Understanding Why ICWA Compliance is Important for Judges

Understanding Why ICWA Compliance is Important for Judges | National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges:

August 13, 2012

In December 2011, with support from Casey Family Programs, the Lead Judges of the Model Courts Project met to better understand the reasons the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was implemented and the experiences of Native children in the child welfare system.  The judges listened to powerful testimony from Native adoptees and a birth mother who experienced the loss of connection and culture through their experiences in the child welfare system.  They learned about the history of child welfare in Indian country and systematic practices to purposely break up tribal families.  These practices included removing thousands of Native children from their families and tribes, first by placing children in boarding schools far from home and for years at a time, and then later, through the Indian Adoption Project undertaken by the Child Welfare League of America and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, placing Native children in foster care for adoption by non-Native families.  The legacy of these policies and their negative impacts on tribal communities and families continue today. 

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