Senator Smith Introduces Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Bill
March 23, 2005
WASHINGTON – Oregon Senator Gordon Smith introduced legislation on March 17 that would allow all Indian tribal agencies for the first time to share in the federal Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance (PDF) entitlement program. If enacted, it will have a dramatic impact on the quality of care for Native American children within Tribal foster care systems and greatly improve tribal child welfare capacity, according to the National Indian Child Welfare Association. NICWA has been an advocate of this legislation on behalf of Indian tribes and provides technical assistance to Indian/non-Indian child welfare agencies.
The Tribal IV-E legislation was introduced by Sen. Smith (R-OR) and referred to the Committee on Finance on March 17, 2005 as S.672. Co-sponsors of the bill are Senators Baucus (D-MT), Bingaman (D-NM), Cantwell (D-WA), Cochran (R-MS), Domenici (R-NM), Johnson (D-SD) and McCain (R-AZ).
Title IV-E, enacted by Congress in 1980, provides funding for low-income child welfare services such as statesponsored foster care and adoption assistance. Only a few Indian tribes have accessed these funds in the past; there are currently 6,000 children living under tribal jurisdiction who could access these funds under this amendment. Improvements could include expansion of child welfare services, and ability to improve recruitment and support of Native American foster and adoptive homes and families. The legislation has also been included in the Senate Finance Committee approved welfare reform reauthorization bill, which is now being scheduled for a vote by the full Senate.
"The passage of this legislation would provide more safety and security for Indian children, families and tribes than almost any other change that the Congress could make," said Terry Cross, NICWA's Executive Director.