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Content submission deadline: Oct. 22, 2020
If you have any topics you would like to see covered in this newsletter, please email: Contracts.Adoption.DHS@state.mn.us
The Permanency Support Unit update is a collaborative effort by Permanency Support Unit staff.
Commitment to anti-racist work and inclusivity: Embracing the spirit of the Indian Child Welfare Act
The Permanency Support Unit is continuing to review policies, practices, and laws to determine where and how changes can or should be made to ensure racial equity and inclusivity, and promote better outcomes for children and families who are disproportionately represented in permanency and adoption.
In 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, was enacted, with Congress declaring that the policy of the United States is to:
“protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of 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.” (See 25 U.S.C. §1902)
ICWA’s congressional findings at the time noted there was an “alarmingly high percentage” of American Indian families who were broken up as a result of unwarranted child removals and placement in non-Native homes. The findings also declared “there is no resource that is more vital to the continued existence of Indian tribes than their children,” and that the United States has a responsibility to protect American Indian children. Further, the findings found States were failing to recognize tribal relations and prevailing cultural and social norms of Indian families and communities.
Originally passed in 1985 and amended over the years, the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) strengthens and expands ICWA by requiring greater tribal involvement, notification of tribes to voluntary proceedings, and appropriate funding for provision of services to Indian children and families. Find more information on ICWA and MIFPA here.
Unfortunately, American Indian children continue to be overrepresented in Minnesota’s child welfare system. According to Minnesota’s out-of-home placement and permanency report from 2019, American Indian children were 18.2 times more likely than white children to experience foster care in Minnesota in 2018, and had higher proportions who stayed in care for two or more years compared to other racial and ethnic groups. It is imperative that our work is conducted within the spirit of ICWA and MIFPA, and that we remember and understand why these two laws were enacted in the first place. The Permanency Support Unit is committed to ensuring the best interests of American Indian children are met by following ICWA/MIFPA requirements, and collaborating internally with DHS ICWA Unit staff and externally with tribal agency partners and other stakeholders.
DHS resumes fingerprint-based background studies
Beginning at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct 7, 2020, DHS will return to conducting fingerprint-based background studies that meet all state and federal requirements. Find more information on this return to full compliance here.
Content submissions for the Permanency Support Unit Update
We want to hear from you! As a reminder, we welcome content suggestions and submissions for inclusion in this newsletter. Please send any content suggestions, including requests for more information or clarification on a topic, to our email at Contracts.Adoption.DHS@state.mn.us. Also, please send any organization training or announcements to include in this newsletter.
Find COVID-19 updates from DHS and Children’s Bureau
To find the most up-to-date information for providers, counties, tribes and members of the public, visit the DHS website. View a list of all DHS waivers and modifications under peacetime emergency authority, Executive Order 20-12.
View the federal Children’s Bureau’s COVID-19 resources webpage, which includes resources and updates from Jerry Milner, Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau.
Relevant DHS training opportunities
Northstar Permanency Quality Assurance staff are hosting trainings on topics related to adoption, transfer of permanent legal and physical custody (TPLPC), and Northstar Adoption/Kinship Assistance benefits. The next training is Tuesday, November 10th, where staff will provide an overview of the Northstar permanency process including differences between Northstar Adoption Assistance and Northstar Kinship Assistance and the process with DHS after submission of an adoption placement agreement, eligibility determination and benefit agreement. This training will be held online and registration information can be found here. For more information email Northstar.Benefits@state.mn.us.
The DHS Foster Care Unit will be facilitating 3 webinars over the next two months:
Contact dhs.fostercare.webinar@state.mn.us with questions or for more information.
Conferences and events
The Kempe Center will be hosting an international virtual conference from October 5 through October 8 to create an international community of practice and space to re-envision and rethink child welfare through mobilizing child, family, and community partnerships and leadership. Find more information and register here.
