The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978: origins and goals

Indian Child Welfare Act

History and context of the policy

The Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in 1978. This Act was a result of a series of deliberations, debates, and hearings to alleviate a terrific crisis of national proportions: the separation of Indian children from their families. The act was implemented due to the high rate of removal of Indian children from their traditional families and homes, primarily their Indian culture. Before its implementation, most Indian children were removed from their Indian families and put in non-Indian homes: presumably, with no Indian culture. The states received payments from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to remove Indian children from their traditional homes and place them with non-Indian homes. In a few cases, the rate of per capita of Indian children in foster homes doubled as compared to the rate for non-Indians. Such a dramatic rate of removing Indian children from their homes would threaten tribal survival. Congress was the first institution to recognize this, and it developed an interest in tribal stability (MacEachron et al., 1996).

Ideology/values/politics influencing the policy

The Act has deep roots in ideology that paints American Indians as savage heathens who have to be civilized for the defined goal of assimilation into the American society. Assimilation is the political erasure of the existence of the Indian community. It was perceived to be the answer to the American's Indian issues. Manifested in the idea of "save the man and kill the Indian" espoused by the Indian Industrial School, most people believed that it was a compassionate approach toward the Indian Child Welfare Act: separating Indian children from their culture. This was manifested in various forms, but the most aggressive was the removal of Indian children from their traditional families, starting with the Indian Boarding Schools.

Goals of the policy

The Indian Child Welfare Act intends to curb the historical practice of removing Indian children from their family and tribe and putting them in non-Indian institutions and families. The stated goal of the policy sought to safeguard the best interest of Indian children and support the security and stability of the Indian tribes (Connors, 2011). The policy endeavors to achieve the goals through three prime methods:

I. Establishing minimal standards for removing Indian children from their families and homes

II. Through putting children who have been removed from their families in adoptive or foster homes, which depict unique values of the Indian culture and III. By giving support to family programs operated by Native tribes

Description of the policy

The Act is described as the federal law endorsed by the Congress in 1978 responding to the alarming high rate of removing Indian children from their families and homes by both private and public agencies. It sought to safeguard the interests of Native children and to foster the security and stability of Indian families and tribes.

Problems it seeks to address

The Indian Child Welfare Act seeks to solve the problem of removing Indian children from their homes and placing them in non-Indian homes and foster cares. The Act establishes the minimal federal standards for removing Native children from their homes. Its focus is on proceedings of child custody such as termination of parental rights, foster care, and adoption. It targets to make sure that Native children are put in homes consistent with values of Native culture and lifestyle. This is achieved through demanding that Indian children be put with a tribe or family members if possible and requiring that states must provide more resources to Indian families (MacEachron et al., 1996).

Beneficiaries of the policy

The Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare Act to benefit the Indian child and the Indian family.

Advocates of this policy, who argued against it

Over the recent years, policy makers have continued to develop an increasing awareness of the peculiar needs of the Indian children. Tribes of the North Dakota too have been influential in the garnering support and evidence necessary for reforming the decision-making process relating to placement of Indian children. Congress representative, Morris Udall of Arizona, lobbied the then president, Jimmy Carter to endorse the bill (Tebben, 2006).

Alternative policies are there in the U.S.A. And overseas

Just after the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act, another Act was passed in 1990: the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act (AACWA). This act required that states must give programs to prevent foster care placements and allot funds for family preservation programs. Following ICWA, the Family Preservation, and Support Services Act (FPSSA) was passed in 1993 to authorize state funding to develop programs for community-based family support and family preservation. FPSSA, AACWA, and ICWA have modified the theoretical approach towards child welfare through family preservation and support (Tebben, 2006).

Main outcomes of the policy

In less than a decade after the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act, Native tribes attained significant control over the adoptive and foster care placement of Indian children. Rates of adoption placement and foster care for Indian children decreased substantially from 1976 to 1987. As of 1987, the exceedingly and initial high rate of adoption of Indian children had become equivalent to the rate for non-Indian children (Lorie, 2001).

The unintended consequences

While the Indian Child Welfare Act certainly serves its function of protecting the survival of Native tribes and their culture, the obvious possible abuse of the provisions of this Act creates a heartbreaking collection of cases. This is because the welfare of families and children assumes a back seat to people and political intrusion exploiting the system for their individual purposes. It is all evident as children return to a home whereby the government has adequate of sexual abuse.