Bolstering the Indian Child Welfare Act

From 1960 through 1980, roughly 25–35 percent of Indigenous American children were removed from their families and placed in foster care, adoptive homes, or institutions, most of which were outside of their original communities and family systems. With the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978, these numbers decreased, but contemporary studies conducted by the National Indian Child Welfare Association confirm there is still an alarming disproportionality of Indigenous children in foster care (NICWA, 2017). These high rates of family separation cause irreparable harm to Indigenous American communities in every state and can be traced to increased rates of poverty and mental illness, and a decrease in upward mobility and quality of life. This level of disproportionality is unacceptable but can be remedied with strengthened relationships between the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and state-level Departments of Children and Families through the implementation of a formalized Department of Indigenous American Child Welfare.