Governor’s ICWA Commission
October 12, 2004, Rapid City, SD
Meeting Minutes
ICWA Commission members present: Jim Bradford, Mary Curran, Bob
Duxbury, Renee Eggebraaten, Steve Emery, Deb Fischer-Clemens, DJ
Hanson, Doug Herrmann, Ann Holzhauser, BJ Jones, Janine Kern, Mike
LaPointe, Tracey Manywounds, Tami Bern, Rose McCauley, Denise
Murphy, Ramona O’Connor, Sara Olson, Mike Schad, Dave Valandra, Jack
Von Wald, Bob Walters, Cordelia White Elk, Bill White Lance, Virgena
Wieseler
ICWA Commission members absent: Jackie Barse, Keith Bonenberger,
Ramona O’Connor, Kathleen Trandahl, and Joni Cutler
Others Present: Roger Campbell, Michael Hultgren, Sr., Beverly Iron
Shield, Carol Iron Rope Herrera, Cindy Gillis, Gwen Caldwell, Naomi
Johnson, Susan Campbell, Merton Tice, Raymond Cournoyer, Elizabeth
Kraus, Jim Kinyon, Ken Hardy, Karen Jeffries, Margaret Eagan, Mary
McCowan, Deb Phillips, Patricia Catches, Hazel Bonner, John Usera,
Jim Ellenbecker
1. Welcome – Co-Chairs Kern and Jones
welcomed the commission members and those in the audience. Bob
Walters opened the meeting with a prayer.
2. Telephone report from Review Team
Since the August 10, 2004 meeting of the ICWA Commission, the NCSC/NAILS
project team has engaged in development and data collection
activities. These include: State and Tribal stakeholder surveys
completed and submitted to Commission Co-Chairs on September 27,
2004 and October 6, 2004; site visits to state agencies in Sioux
Falls, Rapid City, Pierre, Aberdeen, and Huron; visits to the
following tribes and locations: Sisseton, Flandreau, Standing Rock,
Cheyenne River, Crow Creek/Lower Brule, Rosebud, and Yankton Sioux
Tribes. A file review was done in Rapid City.
The State Statewide Stakeholder Surveys should be distributed by
October 18, 2004. The Commission distributed at the meeting, copies
of the drafts of the web-based state and tribal surveys and the web
site for accessing and completing the surveys. Members of the public
asked if they could complete the tribal surveys. This request was
denied by the Review Team as it would have skewed the tribal survey
data.
The Review Teams report will include data from the focus groups,
statewide surveys, case file reviews, and CPS MIS system
information. Responses from the Statewide Stakeholder surveys will
be tabulated and compiled in usable formats.
3. Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe – Ken
Hardy, Program Manager, Child Protection Program
Ken gave a summary of the development of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
Tribe’s agreement with the Department of Social Services for the
provision of child protection services. The tribe has had an ongoing
contract with DSS since 1978 and provides a full array of child
protection services including investigations, foster care, licensing
of foster homes, adoption and approval of adoption homes. The Tribe
has good communication with DSS and a strong and collaborative
relationship.
4. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe – Tracey
Manywounds, Director, Child Protection Services
Tracey Manywounds is the director of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Child Protection Team which provides services in both North and
South Dakota as the reservation is located in both states. The SDRST
has a full contract for the provisions of CPS services with the
State of North Dakota. Since 1993, the tribe has had a Title IV-E
Agreement and licensing agreements with the State of South Dakota.
Tracey presented statistics for the Child Protection Team in 2003,
which indicated a large caseload with hundreds of children and
families served by her team.
