National Indian Child Welfare Association

nate to May 24, 1999 NATIONAL Lynn Cutler Senior Advisor for the Chief of Staff INDIAN for Native American Affairs 106 Old Executive Office Building CHILD 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. your Daschle Washington, D.C. 20502 WELFARE ASSOCIATION Dear Ms. Cutler: Thank you for meeting with me, Karen Funk and representatives of Senator Daschle's office on May 17 regarding yours President Gary Peterson Indian child welfare issues. Skokomish is Vice President Eloise King We welcome and need your assistance to correct the Social Wenatchee Security Act Title IV-E program which provides opened ended Secretary Elizabeth Red Bear entitlement assistance ($5 billion annually) for foster care and updated Yakama/Nez Perce Treasurer adoption assistance for income-eligible children placed by state courts Dan Gargan and entities with whom they have agreements. Left out of this picture, Rosebud Sioux Members: of course, are Indian children who are under the jurisdiction of their William Clark tribal governments and thus are placed in foster care by tribal courts. Cherokee Donne Fleagle Athabaskan You brought up the idea of extending tribal access to the Title Debra Foxcroft Tseshaht IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program on a pilot project Delores Greyeyes basis. As I understand it, the idea was put forward in the context of Navajo the recent meeting at the White House with tribal leaders from North Judy Houck Coeur d'Alene Dakota and South Dakota at which the President asked federal Tracy King Assiniboine agencies to look for pilot projects for tribes, especially those tribes with James Knapp the least economic development. We believe it important to explain Seneca Nation why we do not believe this program lends itself to a pilot project Gabriel Landry Puyallup approach and why we would oppose it for the following reasons: Robert Lewis Pima/Maricopa Kathryn Manness The Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program Huron is an open-ended federal entitlement program. To make it a Art Martinez, Ph.D. Chumash discretionary program available to a limited number of tribes and Robert Miller Eastern Shawnee Indian children would be a continuation of the current inequity. Don Milligan Cree/Assiniboine Pilot projects are established for the purpose of testing and Muriel Sharlow Ojibway evaluatng ideas and approaches. The IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Lola Sohappy Warm Springs program has been in existence since 1980 and is far beyond the pilot Ernie Stevens, Jr. project stage. And 50 tribes already, via tribal-state ageeements, have Oneida experience with the IV-E program. Tribes operating the program Mary Tenorio, Ph.D. Santo Domingo would, like states, be required to have HHS-approved plans and Rick Thomas licensed foster homes. Santee Sioux Gil Vigil Tesuque Canadian Alternate Gloria Wilson Squamish 3611 SW Hood Street, Suite 201, Portland, OR 97201 Executive Director Phone: 503.222.4044 Fax: 503.222.4007 Terry L. Cross Seneca Nation e-mail: [email protected] website: www.nicwa.org