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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2000)
MAY 1, 2000 11 Tribal members needed Education Committee seeks two members The Education Committee is seeking two individuals to apply for member ship. One position can be a Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde employee. Interested individuals may contact Hollie Larsen, Education Division Secre tary, at 879-2275 or 1-800-422-0232, ext. 2275 for further information. Spirit Mountain seeking Board members Any tribal member who has not submitted a resume for consider- 4jh' ation to be a board member for Spirit Mountain and is still inter- fSi ested please submit your resume before April 30, 2000 to: Michael J-sJ&Ji. J. Larsen, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347. If you have any questions, call Mike at (503) 879-2407 or 1-800-422-0232, ext.2407. Training available for disabled adults Job developer for Vocational Rehabilitation participants is looking for tribal members and tribal resources for mentorship, on the job training and work experience for tribal members with disabilities. Tribal members who own small businesses or are contractors who would like to hire members with disabilities, please contact the Vocational Rehabili tation department or contact Job Developers at (503) 704-2964 or messages at (503) 761-0197, ask for Baxter Archuleta. Any Vocational Rehabilitation participants that have not been contacted, please call Archuleta for an appointment. CASE NO. C-00-02-002 ORDER GRANTING NAME CHANGE In the Matter of: Ham Petition For Change of Name Juvenile Alexandria Joyce Ham, Applicant by Francine Ham, Petitioner Based on the allegations set forth in the. Petition For Change of Name and New Birth Certificate Juvenile filed by the petitioner in the above entitled case, and based on the Court's examination of the Applicant, the Petitioner and other interested parties at the Show Cause Hearing held on April 6, 2000. THE COURT FINDS THAT: 1. Petitioner is over 18 years of age and is the parent or legal guardian of Applicant, a minor child; 2. Petitioner is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon; 3. Petitioner has not been granted a change of name by the Tribal Court within the past twelve (12) months; 4. All persons entitled to notice have been properly served with a copy of the Notice To Parents and Legal Guardians; 5. No objection to the petition has been filed by any parent or legal guardian of the minor child and no objection was raised at the Show Cause Hear ing; and 6. The proposed name change is in the best interests of the minor child. THEREFORE, BASED ON THE FOREGOING FINDINGS, THE COURT ORDERS: 1. That the name of the Applicant be changed from Alexandria Joyce Ham to ALEXANDRIA JOYCE KOUMENTIS; 2. That the Clerk of the Tribal Court shall cause a copy of this Order to be published in the Tribal Newspaper; 3. That the Clerk of the Tribal Court shall submit a certified copy of this Order to the Tribal Enrollment office; 4. That the Clerk of the Court shall provide Petitioner with a certified copy of this Order to be submitted by Petitioner to the Registrar of Vital Statistics in the state in which the applicant was born; 5. That upon receipt of the certified copy of the Order, the Registrar shall issue a new birth certificate of the applicant to reflect the new name of the applicant as stated in this Order and shall change any designation of race or national origin on the birth certificate to reflect that the petitioner is an American Indian; 6. That the petitioner, on behalf of the minor child, shall surrender all old Tribal Identification Cards bearing Applicant's former name to the Tribal Enrollment Office prior to the Enrollment Office issuing Applicant new Tribal Identification Cards bearing the applicant's new name; and 7. That within sixty (60) days from the date of this Order the Tribal En rollment staff, and, if necessary, the Tribal Enrollment Committee, shall cause new Tribal Identification Cards to be issued to Applicant showing the new name of the Tribal Member and shall change the official mem bership roll and all official enrollment records of the Tribe to reflect the applicant's new name as stated in this Order. IT IS SO ORDERED THIS 6th DAY OF April, 2000. s Katharine English, Chief Tribal Court Judge OPEN FOR COMMENT UNTIL JUNE 16 Termination of parental rights In November of 1997, the federal legislature passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The intent of this law was to establish permanency for children in the foster care system within a reasonable period of time. The most significant aspect of this law requires that child protective service agen cies that accept federal funding, (such as the Tribe's Indian Child Welfare Program), are mandated to file for a termination of parental rights, which would free children for adoption, if: 1. A child has been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months; 2. If a court determines a child to be an abandoned infant; or 3. If a court determines that the parent has committed murder or volun tary manslaughter of another child of the parent, aided or abetted such a murder or manslaughter, or committed a felony assault that results in seri ous bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent. Agencies are not mandated to file for termination of parental rights if one of the following exceptions apply: 1. The child is being cared for by relatives; 2. A state agency has documented in the case plan a compelling reason for determining that filing such a petition would not be in the best interest of a child; or 3. The agency has not provided the family with necessary services consis tent with the case plan. Historically, most Tribes have voiced strong opposition to termination of parental rights. Tribes have stated that termination of parental rights goes against cultural values while placing Indian children at risk for loss of cul tural and tribal identity. The implementation of ASFA has forced Tribes to review their philosophy on termination of parental rights. The Tribe's In dian Child Welfare Ordinance gives the Court the ability to terminate pa rental rights only as a last resort, and clearly states a preference for guard ianship over adoption. The Indian Child Welfare Program, Tribal Attorney's Office and Tribal Council have had several meetings to discuss our tribal philosophy. Out of those meetings the Tribal Council has approved a pro posed policy which would amend the current Indian Child Welfare Ordi nance on the issue of termination of parental rights. The following is a copy of the proposed policy: The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon will support a termination of parental rights if the child is in a tribal or relative placement, an adoptive resource is available, and one of the following cir cumstances exist: 1. The parent has committed murder of another child of the parent or the parent of the child; 2. The parent has committed voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent or the child's parent; 3. The parent has aided or abetted to commit a murder of another child of the parent or the child's parent; 4. The parent has committed a felony assault that results in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent; 5. The parent has subjected the child to extreme physical, sexual or emo tional abuse. The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon may support a termination of parental rights if the child is in a Tribal or relative placement, and it is determined that doing so is in the best interest of the child. In determining the best interest of the child, the Indian Child Welfare Program shall consider the factors listed below. If a majority of the following factors are applicable to the case, termination shall be deemed to be in the child's best interest. 1. Abandonment of the minor. Abandonment may include, but is not be limited to, failure of the parent to maintain regular visitation or other con tact with the child for a substantial period of time. 2. Emotional illness, mental illness or mental deficiency of the parent is of such duration or nature as to place the child's physical or mental health at risk. 3. Substantial history of drug and alcohol abuse while the child is in cus tody. 4. Imprisonment of a single parent for a period of three or more years while the child is in custody; or 5. An appropriate parent-child relationship does not exist. 6. The child has been in custody for a substantial amount of time. 7. The existence of non-Tribal siblings of the child. 8. Adoptive resources available for the child. 9. Any other factors the ICW Program deems relevant to make a determi nation regarding the best interest of the child. The definition of Relative shall read as follows: "Any person eighteen years of age or older who is the child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, stepparent, or anyone deemed by the ICW Program to be a psychological relative. The issue of termination is a very serious tribal issue. Therefore, Tribal Council and the ICW Program respectfully request your input. Your input is very important in helping us determine what policy we will put forth as our response to this new legislation. Please send your comments or questions to Angela Fasana, Tribal Attorney's Office or Dana Leno, Indian Child Welfare Program, 9615 Grand Ronde Rd., Grand Ronde, OR 97347. COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JUNE 16, 2000.