5. Native American Training Institute –
Jodi Gillette Director
Jodi Gillette gave a PowerPoint presentation about the Native
American Training Institute. The mission of the Native American
Training Institute is to empower individuals, families, and
communities to create safe and healthy environments for children and
families to achieve their highest potential. The parties involved
are: Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Standing
Rock Sioux Tribe, Three Affiliated Tribes, and the Trenton Indian
Service Area. The advisory board is made up of: ND Division of Child
& Family Services Director, ND division of Juvenile Services
Director, ND Tribal Liaison for HHS, Casey Family Programs, and a
foster parent. The relationships in ND are a unique collaboration
between the tribes and the state. The Institute provides training
through Children & Family Services Training Center at UND, Native
American foster parent training on reservations, and training for
non-Native social workers regarding cultural issues when dealing
with Indian children. Financial assistance is provided through Title
IV-E and tribal matches.
The foster parent training includes such topics as: foster parent
orientation, developmental stages, attachment, loss and grief,
discipline, intergenerational grief, chemical addictions, child
abuse, neglect & sexual abuse, promoting permanency, kinship
care/self esteem, “we are all related”. The Institute has developed
curricula and training opportunities including: “Extending Our
Families through Unity”, Cultural Competency Training, Wraparound
Review Intake Team (WRIT) Training, “We Are All Related –
Relationships in Perspective: A guide for Native American Youth”,
and “In the Spirit of ICWA: Indian Child Welfare Act”.
6. New Integrated Child Welfare System (Oglala
Sioux Tribe) – Emily Iron Cloud-Koenen, Cordelia White Elk,
and Carlette Randall
Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe gave a presentation about the
Lakota Oyate Wakanyeja Owicakiyapi Inc. (Oglala Lakota Integrated
Tribal Child and Family Services Agency). The LOWO Inc. agency
provides strength-based child welfare support services in foster
care placement, support and maintenance; recruitment and training of
foster families, family preservation and reunification services such
as Family Group Decision Making.
Alcohol abuse by parents is the primary reason children are removed
from their homes for child abuse and neglect. There are few licensed
tribal foster homes, yet there are four agencies on the Oglala
Reservation charged with the responsibility for care and placement
of children. Thus, a majority of children are placed in
off-reservation homes. The goal of LOWO is to support the
development of a unified framework for culturally appropriate
service delivery among all agencies, and expand support services and
resources each year to meet the basic needs of families. Lakota
cultural beliefs, philosophy, traditions, and ceremonies will be
incorporated in service delivery as an important basis for helping
children and families strengthen their identity as tribal people.
Casey family Programs has provided facilitation and support in
building the foundation of LOWO. The South Dakota Department of
Social Services Child Protection Services is an active partner in
planning and developing the child welfare system of care framework.
The DSS Field Programs Specialist has contributed technical
assistance and guidance resulting in a positive working relationship
with DSS. A title IV-E agreement and a full contract are in the
final stages of negotiation with implementation expected in 2006.
7. Review of Dr. Usera’s report
Judge Kern distributed Dr. Usera’s report generated from the August
10, 2004 roundtable discussion with ICWA Commission members. Judge
Jones and Judge Kern distributed a draft of proposed “Specific
Recommendations” for inclusion in the Commission’s final report.
8. Great Sioux Nation ICWA Consortium update
9. Remarks from Bernadine Broken Leg – 30
years with ICWA
Bernadine spoke about how she became involved with ICWA. About 30
years ago, her child was removed from her home. As a result of her
personal struggle to regain custody of her child, she began to
advocate for passage of a federal law to protect Indian children and
their families. She testified before Congress and advocated for
enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Bernadine used
the Commission to look for dispositional options other than the
termination of parental rights which is so painful for parents and
children.
10. Discussion of listening sessions and
preparation of report to Legislature
Judge Jones disseminated for discussion, a hand written outline of
the Commission’s report to the Legislature, which included the
following sections: an executive summary; historical analysis of
ICWA; delivery of child protection services, a summary of South
Dakota case law; the history of the ICWA Commission; discussion of
methodology; research findings from NCSC/NAILS; analysis and
prioritization of their findings; and ICWA Commission
recommendations to the Legislature. The following Commissioners
volunteered to work on the report: Jones, Kern, Emery, Manywounds,
Wieseler and Holzhauser.
The meeting adjourned at 4:00 pm on October 12, 2004.
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