Indian Child Welfare Act Tribal Consultation Comments

NICWA, the National Congress of American Indians, the Association on American Indian Affairs, and the Native American Rights Fund submitted written comments through the tribal consultation process on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and federal agencies’ roles in promoting federal protections for Native children and families. These tribal consultations are critical to ensuring ICWA compliance and strengthening its implementation.

In our decades of engagement and support of tribal leaders, tribal child welfare directors and staff, and advocates across the country, we have heard recurring themes about challenges regarding ICWA implementation and compliance as well as dozens of examples of places and models that are facilitating ICWA implementation with better outcomes for Native children and families. Our comments, organized in response to the three prompting questions in the formal consultation notice, summarize what tribal leaders, staff, advocates, and community members have shared with us and our own experiences working in support of ICWA.

Read NICWA’s written comments for the Department of the Interior,  the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice.