| In 1978, Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) that gave Indian tribes jurisdiction over Indian children in child welfare custody proceedings. In this thesis, public and government documents were used to review the ICWA policy in an effort to find how the implementation of ICWA affected placement of Indian children in California. The ICWA is considered to be one of the most significant laws supporting Indian self-determination. In California, however, Indian children continue to be removed from their homes at high numbers, child welfare workers fail to provide notice to tribes, tribes do not have funds to hire their own Indian child welfare services, and there is a lack of data regarding implementation of the ICWA. A look at how California may finally implement the ICWA, as Congress originally intended is presented in this analysis, by reviewing state senate bill, SB678. |
