Ensuring Tribal Member Rights
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law that seeks to keep American Indian/Alaskan Native children with their respective families and tribe for family placement preferences under ICWA laws. ICWA is an integral policy framework on which tribal child welfare programs rely. It provides structure and requirements for how public and private child welfare agencies and state courts view and conduct their work to serve tribal children and families. ICWA also acknowledges and promotes the role that tribal governments play in supporting tribal families, both on and off tribal lands. However, as is the case with many laws, proper implementation of ICWA requires vigilance, resources, and advocacy.
We hope to continue improving our partnership with the State of Alaska, Office of Children’s Services. Every tribal member has the right to have an ICWA Advocate involved and present during an Initial Assessment (I.A.), which is an investigation to allegations of a family unit, when a report is generated from OCS as a Protective Service Report (PSR).
An ICWA Advocate is NOT a licensed attorney, but rather advocates with the respective “Parties to a CINA case”, i.e., Parents, their Attorneys, the Guardian Ad Litem (G.A.L.), Attorney General or Assistant Attorney General (A.G. or A.A.G. for the State of Alaska), Social Worker assigned to the case (OCS Caseworker) and the ICWA Advocate – when working with an open or new Child in Need of Aid case.
There are policies and procedures that the ICWA Advocate has to follow when considering Family placement, which includes background checks for individuals 18 years old and older that reside in the home (Every member has to Pass the background check) and a Home Study, for safety assurances.
For more information, contact Emma Smith, ICWA Advocate.
