaign–the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the National Congress of American Indians, the Association on American Indian Affairs, and the Native American Rights Fund–applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny review in Carter v. Sweeney and protect Native children and families.
Foster Care Struggles To Implement New Law (Includes audio)
A big change is happening at foster care group homes in California. By the end of this year, they are no longer supposed to be a place where a kid can stay until adulthood. Instead, a new law requires all foster children be placed with families. But implementing this law is proving difficult.
Child welfare agency says it shouldn’t be forced to house teens who’ve committed crimes. Judges disagree (Includes video)
There are kids the Department of Child Safety doesn’t want, and the agency is working with an influential lawmaker to curb the number of those children entering the foster-care system. DCS Director Greg McKay has been complaining for months that judges are foisting onto his department children with juvenile delinquency issues.
Judge overrules state, grants parents physical custody of kids in feverish child case
A judge granted physical custody Tuesday to Chandler parents whose children were taken from them after police broke down their door to check on a toddler with a spiking fever. An attorney for the mother argued the parents had followed the judge’s orders to regain physical custody, including meeting with a family reunification team and agreeing to counseling.
House Enrolled Act 1314-2018: Annual Report on Foster Care Youth Educational Outcomes [Indiana]
This first annual report presents findings from an evaluation of foster care youth educational outcomes in Indiana.