Registration is still open for the St. Louis County Health and Human Service Virtual Conference on October 7 and October 8. See more information here.
The Minnesota Association for Children’s Mental Health will be hosting an online conference on October 26 and October 27, with up to 22 CEHs available. Explore the sessions and register here.
The Circus of the Heart event will be held from November 1 through November 20 virtually! Activities and programming will take place daily Monday through Friday during the first three weeks of November. Families should register here if they would like to participate in any of the online events. Registered families will receive a Circus box filled with activities, information, prizes and giveaways. Find more information on The Circus of the Heart event here.
Other training opportunities
The Children’s Bureau has updated resources and outreach tools available to help your organization align your National Adoption Month plans with the Children’s Bureau national campaign. Visit the Children’s Bureau’s National Adoption Month website here.
The MN ADOPT Education Program has many training opportunities for October 2020! Everything is online, so you can access it wherever you are. Don’t miss out on all of these great topics! One to highlight is “How does your child learn?’ by Bonnie Jean Smith; register here. Please share with your networks!
Children’s Home Society is offering foster care adoption education classes during October. Educational classes have been switched to a 2-day online format for the rest of the year. This change allows Children’s Home Society to accommodate more attendees while continuing to provide incoming foster and adoptive families the information they need to move forward in their process. Families can register here or contact Maddie Hilsabeck at maddie.hilsabeck@chlss.org.
Adoption Placement Agreements and ICWA/MIFPA compliance
DHS permanency staff have encountered several instances where a child’s ICWA status is unknown, unclear, or incorrect at the time an Adoption Placement Agreement (APA) is submitted. This causes delays in permanency and other disruptions as DHS permanency staff work to clarify a child’s ICWA status and ensure ICWA/MIFPA requirements were followed. To ensure the best interests of American Indian children are protected in permanency, and in keeping with the spirit and intent of ICWA/MIFPA, it is very important that ICWA/MIFPA requirements are followed as soon as a child and their family become involved with Minnesota’s child welfare system, as well as throughout a child’s case when ICWA/MIFPA applies. The DHS ICWA Unit has a desk aid (DHS-7824) for county agency staff to help with following ICWA/MIFPA requirements.
For children under guardianship of the commissioner, DHS permanency staff follow ICWA/MIFPA requirements during the Adoption Placement Agreement (APA) review process. DHS permanency staff cannot approve APAs without first confirming children’s ICWA status. DHS permanency staff may request additional information or documentation if a child’s IWCA status is unknown, unclear, or if there is conflicting information being presented.
If ICWA/MIFPA non-compliance is suspected, DHS permanency staff will file a non-compliance report with the DHS ICWA Unit. As DHS permanency staff are also responsible for complying with ICWA/MIFPA, which includes ensuring the best interests of Indian children are protected and following ICWA adoption placement preference order, the APA review process will be delayed to allow for review of the non-compliance report.
DHS permanency staff will not be able to approve an APA for an Indian child if ICWA/MIFPA requirements are not followed. Questions about the APA review process and ICWA/MIFPA compliance should be directed to northstar.benefits@state.mn.us.
Private adoption in Minnesota and MIFPA
Everyone involved in the adoption process must follow all applicable local, state, and federal laws and policies, including anti-discrimination laws, ICWA, and MIFPA. MIFPA requires that for any voluntary or preadoptive placement proceeding in which it is believed the child to be adopted may meet the definition of an Indian child, the agency must notify the tribal social services agency. Notifying the tribal social services agency will allow them to assist in determining if the child meets the definition of an Indian child. Private child-placing agencies should consult with legal counsel to ensure they are following all applicable local, state, and federal laws specific to each adoptive placement in which the child to be adopted may have American Indian heritage.
