Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The purpose of
the Indian Child Welfare Act is to promote the identity of Indian children and
their connection or affiliation with their Indian tribes. The Department of
Children and Family Services recognizes that Indian children are central in the
maintenance of Indian tribal culture, traditions and values. Therefore, the
Department shall, in conjunction with Indian communities, organizations and
agencies, provide a method of early identification of Indian children and their
families in order to provide services that assure all the additional
protections afforded by the Indian Child Welfare Act.
b) The Department shall negotiate in good
faith with any federally recognized Indian tribe, tribal organization or tribal
consortium:
1) that requests to develop an
agreement with the Department to administer all or a part of the program under
Title IV-E the Social Security Act (
42
USC 670 et seq.) on behalf of Indian children
who are under authority of the tribe, organization or consortium, including
foster care maintenance payments on behalf of children who are placed in
Department or tribally licensed foster family homes, adoption assistance
payments, and tribal access to resources for administration, training and data
collection under Title IV-E (see
42 USC
671(a)(32)); and
2) that does not receive an allotment under
the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) or Education and Training
Voucher (ETV) directly from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services for a fiscal year and that requests to:
A) develop an agreement with the Department
to administer, supervise or oversee the CFCIP or ETV program with respect to
Indian children who are eligible for those programs and who are under the
authority of the tribe, organization or consortium; and
B) receive from the Department an appropriate
portion of the Department's allotment for the cost of administration,
supervision or oversight (see
42 USC
677(b)(3)(G)) .
