The Indian Child Welfare Act and Serious Violent Offenders

1950 Words8 Pages
Abstract The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 was a policy that forced Native American children out of their families and into residential schools so that they could conform to the ways of American society. Unfortunately, this policy has forced Native American families away from their community that is their social support group. The serious violent juvenile offenders (SVJ) make up a small population of troubled and dangerous offenders. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention developed Safe Start a program that includes four phases, (two of which are being implemented on) to focus on key areas such as education, domestic violence and substance abuse and prevention. Proposals for change in the juvenile justice system have also been made. The Indian Child Welfare Act and Serious Violent Offenders In 1978 Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) that was intended to protect the best interest of the child and encourage strength and wellbeing of Indian tribes and Native Americans. An Indian child" is “any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe. ICWA started because of the high removal rate of Indian children from their customary homes and more importantly removed from Indian culture completely. Before the enactment of this act as many as 25 to 35% of Indian children were being removed from their homes and placed into non-Indian homes. This act grants jurisdiction to the tribe in child custody proceedings such as adoption, voluntary and involuntary removal of parental rights. Foster care placement, and the state must transfer these cases to tribal courts if the tribe requests it, except in some cases where either the parents object or there is good reason for the trial to stay

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