Quarter Report

Indian Child Welfare Court Monitor
Quarterly Report
April, May & June, 2004

I monitored 104 hearings this quarter. Two (2%) were out of compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Twenty-five of the hearings monitored were hold hearings.

Twenty-nine children were found to be children in need of protection and services. Twenty-five of the CHIPS findings entered were the result of settlements; four resulted from defaults. CHIPS jurisdiction over eleven children who had previously been reunified with a parent or prior legal custodian was dismissed by the Court. A transfer of legal custody to a relative was ordered for four children. Sixteen children who had been in placement were reunified this quarter with a parent or previous legal custodian. The Court terminated the parental rights of four parents. One termination of parental rights was the result of a settlement; three resulted from defaults. Three of the hearings were rescheduled without a hearing being held.

The Court granted two motions brought by tribes to transfer jurisdiction to tribal court.

ICWA requires notice of the proceeding to be sent by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the parents or the Indian custodian, and the children’s tribe. One hearing monitored violated the notice requirements of ICWA.

This was TPR admit/deny hearing heard on June 14, 2004, before Judge Lefler. The mother had recently established her membership in the tribe. No formal notice of the termination parental rights petition had been provided to the tribe.

ICWA gives parents the right to counsel in the proceeding. The Court may also appoint counsel for a child. There was one instance where counsel for a party failed to appear at a hearing.

This was a CHIPS admit/deny hearing heard on June 9, 2004, before Judge Reilly. The attorney for the father failed to appear for the hearing. The father who was in custody had been brought to the hearing pursuant to a writ.

The court hearings involved a total of 168 children. Eleven of the children were enrolled members and 157 were eligible for membership. The number of hearings, by the child’s tribal affiliation, is as follows:

TRIBE	NUMBER OF HEARINGS	TRIBE	NUMBER OF HEARINGS
White Earth Band of Chippewa	27	Cheyenne River Sioux Nation	2
Red Lake Band of Chippewa	22	Shakopee Mdewakanton	2
Leech Lake Band of Chippewa	20	Sokaogon Band of Chippewa	2
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe	14	Standing Rock Sioux Nation	2
Oglala Sioux Nation	7	Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma	2
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa	6	Yankton Sioux Nation	2
Rosebud Sioux Nation	4	Crow Creek Sioux Nation	1
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa	3	Hopi	1
Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Nation	3	Hualapai Nation	1
Spirit Lake Sioux Nation	3	Lower Sioux Indian Community	1
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska	3	Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska	1

The placements of the children were as follows: forty-six of the children were either returned home or remained at home under protective supervision; fifty-one children were placed with relatives; thirty-seven children were placed in Indian foster care; nine children were placed in non-Indian foster homes with the approval of the children’s tribe; fourteen children were in emergency shelter placement; five were in group homes; two were in residential treatment centers; one child was in the hospital; and the whereabouts of three children were unknown at the time of the hearing.

Mothers of the children were present at seventy-one of the hearings. There were a total of thirty-five fathers present at the hearings. Guardians ad litem were present at sixty-eight of the hearings. Tribal representatives were present at thirty-nine of the hearings. Minneapolis American Indian Center advocates were present at twenty-six of the hearings. Advocates from other community agencies were present at one of the hearings. There were forty-four hearings where no tribal representative or Indian advocate was present.

Prepared by:

Paul T. Minehart
ICWA Court Monitor