Smith Backs Native American Adoption,
Foster Care Assistance
Legislation Would End Disparate Treatment of Native American Children
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) today announced that he is cosponsoring the Indian and Alaska Native Foster Care and Adoption Services Amendments of 2003 to provide Native American children the same foster care and adoptive services available to all other eligible children.
"All children deserve to have a loving, nurturing home where their basic needs are met," said Smith. "Native American children placed in foster care or adopted through tribal placements should have all the resources available to children placed by state services. This bill makes that happen."
In 1980, Congress enacted the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Act (Title IV-E), which provides entitlement funding for foster care and adoption assistance services for income-eligible children who are placed by state agencies or public agencies with which the state has an agreement. Unfortunately, children who are under the jurisdiction of their tribe and are placed by tribal courts and agencies are not included in the program. These IV-E funds are only available to tribes who have entered into agreements with their respective states. However, these agreements are often limited in scope and may only allow tribes access to one portion of the program.
The amendments remedy the 1980 oversight by allowing direct tribal access to the IV-E program. It would provide tribal communities the resources to provide funding for their social services systems, improve their ability to recruit Native American foster and adoptive homes, and provide better support for foster care and adoptive families. In addition, it would help ease the financial and administrative burdens on state programs by encouraging the development of additional agreements and tribal services.
This legislation is supported by the National Indian Child Welfare Association, based in Portland, Oregon.
