Political factors and the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
Politically, the 1970’s were a time of social welfare reform that allowed advocates the opportunity to push for tribal sovereignty and the overall wellbeing of Indian children. The success of this period as a highpoint in social welfare was largely due to the push for domestic legislation surrounding social welfare issues like the desegregation of schools, civil rights, voting rights, and War on Poverty (Blau, Abramovitz, 2014). This period was also characterized by a new political consciousness within the general public that was geared towards racial equality. Advocates of the Indian Child Welfare Act were able to capitalize on this era’s political consciousness and strive for racial …show more content…
Tittle II of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 details that funds are distributed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be allotted in the form of grants to tribal departments and urban Indian organizations to protect and preserve Native families (ICWA, 1978). Unfortunately, some agencies and tribal nation’s that do not receive federal grant money or have limited resources to train employees and thus they have difficulties abiding by the ICWA regulations (Leake, et al., 2012) Moreover, it wasn’t until 1993 that adequate funds were even allocated and distributed to fund one caseworker per tribe (Cross, et al., 2000). However, one person is not nearly enough to serve an entire tribal community. Chronic understaffing in addition to high caseloads, limited program funding and few community partners has also made it extremely difficult for tribal welfare agencies to abide by standards (Leake, et al., 2012). Access to funds by private and public child placing agencies is also a barrier to the successful implementation of the ICWA as verification of tribal heritage is a time consuming process. Thus, without financial backing the ICWA has been set up to fail and in order to move forward there needs to be an investment from both the state and federal …show more content…
However, overloaded caseloads and the lack of cultural understanding between caseworkers and their Native American clients continues to hinder the implementation of the Act. While the ICWA does state that tribal autonomy and cultural awareness should be implemented it does nothing to provide further guidance. Unfortunately, child welfare agencies have failed to implement these standards which has resulted in misinterpretations of parental roles and misjudged removals. As social workers and the like, it is important to be aware of these inequities Native American clients may face and be educated on ways to assist them in a culturally responsive manner. Service delivery should be centered around enhancing the overall wellbeing for all clients including Indian families. It is important that caseworkers seek further education and address any biases that may affect their practice. This can be done through cultural awareness and by forming relationships with tribal communities. Moreover, social workers should use this research as an opportunity to advocate at a local, state and federal level. In order to address this inequity, it is imperative that advocacy work be geared towards social justice for Native Americans as a
Politically, the 1970’s were a time of social welfare reform that allowed advocates the opportunity to push for tribal sovereignty and the overall wellbeing of Indian children. The success of this period as a highpoint in social welfare was largely due to the push for domestic legislation surrounding social welfare issues like the desegregation of schools, civil rights, voting rights, and War on Poverty (Blau, Abramovitz, 2014). This period was also characterized by a new political consciousness within the general public that was geared towards racial equality. Advocates of the Indian Child Welfare Act were able to capitalize on this era’s political consciousness and strive for racial …show more content…
Tittle II of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 details that funds are distributed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be allotted in the form of grants to tribal departments and urban Indian organizations to protect and preserve Native families (ICWA, 1978). Unfortunately, some agencies and tribal nation’s that do not receive federal grant money or have limited resources to train employees and thus they have difficulties abiding by the ICWA regulations (Leake, et al., 2012) Moreover, it wasn’t until 1993 that adequate funds were even allocated and distributed to fund one caseworker per tribe (Cross, et al., 2000). However, one person is not nearly enough to serve an entire tribal community. Chronic understaffing in addition to high caseloads, limited program funding and few community partners has also made it extremely difficult for tribal welfare agencies to abide by standards (Leake, et al., 2012). Access to funds by private and public child placing agencies is also a barrier to the successful implementation of the ICWA as verification of tribal heritage is a time consuming process. Thus, without financial backing the ICWA has been set up to fail and in order to move forward there needs to be an investment from both the state and federal …show more content…
However, overloaded caseloads and the lack of cultural understanding between caseworkers and their Native American clients continues to hinder the implementation of the Act. While the ICWA does state that tribal autonomy and cultural awareness should be implemented it does nothing to provide further guidance. Unfortunately, child welfare agencies have failed to implement these standards which has resulted in misinterpretations of parental roles and misjudged removals. As social workers and the like, it is important to be aware of these inequities Native American clients may face and be educated on ways to assist them in a culturally responsive manner. Service delivery should be centered around enhancing the overall wellbeing for all clients including Indian families. It is important that caseworkers seek further education and address any biases that may affect their practice. This can be done through cultural awareness and by forming relationships with tribal communities. Moreover, social workers should use this research as an opportunity to advocate at a local, state and federal level. In order to address this inequity, it is imperative that advocacy work be geared towards social justice for Native Americans as a