‘‘(6) require the Secretary, with respect to any
State found to have failed substantially to so
conform—
‘‘(A) to afford the State an opportunity, to
adopt, within 180 days of such final determina-
tion, a corrective action plan, developed in con-
sultation with affected tribes and approved by
the Secretary, designed, with specific implemen-
tation timetables, to end the failure to so con-
form; and
‘‘(B) to make technical assistance available
to the State to the extent feasible to enable the
State to develop and implement such a correc-
tive action plan.
‘‘(c) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—The regu-
lations referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall
be promulgated not later than 180 days following the ef-
fective date of this section.
‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT OF NONCONFORMITY DETER-
MINATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a State or any
agency of the State, including agencies licensed by
the State, has failed to adopt a corrective action
plan within 180 days following a final determination
by the Secretary that such State or agency is not in
conformity with the requirements of this Act or has
failed to implement a corrective action plan within
the timeframes specified in such plan, the Attorney
General may bring an action against such State or
agency in any appropriate United States district
court seeking to compel the adoption of such an ac-
tion plan or, as the case may be, to enforce such cor-
rective action plan through declaratory, injunctive,
or other appropriate equitable relief.
‘‘(2) ACTION BY AFFECTED INDIAN TRIBES.—
An action described in paragraph (1) may be
brought by any affected Indian tribe against any ap-
propriate official of a State or, for failure to imple-
ment a corrective action plan, against any agency li-
censed by a State.
‘‘(3) INTERVENTION.—Upon timely application,
any affected Indian tribe shall have the right to in-
tervene in a civil action commenced by the Attorney
General pursuant to paragraph (1) and the Attorney
General shall have the right to intervene in a civil
action commenced by any affected Indian tribe pur-
suant to paragraph (2).
‘‘(4) LIMITATION
OF
ACTIONS.—Any action
under paragraph (1) may not be brought more than
3 years after the date of the Secretary’s determina-
tion. The computation of such 3-year period shall
not include any time during which an administrative
proceeding was pending with respect to the Sec-
retary’s determination.
‘‘(5) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action or pro-
ceeding brought pursuant to paragraph (2), the
court, in its discretion, may allow a prevailing In-
dian tribe a reasonable attorney’s fee, including ex-
pert fees, as part of the costs. For purposes of this
subsection, an Indian tribe shall be deemed to have
prevailed where a judgment, consent decree, or order
results in the enforcement of all or part of a correc-
tive action plan or when a State or an agency of the
State, including an agency licensed by the State, vol-
untarily implements all or part of corrective action
plan as a result of the action.
‘‘SEC. 117. CHILDREN OF STATE-RECOGNIZED TRIBES.
‘‘(a) For the purposes of sections 101(c), 102, 103,
104, 105, 106, 107, 110, 111, 112, 114, and 115 of this
Act, the term ‘Indian child’ shall also include any unmar-
ried person who is under age 18 who is a member of or
eligible for membership in a tribe recognized by a State,
and the term ‘Indian tribe’ shall also include such tribal
entities.
‘‘(b)(1) The provisions of this Act identified in sub-
section (a) shall apply to children who are members of or
eligible for membership in a tribe recognized by a State,
only when any such tribe has adopted and provided to the
Secretary a resolution—
‘‘(A) consenting to the application of such pro-
visions to such children;
‘‘(B) describing the requirements for tribal
membership and annexing any constitution, laws, or
regulations stating such requirements;
‘‘(C) providing the tribe’s address and tele-
phone number;
‘‘(D) identifying one or more individuals who
can be contacted with respect to matters arising
under this Act together with information on how to
contact any such individuals;
‘‘(E) identifying the name, address, and tele-
phone number of the tribe’s agent for service of
process; and
‘‘(F) including, as an attachment, a law or
other documentation from a State establishing that
such State recognizes such tribe and that such State
consents to the application of such provisions to
such tribe’s children.
‘‘(2) In the absence of a resolution described in para-
graph (1), the provisions of this Act identified in sub-
section (a) shall apply to such children whenever the Gov-
ernor of a State provides to the Secretary documentation
that an Indian tribe is recognized by such State. Such doc-
umentation, at a minimum, shall include the information
required by subsection (b)(1)(A), (C), and (F).
