HR0260 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0260 LRB102 18293 MST 26009 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. § 1901) "recognizes the special relationship between the United States and the Indian tribes and their members and the Federal responsibility to Indian people"; the intent of the Act is to "protect the best interest of Indian children and to promote stability and security of Indian tribes and families by establishing minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children from their families and the placement of such children in foster or adoptive homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture, and by providing for assistance to Indian tribes in the operation of child and family service programs". (25 U.S.C. § 1902); and

WHEREAS, The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) promulgated a regulation "to govern the funding for, and the administration of Indian child and family service programs as authorized by the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978" (25 C.F.R. § 23.1)to ensure consistency, efficacy, and to avoid any delay in child welfare proceedings involving Native American families; and

WHEREAS, Together the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the BIA ICWA Rule promote the identity of Native American children and their connection with their tribe and afford extra protections to Native American children involved in the child welfare system by requiring the child welfare system to make active efforts, follow placement preference with the tribe, and other additional heightened legal standards required throughout the life of the case; and

WHEREAS, "Active efforts" means affirmative, active, thorough, and timely efforts intended primarily to maintain or reunite an Indian child with his or her family, which, to the maximum extent possible, should be provided in a manner consistent with the prevailing social and cultural conditions and way of life of the Indian child's Tribe and should be conducted in partnership with the Indian child and the Indian child's parents, extended family members, Indian custodians, and Tribe (25 CFR § 23.2.); and

WHEREAS, The BIA ICWA Rule mandates that when a Native American child is placed in foster care, placement preference must be given in descending order to placement of the child with: (1) A member of the Indian child's extended family, (2) Other members of the Indian child's Tribe, or (3) Other Indian families (25 CFR § 23.130); and

WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Procedure 307, Indian Child Welfare Services, "outlines how 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 child welfare services that assure all the additional protections afforded by the Indian Child Welfare Act"; and

WHEREAS, DCFS Procedure 307 created an "Indian Child Welfare Specialist (ICWA Specialist)" that defines the role as "an enrolled member of a Native American Indian Tribe" who is "familiar with the Native American community, participates in community outreach, and is a primary contact person for an ICWA case who assists and supports permanency staff regarding ICWA compliance in child custody proceedings"; and

WHEREAS, Until 2018, DCFS employed two Indian Child Welfare Specialists to manage the various ICWA cases identified throughout the State of Illinois, both of whom were enrolled members of Native American Indian Tribes; and

WHEREAS, Since 2018, the DCFS Indian Child Welfare Specialist positions have been vacant, and when DCFS recently posted positions to hire two ICWA Specialists, the requirement that the Specialists be a member of a Native America Indian Tribe was changed to a mere preference; and

WHEREAS, The Indian Child Welfare Specialists are responsible for: (1) developing procedural guidelines to determine DCFS compliance with ICWA, (2) determining children's eligibility under ICWA, (3) facilitating communication throughout the life of the case between representatives from the child's tribe, DCFS, and the courts, (4) identifying community support, organizations, programs, and activities to maintain the American Indian child's culture, language, and traditions, which are required under ICWA, (5) maintaining and developing connections with the Native America community, (6) recruiting and supporting Native American foster homes, (7) providing ICWA trainings, and (8) facilitation of the Illinois Child Welfare Advisory Council; and

WHEREAS, These responsibilities have been ignored since 2018, and the ICWA youth in care and their families have not had the advocacy, services, or support needed to protect their interests and rights and, as a result, have suffered; and

WHEREAS, There has been almost no public information offered about DCFS compliance with the ICWA and BIA ICWA Rule or implementation of Procedure 307 or whether there is any oversight process to ensure accountability and compliance so that the needs of Native American youth in care are being addressed by DCFS; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly requires reliable information to guide funding decisions, perform its oversight, and make sound legislative and administrative recommendations; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is directed to conduct a performance audit of the Department of Children and Family Services compliance with its obligations to protect the Indian Children in care and their families; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit shall include, but not be limited to, examining the operations and management of the Department of Children and Family Services and its contractors to perform its duties in accordance with ICWA, the BIA Regulations, and DCFS procedure 307 "Indian Child Welfare Services" as follows:

(1) The Department of Children and Family Services' implementation of and adherence to The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978;

(2) The Department of Children and Family Services' implementation of and adherence to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Rule;

(3) The Department of Children and Family Services' implementation of and adherence to Procedure 307;

(4) The Department of Children and Family Services' contractors' implementation of adherence to Procedure 307;

(5) How and with what frequency the Department of Children and Family Services and its contractors' employees are trained on the Indian Child Welfare Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs regulations, and the requirements of Procedure 307, and whether the training is sufficient to demonstrate appropriate application to field work;

(6) How employee and contract oversight ensure accountability and corrective actions;

(7) The method by which the Department of Children and Family Services assesses, monitors, and acts to make certain its contracted providers have adopted Procedure 307 policies;

(8) The methods by which information about Indian Child eligibility is sought, the format and locations in which this information is maintained, and the practices utilized for privacy protections;

(9) Actions taken by the Department of Children and Family Services and its contractors in licensing to recruit and support Native American foster homes;

(10) The process by which the Department of Children and Family Services ensures that Indian children or youth are placed in homes that comply with placement preference as outlined in ICWA and the BIA regulations;

(11) The current gap in placement and service capacity to meet the needs and efforts made to recruit Native American foster homes; and

(12) Amounts appropriated or allocated from any source, including grants, for the purposes of compliance with ICWA, the BIA Regulations and DCFS Procedures 307, the amounts actually spent, and the purpose of each expenditure during fiscal years 2018 through 2021; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to, the following determinations as they pertain to children (up to the age of 21) in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services in calendar years 2019 and 2020:

(1) The number of youth in care identified as an Indian Child or eligible for membership in an Indian tribe;

(2) For each youth in subsection (1), the length of stay in out-of-home care, case permanency goals, frequency of sibling visitation, as applicable;

(3) For each youth in subsection (1), the number, type, and duration of each placement designated relative foster home, tribal foster home, group home, residential treatment center, detention or correctional setting, psychiatric hospital, transitional living program, or shelter home, whether and how the youth in care and the tribe participate in placement planning and determination, whether and how tribal placement preference was considered for placement selection, and reasons for placement disruptions, if applicable;

(4) For each youth in subsection (1), the number of each incident categorized as running away, contact with police or the justice system, crisis hospitalization, hospitalization beyond medical necessity, reported victim of assault, school-related disciplinary infractions, school-related disciplinary infractions, school-related bullying or harassment, removal from a placement at the request of a provider or caregiver, removal from a placement at the request of the youth, subject of abuse or neglect allegations while in out-of-home care, and detained in a correctional setting beyond release due to lack of identified placement;

(5) For each youth in subsection (1), were opportunities provided to engage in normalcy activities (e.g., participation in activities typical of their peer and age group) consistent with the child's tribal culture, language, and traditions;

(6) Whether the data findings in (2), (3), (4), and (5) differ from that of the general population of youth in care or whether the data differs based on the geographic placement of the youth in care; and

(7) The number of providers designated as clinically appropriate to provide housing or services to youth identified as members or eligible for membership in a Native American tribe and the number of youth utilizing those providers for services or supports; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Children and Family Services shall cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office in conducting this audit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as soon as possible to distribute the report upon completion in accordance with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.