Source: http://thiswestisourwest.net/index.cfm/indian-child-welfare-act/indian-child-welfare-act-of-1978-25-u-s-c-1901-63/
Timestamp: 2019-05-21 02:38:50
Document Index: 236308153

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1901', '§ 2', '§ 4', '§ 103', '§ 104', '§ 105', '§ 107', '§ 109', '§ 202', '§ 203', '§ 509', '§ 1934']

Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-63) - This West Is OUR West
1. that clause 3, section 8, article I of the United States Constitution provides that ``The Congress shall have Power * * * To regulate Commerce * * * with Indian tribes1 and, through this and other constitutional authority, Congress has plenary power over Indian affairs;
2. that Congress, through statutes, treaties, and the general course of dealing with Indian tribes, has assumed the responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian tribes and their resources;
3. that there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children and that the United States has a direct interest, as trustee, in protecting Indian children who are members of or are eligible for membership in an Indian tribe;
4. that an alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by nontribal public and private agencies and that an alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions; and
5 .that the States, exercising their recognized jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings through administrative and judicial bodies, have often failed to recognize the essential tribal relations of Indian people and the cultural and social standards prevailing in Indian communities and families. (Pub. L. 95-608, § 2, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3069.) Short Title Section 1 of Pub. L. 95-608 provided: ``That this Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the `Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978'.''
1. ''child custody proceeding'' shall mean and include--
i. ''foster care placement'' which shall mean any action removing an Indian child from its parent or Indian custodian for temporary placement in a foster home or institution or the home of a guardian or conservator where the parent or Indian custodian cannot have the child returned upon demand, but where parental rights have not been terminated;
ii. ''termination of parental rights'' which shall mean any action resulting in the termination of the parent-child relationship;
iii. ''preadoptive placement'' which shall mean the temporary placement of an Indian child in a foster home or institution after the termination of parental rights, but prior to or in lieu of adoptive placement; and
iv. ''adoptive placement'' which shall mean the permanent placement of an Indian child for adoption, including any action resulting in a final decree of adoption. Such term or terms shall not include a placement based upon an act which, if committed by an adult, would be deemed a crime or upon an award, in a divorce proceeding, of custody to one of the parents.
2. ''extended family member'' shall be as defined by the law or custom of the Indian child's tribe or, in the absence of such law or custom, shall be a person who has reached the age of eighteen and who is the Indian child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, or stepparent;
3. ''Indian'' means any person who is a member of an Indian tribe, or who is an Alaska Native and a member of a Regional Corporation as defined in 1606 of title 43;
4. ''Indian child'' means any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe;
5. ''Indian child's tribe'' means (a) the Indian tribe in which an Indian child is a member or eligible for membership or (b), in the case of an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for membership in more than one tribe, the Indian tribe with which the Indian child has the more significant contacts;
6. ''Indian custodian'' means any Indian person who has legal custody of an Indian child under tribal law or custom or under State law or to whom temporary physical care, custody, and control has been transferred by the parent of such child;
7. ''Indian organization'' means any group, association, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians;
8. ''Indian tribe'' means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible for the services provided to Indians by the Secretary because of their status as Indians, including any Alaska Native village as defined in section 1602(c) of title 43;
9. ''parent'' means any biological parent or parents of an Indian child or any Indian person who has lawfully adopted an Indian child, including adoptions under tribal law or custom. It does not include the unwed father where paternity has not been acknowledged or established;
10. ''reservation'' means Indian country as defined in section 1151 of title 18 and any lands, not covered under such section, title to which is either held by the United States in trust for the benefit of any Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian tribe or individual subject to a restriction by the United States against alienation;
11. ''Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior; and (12) ``tribal court'' means a court with jurisdiction over child custody proceedings and which is either a Court of Indian Offenses, a court established and operated under the code or custom of an Indian tribe, or any other administrative body of a tribe which is vested with authority over child custody proceedings. (Pub. L. 95-608, § 4, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3069.) Section Referred to in Other Sections This section is referred to in sections 1727, 3202, 3653, 4302 of this title; title 12 section 4702; title 26 section 168.
