CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Tribal Child Welfare
Program
Congress has the potential to dramati
cally affect the Siletz and other tribes.
In this issue of Siletz News. 1 would
like to touch on a topic that is of basic
importance to the Siletz Tribe - the
present and future welfare of our chil
dren. In fact, the issues involved were
of such critical importance to tribes
across the country over many years that
the U.S. Congress in 1987 passed the
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
In the preamble to the act, Con
gress stated that “an alarmingly high
percentage of Indian families are bro
ken up by the removal, often unwar
ranted, of their children by non-tribal
public and private agencies and that an
alarmingly high percentage of such
children are placed in non-Indian fos
ter and adoptive homes and institutions.”
The act declared that, “The con
gress through statutes, treaties, and the
general course of dealing with Indian
tribes, has assumed the responsibility
for the protection and preservation of
Indian tribes, and their resources; that
there is no resource that is more vital
to the continued existence and integ
rity of Indian tribes than their children
and that the U.S. has a direct interest,
as trustee, in protecting Indian children
who are members of and are eligible
for membership in an Indian tribe.”
The ICWA states further that it is
“the policy of the nation to protect the
best interest of Indian children and to
promote the stability and security of
Indian tribes and families by the estab
lishment of minimum federal standards
for the removal of Indian children from
their families and the placement of
such children in foster or adoptive
homes which will reflect the unique
values of Indian culture ...”
In order for tribes to implement this
policy, Congress provided grants for “as
sistance to Indian tribes in the operation
of child and family service programs.”
The Siletz Tribal child welfare pro
gram was established consistent with
the provisions of the act and ever since
its establishment has actively imple
mented child welfare services as a high
tribal priority.
Under the program, an effort is
made to first resolve issues within the
home, which may include abuse and
abandonment, but when they cannot be
resolved by an in-home agreement,
children are removed from the home
for their own protection. The removals
are often not with the consent of the
parents or families.
Whenever possible, however, chil
dren are placed with their own family
members or with tribally certilied fos
ter homes. Sometimes children are
placed with non-Indian family mem
bers. Every placement, however, al
ways is carefully reviewed by a team
of competent 1CW staff before place
ments are made. Parents must agree to
follow certain conditions before their
children can be returned to .heir care.
Some cases require placement in
treatment centers and before treatment
has been completed must be certified
Health Improvement Act
Amendments
The Health Improvement Act
amendments, which were reported out
of the Senate Indian Affairs Commit
tee and other Senate committees four
months ago, are being held up on the
Senate floor by the administration,
which has consistently opposed the bill
that is so vital to the welfare of tribes
across the country.
Delores Pigs ley
that the prescribed program has been
completed, which may include clinical
urinalysis testing for a period of time.
Results of the evaluation will de
termine whether or not the child/chil-
dren will be allowed to be returned to
their parents’ care. This often involves
a lengthy process and not everyone
meets the standards to be eligible to
have their children returned to them.
It is the tribe’s job to be assured
that children are placed in a safe,
healthy home that will ensure their
proper care and development. Although
there are obviously many obstacles, the
prime focus of the process is the pro
tection of our tribal children.
Funding is made available to the
tribe through the BIA ICW program,
through the state Title IV-E program as
well as through supplemental tribal re
sources. The Tribal Council receives a
monthly update from staff on all open
state and tribal cases.
Currently there are 41 cases, of
which 23 are the direct result of meth use,
six are neglect, other cases are a com
bination of other drug abuse, physical
abuse, sex abuse, and child abandon
ment. Of the 41 cases, 26 are Title IV-E
eligible, meaning the funding to care
for the children comes from the state.
The Siletz Tribe is fortunate to have
a competent and dedicated staff that must
deal on a daily basis with very difficult,
highly emotionally charged, often con
troversial family and personal issues.
The Tribal Council often hears from
family members who are anxious to
have children returned and who have
been through the courts in an effort to
re-establish their families. The Tribal
Council reviews those cases to be assured
that the proper steps are being followed.
