Court Reform and American Indian and Alaska Native Children: Increasing Protections and Improving Outcomes

• NCJ Number: 231274
• Author(s): Ashley Horne; Timothy Travis; Nancy B. Miller; David Simmons
• Date Published: August 2009
• Length: 42 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2007-CT-BX-K001
• Sponsoring Agency: Pew Charitable Trust; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Corporate Author: Permanency Planning for Children Dept; National Indian Child Welfare Assoc
• Sale Source: Permanency Planning for Children Dept; National Indian Child Welfare Assoc
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Technical Assistance Brief

Annotation

This paper provides a preliminary examination of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care's recommendations as they pertain to State and tribal court involvement in Indian child welfare matters, State Court Improvement Program grants, challenges and promising practices gleaned from tribal-State collaborations around court improvement, and opportunities for progressing court systems for the betterment of American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) children.

Abstract

Tribal children have a unique political status in the United States. The Federal Government has a special trust relationship with tribal people that requires it to establish policy and programs to protect the well-being of all American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) people. In the area of child welfare, this unique status and patterns of inappropriate practice historically by many State and private child welfare agencies and State courts have resulted in the federal government establishing Federal polices to protect AI/AN children and families. The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care was established in 2003 in response to the concern held by child welfare administrators, caseworkers, judges, advocates, and State and Federal policymakers, who had grown increasingly aware and critical of the failings of the foster care system. The Pew Commission was established to conduct an investigative study and issue recommendations on improving the Federal financing system for child welfare services and role of court oversight in such cases. The resulting recommendations can be summarized into four major categories: data tracking and analysis, collaboration and training, legal representation, and overall court structure and operation. The Pew Commission's recommendations have proven vital to court reform and improving outcomes for American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) children. The recommendations presented in this paper build upon those of the Pew Commission and add specific tribal applications that, if implemented, would do away with many of the long-standing issues hampering States' and tribes' abilities to ensure the well-being of AI/AN youth. Endnotes and bibliography