• Transfer of proceedings; declination by tribal court
• State court proceedings; intervention
• Full faith and credit to public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of Indian tribes
• Notice; time for commencement of proceedings; additional time for preparation
• Appointment of counsel
• Examination of reports or other documents
• Remedial services and rehabilitative programs; preventive measures
• Foster care placement orders; evidence; determination of damage to child
• Parental rights termination orders; evidence; determination of damage to child
a. Consent; record; certification matters; invalid consents
• Foster care placement; withdrawal of consent
• Voluntary termination of parental rights or adoptive placement; withdrawal of consent; return of custody
• Collateral attack; vacation of decree and return of custody; limitations
After the entry of a final decree of adoption of an Indian child in any State court, the parent may withdraw consent thereto upon the grounds that consent was obtained through fraud or duress and may petition the court to vacate such decree. Upon a finding that such consent was obtained through fraud or duress, the court shall vacate such decree and return the child to the parent. No adoption which has been effective for at least two years may be invalidated under the provisions of this subsection unless otherwise permitted under State law. (Pub. L. 95-608, title I, § 103, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3072.) Section Referred to in Other
Any Indian child who is the subject of any action for foster care placement or termination of parental rights under State law, any parent or Indian custodian from whose custody such child was removed, and the Indian child's tribe may petition any court of competent jurisdiction to invalidate such action upon a showing that such action violated any provision of sections 1911, 1912, and 1913 of this title. (Pub. L. 95-608, title I, § 104, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3072.)
• Adoptive placements; preferences
• Foster care or preadoptive placements; criteria; preferences
i. a member of the Indian child's extended family;
ii. a foster home licensed, approved, or specified by the Indian child's tribe;
iii. an Indian foster home licensed or approved by an authorized non-Indian licensing authority; or
iv. an institution for children approved by an Indian tribe or operated by an Indian organization which has a program suitable to meet the Indian child's needs.
• Tribal resolution for different order of preference; personal preference considered; anonymity in application of preferences
• Social and cultural standards applicable
The standards to be applied in meeting the preference requirements of this section shall be the prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian community in which the parent or extended family resides or with which the parent or extended family members maintain social and cultural ties. (e) Record of placement; availability A record of each such placement, under State law, of an Indian child shall be maintained by the State in which the placement was made, evidencing the efforts to comply with the order of preference specified in this section. Such record shall be made available at any time upon the request of the Secretary or the Indian child's tribe. (Pub. L. 95-608, title I, § 105, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3073.)
• Petition; best interests of child
• Removal from foster care home; placement procedure
Upon application by an Indian individual who has reached the age of eighteen and who was the subject of an adoptive placement, the court which entered the final decree shall inform such individual of the tribal affiliation, if any, of the individual's biological parents and provide such other information as may be necessary to protect any rights flowing from the individual's tribal relationship. (Pub. L. 95-608, title I, § 107, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3073.)
• Petition; suitable plan; approval by Secretary
• Criteria applicable to consideration by Secretary; partial retrocession
1. In considering the petition and feasibility of the plan of a tribe under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary may consider, among other things:
i. whether or not the tribe maintains a membership roll or alternative provision for clearly identifying the persons who will be affected by the reassumption of jurisdiction by the tribe;
ii. the size of the reservation or former reservation area which will be affected by retrocession and reassumption of jurisdiction by the tribe;
iii. the population base of the tribe, or distribution of the population in homogeneous communities or geographic areas; and (iv) the feasibility of the plan in cases of multitribal occupation of a single reservation or geographic area.
2. In those cases where the Secretary determines that the jurisdictional provisions of section 1911(a) of this title are not feasible, he is authorized to accept partial retrocession which will enable tribes to exercise referral jurisdiction as provided in section 1911(b) of this title, or, where appropriate, will allow them to exercise exclusive jurisdiction as provided in section 1911(a) of this title over limited community or geographic areas without regard for the reservation status of the area affected.
• Approval of petition; publication in Federal Register; notice; reassumption period; correction of causes for disapproval
• Pending actions or proceedings unaffected
• Subject coverage
• Revocation; notice; actions or proceedings unaffected
Such agreements may be revoked by either party upon one hundred and eighty days' written notice to the other party. Such revocation shall not affect any action or proceeding over which a court has already assumed jurisdiction, unless the agreement provides otherwise. (Pub. L. 95-608, title I, § 109, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3074.)
