Jackson County Children and Families

ICWA and WICWA are based on the political status of tribal governments. As sovereign nations, they have a unique government to government relationship with the United States.
ICWA was passed to address the alarmingly high rate of separation of Indian families with the intent to "protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families" (25 U.S.C. § 1902).
The Association on American Indian Affairs completed two studies and released finding in 1969 and 1974 that included the following
- 25-35% of all Indian children were separated from their families by state social service departments and placed in foster homes, adoptive homes or institutions.
- 85% of all Indian children in foster homes were in non-Indian homes.
- In Wisconsin, Indian children were approximately 1600 times more likely to be removed from their home than non-Indian children.
The separation of Indian children from their families had a significant impact on their wellbeing such as
- Cross-racial adoptions have a high likelihood creating a severe identity crisis in Indian children as they become adolescents (Matheson, 1996 - NRCFCPP)
- Indian youth have the highest rate of suicide of any population in the nation (NICWA fact sheet)
- Suicide rate can be directly linked to children having been raised outside of their own cultural system (Matheson, 1996 – NRCFCPP)

Indian Child Welfare act (ICWA)