A bill to recruit and support homes for Native American foster youth and another bill to improve county compliance with state and federal child welfare laws have been introduced by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-Highland).
“These measures will help increase stability and care for Native American who have among the lowest rates of placements and permanency for children and youth in our foster care systems,” said Ramos, the first and only California Native American serving in the state’s legislature.
He noted that a 2021 report by the Capacity Building Center for Courts reported that in child dependency cases where a tribe was present at the initial hearing, families were reunified at a rate of 52% rather than only 40% in cases where the tribe was not present.
According to data from UC Berkeley, despite having federal protections in place since 1978, Native children continue to be overrepresented in California’s child welfare system at a rate four times that of white children.
Ramos added, “Last year, I successfully introduced AB 873 and AB 1055 which brought support to tribal communities and tribal students in the foster care system. We must ensure that governmental systems are following through with the protections already in place so that tribal communities have the necessary resources to keep families together or place children in positive, culturally supportive homes where they thrive.”
AB 1862 would fund eligible tribes and tribal organizations that recruit and approve homes for foster or adoptive placement of Indian children.
On average, according to California Department of Social Services data, only 44% of Indian children in California’s foster care system are placed according to federal requirements, so improvement is greatly needed.
“The Indian Child Welfare Act is central to our tribal sovereignty and our ability to protect our most vulnerable tribal citizens,” said Pala Band of Mission Indians Chairman Robert H. Smith. “As chairman of the Board of the California Tribal Families Coalition, I support both these bills and thank Assemblymember Ramos for his tireless work on behalf of California tribal families.”
AB 1950 aims to improve county compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, and its California counterpart.
The bill would provide counties with increased funding for remaining in compliance with state and federal laws.
The concept has proven to work in the state of Minnesota which implemented a similar program four years ago and, according to officials with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, improved legal compliance by 35%.
“The Indian Child Welfare Act has been federal law for almost 50 years, and yet California still misses the mark on compliance. I support this effort to reward those counties that get it right; they will serve as models for how we achieve compliance across the state,” said Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians Tribal Councilwoman Catalina Chacon.
Tribal Chairman Tilford P. Denver of the Bishop Paiute Tribe also praised the introduction of the bill. “The Bishop Tribe applauds this bill to increase compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Assemblymember Ramos is again demonstrating leadership that will improve the lives of Native children and improve our child welfare system.”
Both AB 1862 and AB 1950 are sponsored by the California Tribal Families Coalition.