• Statement of purpose; scope of programs
The Secretary is authorized to make grants to Indian tribes and organizations in the establishment and operation of Indian child and family service programs on or near reservations and in the preparation and implementation of child welfare codes. The objective of every Indian child and family service program shall be to prevent the breakup of Indian families and, in particular, to insure that the permanent removal of an Indian child from the custody of his parent or Indian custodian shall be a last resort. Such child and family service programs may include, but are not limited to--
1. a system for licensing or otherwise regulating Indian foster and adoptive homes;
2. the operation and maintenance of facilities for the counseling and treatment of Indian families and for the temporary custody of Indian children;
3. family assistance, including homemaker and home counselors, day care, afterschool care, and employment, recreational activities, and respite care;
5. the employment of professional and other trained personnel to assist the tribal court in the disposition of domestic relations and child welfare matters;
6. education and training of Indians, including tribal court judges and staff, in skills relating to child and family assistance and service programs;
7. a subsidy program under which Indian adoptive children may be provided support comparable to that for which they would be eligible as foster children, taking into account the appropriate State standards of support for maintenance and medical needs; and
8. guidance, legal representation, and advice to Indian families involved in tribal, State, or Federal child custody proceedings.
• Non-Federal matching funds for related Social Security or other Federal financial assistance programs; assistance for such programs unaffected; State licensing or approval for qualification for assistance under federally assisted program
The Secretary is also authorized to make grants to Indian organizations to establish and operate off-reservation Indian child and family service programs which may include, but are not limited to--
1. a system for regulating, maintaining, and supporting Indian foster and adoptive homes, including a subsidy program under which Indian adoptive children may be provided support comparable to that for which they would be eligible as Indian foster children, taking into account the appropriate State standards of support for maintenance and medical needs;
2. the operation and maintenance of facilities and services for counseling and treatment of Indian families and Indian foster and adoptive children;
3. family assistance, including homemaker and home counselors, day care, afterschool care, and employment, recreational activities, and respite care; and
4. guidance, legal representation, and advice to Indian families involved in child custody proceedings. (Pub. L. 95-608, title II, § 202, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3076.)
• Appropriated funds for similar programs of Department of Health and Human Services; appropriation in advance for payments In the establishment, operation, and funding of Indian child and family service programs, both on and off reservation, the Secretary may enter into agreements with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the latter Secretary is hereby authorized for such purposes to use funds appropriated for similar programs of the Department of Health and Human Services: Provided, That authority to make payments pursuant to such agreements shall be effective only to the extent and in such amounts as may be provided in advance by appropriation Acts.
2. Appropriation authorization under section 13 of this title Funds for the purposes of this chapter may be appropriated pursuant to the provisions of section 13 of this title. (Pub. L. 95-608, title II, § 203, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3076; Pub. L. 96-88, title V, § 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 695.)
''Secretary of Health and Human Services'' and ''Department of Health and Human Services'' substituted for ''Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare'' and ''Department of Health, Education, and Welfare'', respectively, in sub§ (a) pursuant to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96-88, which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.
§ 1934. "Indian'' defined for certain purposes
For the purposes of sections 1932 and 1933 of this title, the term ``Indian'' shall include persons defined in section 1603(c) of this title.
• Copy of final decree or order; other information; anonymity affidavit; exemption from Freedom of Information Act
• Any State court entering a final decree or order in any Indian child adoptive placement after November 8, 1978, shall provide the Secretary with a copy of such decree or order together with such other information as may be necessary to show--
1. the name and tribal affiliation of the child;
2. the names and addresses of the biological parents;
3. the names and addresses of the adoptive parents; and
4. the identity of any agency having files or information relating to such adoptive placement. Where the court records contain an affidavit of the biological parent or parents that their identity remain confidential, the court shall include such affidavit with the other information. The Secretary shall insure that the confidentiality of such information is maintained and such information shall not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended.
• Disclosure of information for enrollment of Indian child in tribe or for determination of member rights or benefits; certification of entitlement to enrollment Upon the request of the adopted Indian child over the age of eighteen, the adoptive or foster parents of an Indian child, or an Indian tribe, the Secretary shall disclose such information as may be necessary for the enrollment of an Indian child in the tribe in which the child may be eligible for enrollment or for determining any rights or benefits associated with that membership. Where the documents relating to such child contain an affidavit from the biological parent or parents requesting anonymity, the Secretary shall certify to the Indian child's tribe, where the information warrants, that the child's parentage and other circumstances of birth entitle the child to enrollment under the criteria established by such tribe.
• Sense of Congress
• Report to Congress; contents, etc.
"Department of Health and Human Services'' substituted for "Department of Health, Education, and Welfare'' in sub§ (b), pursuant to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96-88 which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.
(1) So in original. Probably should be capitalized.