Child Welfare

Blatant Notice Disregard in California ICWA Case

Kate Fort

Here. The decision is unpublished. It isn’t just cases where the parent is unsure of their tribal affiliation where this is happening.

In August 2011, at the outset of this case, John told the social worker that he was “a member of the Mission Digueno Tribe[,] a band of the Kumeyaay Indians,” and had a roll number. John also said that he had “Native American Ancestry with the Chumash Tribe in the Santa Ynez reservation….” In his Parentage Inquiry, he declared he had “Chumash and Digueno” heritage. In his Parental Notification of Indian Status, he declared he might have Indian ancestry through a Kumeyaay Tribe and a “Mission Digueno / Chumash” band. In September, John’s sister gave the social worker the roll number shared by all family members.
The social worker sent incomplete ICWA notices to the tribes. Most of the notices listed the roll number only in connection with a relative, did not explain how that relative was related to Matthew and did not explain that the whole family shared the roll number. Most of the notices omitted known information that John and other paternal relatives had received medical and dental treatment at an Indian health clinic. Most of the notices listed a Chumash Tribe association only for the paternal great-grandmother.
None of the responses to the ICWA notices were positive. The court found that ICWA did not apply. In May 2013, the court terminated parental rights.

Coverage of Transfer of Veronica to Adoptive Couple

Kate Fort3 Comments

Tulsa World here.

SCOTUSblog here.

Indian Country Today here.

Tulsa World: Discussions in Baby Girl Case End Without Settlement (Updated)

Kate Fort

Here.

Before proceeding with the appeal, the state’s high court required last week’s mediation conference at the Court of Civil Appeals in Tulsa, where the families spent five days in negotiations and returned to the courthouse Monday morning for less than an hour.

The case now goes back to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

ETA: Additional information with statement from Cherokee Nation Attorney General. It appears that the OK Supreme Court lifted the stay. Here.

“This order, just like any other order from a foreign jurisdiction needs to be filed for domestication with the Cherokee Nation District Court,” said Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree. “There is a conflicting Cherokee Nation order concerning a Cherokee Nation citizen on Cherokee Nation land. We are a sovereign nation with a valid and historic court system.

“As Attorney General, I will require that our court system be honored and respected. I took an oath when assuming this office to uphold the laws and constitution of the Cherokee Nation and the United States. Nowhere in that oath is it required that I defend the laws of South Carolina.”

Article on Judge Thorne’s Retirement from the Bench

Kate Fort

Here.

As a side note, Judge Thorne spent the last few days in Montana, doing an incredible job encouraging the tribes and state to work together to find ways to achieve better outcomes for Indian kids. Given the work he plans on doing in his retirement, we think “retirement” should really be in quotes. Which is lucky for all of us.

Deconstructing the Baby Veronica Case, Implications for Working with Fathers in Indian Child Welfare Practice, Upcoming Event

Victoria Sweet3 Comments

This event will be held on October 29, 2013 at the University of Minnesota.

After looking at the list of presenters and panelists, I am certain this is going to be a very interesting, informative, and probably lively event.

Presenters

Judge William Thorne
Utah Court of Appeals

Chrissi Nimmo
Assistant Attorney General of hte Cherokee Nation

Mark Fiddler
Attorney representing the Capobianco Family

Erma J. Vizenor
Chairwoman, White Earth Nation

Panelists

Terry Cross
Executive Director
National Indian Child Welfare Association

Essie Leoso

Mary Boo
Assistant Director
North American Council on Adoptable Children

Moderator

Sarah Deer
Assistant Professor of Law, William Mitchell College of Law

Here is the registration link.

Tulsa World Continues its Generally Excellent Coverage of Baby Girl Case

Kate Fort

Q&A from Sunday here. Particularly useful is the timeline and list of current court cases.

AK Tribal Jurisdiction/ICWA Case–News Coverage

Kate Fort1 Comment

Here.

At issue is whether a small tribal court in the village of Minto, 130 road miles west of Fairbanks, could strip Parks of his parental rights to one of his daughters, named “S.P.” in legal filings, and approve her adoption by Jeff Simmonds, the cousin of the child’s mother, and Simmonds’ wife Rozella. According to court filings, S.P. is a member of the Minto tribe, as is her mother, Stearman, the victim of Parks’ rage. Jeff Simmonds is also a Minto tribe member, while Rozella Simmonds is a Zuni Pueblo Indian from the Southwest.

One of Parks’ parents is Alaska Native and Parks himself is an enrolled member of the tribe at Stevens Village, about 60 miles north of Minto on the Yukon River, according to the court filings.

To the state, that meant that the Minto court was trying to enforce its order against a nonmember of its tribe. The Minto court’s declaration on May 7, 2009, that Parks was an unfit parent was improperly reached, the state said in its brief to the Alaska Supreme Court, filed in April.