‘‘(3) In the absence of a resolution described in para-
graph (1), the provisions of section 102(e) and (f) and
section 105 shall apply to such children whenever a party
in an involuntary foster care placement or termination of
parental rights proceeding, within 30 days following the
filing of such proceeding, presents evidence that the child
involved in the proceeding is a member of or eligible for
membership in an Indian tribe recognized by a State and
that such State has consented to the application of such
provisions to such tribe’s children.
‘‘(c) Not later than 60 days after receipt of a resolu-
tion described in subsection (b)(1) or the documentation
described in subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall publish
in the Federal Register a notice that includes such resolu-
tion or documentation and informs the public that the pro-
visions of this Act identified in subsection (a) apply to the
tribe or tribes identified in such notice and to children who
are members of or eligible for membership in such tribe
or tribes. The Secretary shall also notify the affected State
or States of such publication. The provisions of this Act
identified in subsection (a) shall apply to such tribe or
tribes and children 30 days after publication in the Fed-
eral Register of the notice of such resolution or docu-
mentation.
‘‘(d) The Indian tribe of a child covered under sub-
section (a) may by resolution designate a federally recog-
nized Indian tribe or an Indian organization as its agent
for the purposes of this Act. Any such resolution shall not
be effective unless delivered to the Secretary together with
a resolution of the designated Indian tribe or Indian orga-
nization consenting to such designation. Not later than 60
days after receipt of the resolution of an Indian tribe of
a child covered under subsection (a), the Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register a notice that includes such
resolution. The designation shall be effective upon such
publication unless the resolution specifies a later effective
date.’’.
SEC. 19. DEFINITIONS.
Section 4 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
(25 U.S.C. 1903) is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1)(i), (1)(ii), and
(1)(iii) to read as follows:
‘‘(i) ‘foster care placement’ which shall
mean any action which may result in the place-
ment of an Indian child in a foster home or in-
stitution or in the home of a guardian or con-
servator, where parental rights have not been
terminated;
‘‘(ii) ‘preadoptive placement’ which shall
mean the placement of an Indian child in a fos-
ter home or institution or in the home of a
guardian or conservator after the termination of
parental rights, but prior to or in lieu of adop-
tive placement, or any action which results in
the prospective adoptive placement of an Indian
child prior to any termination of parental
rights;
‘‘(iii) ‘adoptive placement’ which shall
mean the permanent placement of an Indian
child in the home of a guardian or conservator
or for adoption, including any action resulting
in a final decree of adoption.’’;
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the
semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, or for pur-
poses of section 107, any person who is seeking to
determine eligibility for tribal membership’’;
(3) by amending paragraphs (4) and (5) to
read as follows:
‘‘(4) ‘Indian child’ means any unmarried person
who is less than 18 years of age and—
‘‘(A) is a member of an Indian tribe;
‘‘(B) is eligible for membership in an In-
dian tribe; or
‘‘(C) if the child is not a member of or eli-
gible for membership in an Indian tribe, the
child is considered by an Indian tribe to be a
part of its community and is a child or grand-
child of a member of an Indian tribe and—
‘‘(i) resides or is domiciled within the
reservation of such child’s parent or grand-
parent;
‘‘(ii) is an Alaska Native who resides
or is domiciled within the State of Alaska;
or
‘‘(iii) resides or is domiciled within
any lands described in a resolution of an
Indian tribe adopted pursuant to section
108(c).
‘‘(5) ‘Indian child’s tribe’ means—
‘‘(A) the Indian tribe in which an Indian
child is a member or eligible for membership;
‘‘(B) for an Indian child described in sub-
paragraph (C) of paragraph (4), an Indian
tribe that considers such a child to be part of
its community; or
‘‘(C) in the case of an Indian child who is
a member of, eligible for membership in, or con-
sidered to be part of the community of, more
than 1 tribe, the Indian tribe with which the In-
dian child has the most significant contacts, un-
less the tribe with which the child has the most
significant contacts designates, with the consent
of the tribe to be designated as the child’s tribe,
another tribe in which the child is a member,
eligible for membership, or of which the child is
considered to be part of the community.’’; and
(4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘Indian’’ the
second place it appears and inserting after the first
sentence the following: ‘‘Except for the purposes of
sections 103(b) and (h), 104, 105(d), 106(a) and
(b), 107 and 301, the term shall not include any
person whose parental rights have been termi-
nated.’’.
SEC. 20. LICENSING OR APPROVAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR
ASSISTANCE.
The last sentence of section 201(b) of the Indian
Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1931(b)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘For purposes’’ and inserting ‘‘Notwith-
standing any law or regulation to the contrary, for pur-
poses’’.
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