Because of the particular circumstances surrounding Native American children, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was created in 1978.
The Act requires child welfare organizations across the nation, including Child Protective Services (CPS) in Texas, to take special care and present accommodations to the alleged victim-child, their family, and the Indian tribe to which they belong.
What do people get wrong about ICWA?
ICWA is celebrating its fortieth year since being passed as federal law. Still, some misconceptions and misunderstandings surround its meaning and effect on families in Texas and around the country. Let's discuss some of those misconceptions before going further with today's blog post.
For starters, an Indian tribe does not have to initiate proceedings under ICWA to apply. If your child is being investigated as a possible victim of abuse or neglect by you or any other adult, and your child is a member (or is eligible to be a member) of an Indian tribe, then ICWA applies. CPS will need to follow specific guidelines in placing your child with family members of yours that are members of that same tribe. The notice needs to be provided by the court to the tribe to allow them to send a representative to appear in any hearing held.
You, your child, or your child's grandparent do not need to possess a membership card for an Indian tribe for ICWA to apply, either. A card does not need to be presented to a CPS caseworker or a judge or attorney for the State of Texas. The protections and accommodations inherent in ICWA apply automatically. This does not matter if the Indian tribe to which your child does not respond to the notice of hearing.
In what situations does ICWA apply?
We know what ICWA generally is, who it affects, and some misconceptions surrounding the law. Now we need to examine in what situations the law is applicable. Any child custody case that involves a Native American child when a court has any reason to know that the child is a Native American will cause ICWA to be applicable.
We have already been discussing ICWA in the context of a CPS case. If your child is going to be placed in foster care, if your parental rights are possibly going to be terminated, or if your child is going through the adoption process, then ICWA's protections and accommodations will be a part of your child's case.
Defining an Indian Child
I understand that "Indian" is not the preferred term to utilize when referring to children of Native ancestry in the United States. However, the federal law employs Indian and not Native Americans to use both times pretty freely. I have no animosity or anything like that towards Native-born children, their parents, or their families. Now then- back to our blog post for today.
When we use the term Indian child, we refer to an unmarried person under age 18 who is a member of an Indian tribe, is eligible to become a member of an Indian tribe, or is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe. For the record, over 500 recognized tribes in the United States are identified by our federal government.
The State of Texas, through the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), works closely with the three tribes that have reservations here in Texas. Often if your child lives on a reservation, they will have additional protections apply to them. DFPS and these tribes have written agreements on handling specific cases and situations between them.
We discussed earlier how ICWA applies when a court has reason to know that a child is a part of a recognized Indian tribe in the United States. A judge has "reason to know" when a party tells them to the case or a state agency like CPS that the child is a member of an Indian tribe. If your child lives on a reservation, then a judge will have reason to know that ICWA is applicable.
Identifying ICWA cases
If a court does not identify a child as a member of a tribe or a relative to a member of a tribe, there may have a problem having ICWA attached to the case right off of the bat. The Texas Family Code requires a judge to ask the parties to an issue throughout the proceedings if the child or the child's family are members of a recognized tribe and the name of the tribe that the child is associated with.
If a final order is issued without considering ICWA, the order can be invalidated. Finding a permanent home for an Indian child will thus be delayed due to the invalidation of the order. The court and all parties will have to go back and apply ICWA to the case and insert language into the order that all of the protections afforded to the child through ICWA have been dealt with appropriately.
The best practice to be used by attorneys, judges, and CPS personnel is to think about whether or not your child could be a part of an Indian tribe from the moment that the investigation begins. This ensures that the proper protocol will be followed at the beginning of the case.
Often CPS will interview you and other family members and specifically ask about your knowledge of any Native ancestry or affiliation within your family. Each time a new family member is contacted, a question needs to be asked about that person's knowledge of any possible Indian tribe affiliation.
CPS will detail in their forms of documenting the fact that these questions have been asked. Mistakes do occur on occasion, frequently through no fault of the court or the CPS caseworkers, but these steps are followed closely to minimize the incidence of those types of mistakes.
Who has jurisdiction to hear a case involving an Indian child?
Either a state family law court or an Indian tribal court will hear a case regarding your child's foster care placement or adoption. Where your child is living and whether any party has requested transferring the case to a tribal court will determine this. If your child does not reside on a reservation but is a member of the tribe nonetheless, there is a presumption in favor of the trial court's jurisdiction over the state family law court.
Suppose you and your child live primarily on a reservation, but your child is living temporarily away from the reservation. In that case, CPS can act to remove your child from a dangerous environment even if the trial court has jurisdiction over your child's claim. Once it is clear that your child is not in harm's way any longer, it must make an effort to complete its case and transfer it to the Indian court.
What sort of notice is required to be given to an Indian tribe in a case involving ICWA?
In tomorrow's blog post, we will discuss more ICWA cases, including the specific type of notice required to be provided to an Indian tribe if one of its member-children is involved in a family law case involving adoption or foster care.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about the subject matter we discussed today, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC. We offer free of charge consultations with a licensed family law attorney six days a week.
