Gallegos and Fort on ICWA in the Harvard Public Health Review

Here.

ICWA enhances protective factors by requiring court and agency compliance in child welfare proceedings with two cutting-edge provisions: active efforts and placement preferences. Congress deliberately created a higher standard for Indian child welfare proceedings requiring state agencies to provide active efforts to AI/AN families compared to non-Indian proceedings – which require use of reasonable efforts. Active efforts are defined as “affirmative, active, thorough, and timely efforts intended primarily to maintain or reunite an Indian child with his or her family.”15, 17

ICWA Pro Hac Vice Rule Open for Comments in Washington

This is so exciting! Kristi Healing, (in-house at Stillaguamish) submitted this pro hac rule change proposal.

Here is the proposed rule in PDF form: WA_Proposed_APR8

Submit comments in support, please!

Unless otherwise noted, all comments should be submitted to the Clerk of the Supreme Court by either U.S. mail or Internet e-mail. Comments may be sent to the following addresses: P.O. Box 40929, Olympia, WA 98504-0929, or supreme@courts.wa.gov. Comments submitted by e-mail may not exceed 1500 words.

Our state by state pro hac page is here. I’m also aware of efforts in two other states that are not yet public for comment.

Standing Case out of California (ICWA)

Here

This is a follow up appeal related to an earlier Indian Custodian case. The Court determined the appellant was not an Indian Custodian, and then here tries to determine if he still had standing (he didn’t). Maybe useful for some of the de facto parent language in it.

(Why yes, I am again catching up on the ICWA cases from the holidays. But also the last time there were this many reported ICWA cases in a row was in August.)

Placement Preference Case out of California

Here

It’s not clear from the docket who requested this case be published from Nov. 29, but tribal attorneys should take note of the reasoning in the section regarding the tribal government’s ability to change ICWA’s placement preferences. This is the second time (and state) I’ve heard this reasoning, but the first published opinion. It’s contrary to what I’ve advised in the past, and some tribal practices I’m aware of.

Termination of Parental Rights Decision out of Wisconsin

Here

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed a termination of parental rights decision under ICWA and WICWA using Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (finding abandonment/lack of continued custody by non-Indian father).

Child Welfare Jurisdiction Case out of Utah

Here

The child welfare case did not fall under ICWA because the child was not as a member or eligible for membership in the tribe, so the Court used the UCCJEA to determine jurisdiction.

Ninth Circuit Briefing in A.D. v. Washburn (Goldwater Litigation)

Here is the case page.

20_Opening Brief_09-01-2017

40_AZResponse

41_GilaNavajoResponse

42_USResponse

And yes, the case caption should eventually change–Carter et. al. v. Tahsuda et. al. is how the U.S. brief is captioned.

New Amended Complaint in ICWA Suit Texas (Brackeen) v. Zinke

The plaintiffs in the ICWA suit out of the federal court in Texas asked for time to file an amended complaint. It’s here. Case page is here.

Additional state parties are Indiana and Louisiana. Additional children involved are from White Earth and Ysleta del sur Pueblo.

A word of warning–I swore at the complaint by paragraph 4.

ETA: This interesting (related?) article out of Indiana: DCS Director Resigns 

Unpublished ICWA Case from MN, Judge Jesson Concurrence

Here. This is an unpublished termination of parental rights out of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Here is the concurrence in its entirety::

With a backdrop of historical trauma and a high number of Indian children being removed from their families and tribes by nontribal agencies, Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). See Miss. Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30, 32-37, 109 S. Ct. 1597, 1599-1602 (1989) (detailing the background for ICWA). Government must meet a high bar to terminate a parent’s parental rights in any case. ICWA and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act require an even higher standard to terminate parental rights to an Indian child: proof beyond a reasonable doubt that returning the children to the parent will likely result in serious emotional or physical harm to the child. 25 U.S.C. § 1912(f) (2016) (ICWA); Minn. Stat. § 260.771, subd. 6(a) (2016)

Scant attention was given to this high standard during trial. This is troubling. Only one witness was asked to opine on the ultimate question of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. And, as the majority points out, that witness equivocated. And even after this court remanded the case to the district court, asking the court to directly address this question, the district court did not elaborate on the critical issue. It simply amended the findings to state that “[c]ontinued custody of [the children] by [mother and father] is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the Children.”

I expect more when it comes to termination of parental rights for Indian children. We all should.

Yet I concur with the majority’s decision despite my view that, based on the nature of the expert testimony, this is a close case. I concur because the majority is correct that when we dive deep into the record we see children who suffered serious emotional damage with no realistic path to a different future with their parents. I concur because the tribe was unwilling to accept a transfer of jurisdiction to tribal court. I concur because the tribe supports termination of parental rights. And, most fundamentally, I concur because these children, like all children, deserve a permanent home, without additional delay.

But I remain concerned. In a state in which out-of-home placement for Indian children far exceeds the percentage for any other group of children, we need greater diligence in adhering to the high standards dictated by ICWA and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act.

 

North Dakota ICWA Case on Qualified Expert Witness

Here: Interest of K.S.D. and J.S.D., 2017 ND 289

The lack of qualified expert testimony on whether the continued custody of the child by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child leaves this record without evidence necessary for the district court to find the State established the ICWA requirement by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. 25 U.S.C. There is a line of authority that upholds termination of parental rights absent an ICWA qualified expert witness. We choose to follow the other branch of authority because the United States Code and the United States Code of Federal Regulations require—and do not merely suggest—that a qualified expert witness testify on the ICWA requirements in all ICWA terminations.

 

(Unrelated, one has to love a Court that only allows opinions to be downloaded as WordPerfect documents. That’s commitment.)