The National Indian Child Welfare
Association recently completed an au
dit of the program and found it to be in
compliance - and they stated that it was
a model program.
National Issues Awaiting
Congressional Action
There are critical Indian issues yet
to be acted on by the U.S. Congress.
What action is taken or not taken by
Tribal Governmental Tax-Exempt
Bond Parity Act
A bill introduced on June 26 by
Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith and Max
Baucus of Montana is the Tribal Gov
ernment Tax-Exempt Bond Parity Act
(S3567).
According to the Senate Finance
Committee, the “Indian Tribal Govern
mental Tax Status Act (ITGTSA of
1982) does not allow tribes to issue tax-
exempt bonds because the ‘essential
governmental functions’ for which
bonds must be issued are generally
defined as projects of state and local
governments only.”
The bill introduced by Smith and Bau
cus is designed to correct the omission.
It so happens that the purpose of
the current S3567 is basically the same
as SI637, the Jumpstart Our Business
Strength Act, which was passed by the
U.S. Senate on May 11, 2004, but
failed to become law. I wrote letters
dated May 20, 2004, to Congress in
support of the bill.
I am pleased that Sens. Smith and
Baucus have taken up the challenge of
getting S3567 enacted. The effort has
been ongoing by certain legislators,
intertribal organizations, and individual
tribes like the Siletz Tribe for more than
two years.
S2073: Sen. McCain’s Gaming Bill
Based on some concerns expressed
by Republican members of the Senate
Indian Affairs Committee, Sen. John
McCain, committee chairman, pre
pared revisions to his bill. These were
circulated among Republican members
but not among Democratic members
until July 10, which generated under
standable Democratic complaints.
Various potential revisions, includ
ing those proposed by the National
Indian Gaming Association, were ex
pected to be introduced.
The McCain Gaming Bill is certain
to be a major item on the agenda of
the September meeting of the Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians.
54th Annual ATNI
Conference
On Sept. 11-14, our tribe will host
the 54lh Annual Affiliated Tribes of
Northwest Indians (ATNI) conference
at Chinook Winds. Just think! The
Siletz Tribe has been an active partici
pant of the ATNI from the time we
sought recognition, almost 30 years ago.
In the mid-1970s, Joe De la Cruz,
Roger Jim, and other tribal leaders had
organized a Committee of the Affiliated
Tribes to work with the then Northwest
Federal Regional Council. The council,
headquartered in Seattle, was at that time
the federal body representing all the fed
eral agencies in the Northwest to pro
mote policy and program coordination.
The purpose of the Affiliated Tribes
committee was to get federal agencies
to understand, and be more responsive
to, the needs of Indian tribes and for the
tribes to be more knowledgeable of and
gain better access to federal resources.
Soon after the Siletz Tribe was re
stored, we were invited to attend those
federal regional council meetings.
Pauline Ricks and Art Bensell repre
sented the Siletz Tribe at those meetings.
The Northwest Regional Council is
no more, but the Affiliated Tribes is a
thriving inter-tribal organization of
which the Siletz Tribe has been an ac
tive member.
As the host tribe of the 54"’ annual
conference, we will have an opportu
nity on the morning of the first day to
present highlights of our history as well
as local issues.
The agenda will certainly include
discussion of the current status of the
2007 Interior appropriations and how
the funding levels will affect tribal
programs and services. Also on the
agenda will be the issue of
methamphetamine - an issue about
which I have written previously in
Siletz News and which is of major
concern to tribes generally.
The balance of the meeting will
cover national as well as local issues
that affect the Northwest tribes. It's
expected that about 400 people will
attend, representing about 43 tribes.
CTSI Jobs
CTSI Employment Job Line
541-444-8296 or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 1296
Visit our Web site at www.ctsi.nsn.us
Note: “Open Until Filled” vacancies may close at any time. The tribe's
Indian Preference policy will apply. Tribal government will not win << .«
m selection because of race, creed, age, sex, color, national ongm, pi piuu ।
handicap, marital status, politics, membership or non-membership m un cm- |
ployee organization.
|
August 2006
•
Siletz News
•
3