Updates to native children placements advanced

Native foster children would have more culturally appropriate placement opportunities under a bill amended and advanced April 23.

Introduced by Lincoln Sen. Colby Coash, LB566 would change provisions of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to clarify the responsibilities of Nebraska child welfare providers. The bill would ensure that Native American tribes have a voice in judicial hearings involving native children.

Coash said Nebraska’s Native American children are overrepresented in the state’s child welfare system, accounting for more than 5 percent of those available for adoption. The bill would ensure that when native children are removed from their homes, a greater effort would be made to place them with relatives or in families with tribal connections, he said.

“This bill would help keep children out of foster care and [keep them] with their culture,” Coash said. “It promotes the best interests of children and the unique needs of Indian children.”

A Judiciary Committee amendment, adopted 29-0, would expand the definition of an expert witness in a child custody proceeding to include qualified members of tribes other than the child’s. The amendment also would remove a provision requiring that frequent time spent in the child’s home or the home of relatives be considered part of the active effort to reunify a family.

Omaha Sen. Bob Krist supported the amended bill, saying it would provide clear guidelines on how to remove children from potentially unsafe environments.

“This is essential to the success of our children’s welfare,” Krist said.

Senators advanced the bill from general file on a 28-0 vote.