The proper venue for that question is before a state judge in Fairbanks, not the elders of the Minto court, the state said.

[Natalie] Landreth, from the Native American Rights Fund office in Anchorage, said the state is overreaching and ignoring the years of legal precedent since Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978.

 

Related case in the 9th Circuit here.

Casey Family Programs ICW Job Posting

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

For details on the posting, which is for Director — Indian Child Welfare, see here.

Civil Rights Complaint Filed in Baby Veronica Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Complaint here.

NCAI press release:

Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Veronica Brown
Statement of Support Issued by Tribal Governments and Leading Native American, Civil Rights, Child Welfare and Legal Advocates along with Arizona and New Mexico State Attorneys General to Stop Violation of “Baby Veronica’s” Civil Rights by South Carolina Courts

Washington, DC (July 31, 2013) – Today, the Native American Rights Fund filed a complaint in the United States District Court in South Carolina to protect the civil rights of Veronica Brown, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who has been denied due process in the South Carolina courts. The filing comes after the South Carolina Supreme Court issued two controversial orders to the state’s family court on July 17 and 24, calling for the removal of Veronica from her father and a transfer her to the adoptive couple without a hearing of best interest.

The lawsuit was supported in a national statement released today by a broad coalition of civil rights, child welfare, adoption advocates, legal authorities, tribal governments, and Native American advocacy groups. These groups and individuals joined with the National Congress of American Indians, Native American Rights Fund, and National Indian Child Welfare Association in releasing the national statement of support for Veronica’s civil rights, and the rights of all children, to a hearing of best interest.

The litigation was filed on behalf of Veronica, by Angel Smith, an attorney appointed as counsel for the child by the courts of the Cherokee Nation, in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, and asks the Court to determine whether Veronica has a constitutionally protected right to a meaningful hearing in the state courts to determine what is in her best interests. Furthermore, the litigation asserts that Veronica, as an “Indian child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act, has a federally protected right to have the state courts fully consider and appropriately weigh her best interests as an Indian child. Daniel E. Martin, Jr., the judge for the family court system of South Carolina, is named as the defendant in the suit.

According to the filing, Veronica “doubtless has a liberty interest in remaining with her father and such an interest justifies at a minimum a plenary hearing on her current status, her relationships with others and her genuine need for stability… Despite the finding of the family court and the implicit assumption by the Supreme Court of South Carolina that [Veronica’s] best interest would be served by being with her father, two years later the court now determines, despite the passage of time and [Veronica’s] stage of development at age four, that her ‘best’ interests will now be served by being removed from him and given back to the adoptive couple. Again, this order is without any consideration to the present circumstances, psychological and emotional well-being, and future impact on [Veronica]. This is an arbitrary result, depriving [Veronica] of any opportunity to be heard on her own behalf, irrespective of the competing interests of the adult litigants in her young life.”

Click to download the Complaint.

Broad National Support for the Litigation

Also today, on behalf of broad coalition of civil rights, child welfare, legal authorities, tribal governments and Native American advocacy groups, the National Congress of American Indians, along with the Native American Rights Fund and the National Indian Child Welfare Association released a national statement of support for Veronica’s civil rights to be upheld. The statement of support has been endorsed by a broad coalition of tribal governments, state and federal legal authorities including two state attorneys general – Arizona and New Mexico – civil rights institutions such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, child welfare and adoption organizations including the Child Welfare League of America, and leading national and regional Native advocacy organizations representing the interests of almost every tribe located within the United States (see full list below).

According to the letter:

[T]he rights promised to our children are being compromised in the courts of the State of South Carolina … The recent [South Carolina Supreme Court] ruling in the case denies the basic fundamental right of an almost four-year-old Indian child to a hearing of her ‘best interests’ before removing her from her biological father after almost two years of child-rearing, bonding and establishing a loving home environment. Plainly stated, this is a denial of Veronica’s human rights and constitutional rights to due process as a citizen of the United States.

The following organizations and individuals have signed on to the letter of support for the civil rights lawsuit being filed on behalf of Veronica:

Continue reading →

Casey Family Programs Job Posting

ilpc

Here.

Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) full-time contract position based in Washington DC to work on ICWA issues in partnership with the Dept. of the Interior and Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

Job Summary:

This full-time contract position supports national efforts, through the federal executive branch, to address well-being needs of children, youth and families, in particular, increase understanding of the needs and opportunities related to improving outcomes for Native American children and families impacted by child abuse and neglect. The placement will ultimately benefit Casey Family Programs, ACYF, and the BIA by advancing their respective missions to enhance the well-being of vulnerable families involved in child welfare.