ICPC and ICWA requirements
Whether ICPC applies to a case involving an Indian child depends on several factors. A tribe may exercise jurisdiction over a case involving an Indian child, in which case the ICPC does not apply unless the tribe has entered an agreement with the state and that state requires ICPC involvement. Alternatively, a child’s tribe may not exercise jurisdiction over the case and may instead intervene as a party to the state proceedings. In this case, the ICPC will apply unless any of the requirements of the ICPC conflict with the ICWA placement requirements. If ICPC implementation will interfere with placement of the Indian child pursuant to placement requirements of the ICWA, then ICWA preempts the ICPC.
When a Minnesota county agency submits an ICPC request for an ICWA-eligible child, the county must obtain a letter from the child’s tribe showing that the child is a member or eligible for membership. If the tribe has not responded, the county should include a copy of the notification sent to the tribe(s).
Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center
The DHS Permanency Support Unit contracts with the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) to provide ICWA-related adoption and permanency services in the Twin Cities metro area.
Placement family recruitment, preparation and support: The MIWRC provides individualized supports to potential ICWA adoptive, foster and kinship parents that include home visits with licensing education and barrier identification, housing compliance assistance, culturally grounded emotional and practical supports, and culturally grounded resource referral to improve placement outcomes. Services include ongoing post-placement supports and connections to the organization’s in-house services and other community services.
Foster family and kinship placement education and training events: The MIWRC hosts two events each year that are culturally grounded and also serve as an information and recruitment activity with a focus on recruiting foster, kinship and adoptive families for ICWA-qualifying children.
Support group for foster, adoptive and kinship parents: The MIWRC provides weekly peer ICWA placement support groups that utilize culturally grounded educational curriculum, traditional teachings, arts and crafts, and positive community norms to strengthen family/caregiver parenting skills and confidence.
Cultural activities: The MIWRC hosts four cultural field trips per year for adoptive, foster and kinship families.
Please find more at the MIWRC website. Specific questions can be directed to Maria Smith, Indian Child Welfare Act kinship worker, at msmith@miwrc.org or 612-388-4824.
Northstar Adoption Assistance eligibility and ICWA
To be eligible for Northstar Adoption Assistance, a child must meet the special needs determination criteria. One of the criteria is that the responsible agency made reasonable, but unsuccessful, efforts to place a child with adoptive parents, without providing adoption assistance. To meet this criterion, the responsible agency must have completed a documented search. This documented search must include, at minimum, 1) a relative search and consideration of placement with relatives; 2) compliance with adoption placement preference order under ICWA; 3) registration on the State Adoption Exchange; and 4) other recruitment activities if an adoptive placement was not located under the preceding three items.
A child can also be eligible for a waiver of this documented search, if the child is being adopted by a relative, by their sibling’s adoptive parent, or by their foster parent with whom they have developed significant emotional ties. However, if a child is eligible under ICWA/MIFPA, a waiver cannot be granted if the adoptive placement is out of compliance with ICWA adoption placement preference order.
If a responsible agency is out of compliance with ICWA adoption placement preference order, a child will not be eligible for Northstar Adoption Assistance. ICWA adoption placement preference order is:
- An Indian child’s tribe’s order of preference as established by resolution, if applicable
- A member of the child’s extended family
- Other members of the Indian child’s tribe
- Other Indian families.
Nominations open for MN ADOPT Distinguished Service Award
Each year, two Distinguished Service awards are presented at Circus of the Heart to individuals and organizations/corporations that have made outstanding contributions within the Minnesota adoption community. Today is the last day to submit nominations! Nominate a professional here.
Join the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) email list
NACAC’s Adoption, Foster, Kinship Connections (AFKC) sends regular emails to parents, caregivers and professionals. Emails include information about AFKC’s support groups as well as information based on a topic. Recent topics have included trauma-focused discipline, how to talk with your children and youth about race, social justice books for youth and adults, distance learning, back-to-school resources, supporting LGBTQ youth and more. To receive emails, contact nickschanilec@nacac.org
Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy employment opportunities
The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy is now accepting applicants for a research and evaluation supervisor and a curriculum developer. Apply here and follow the Apply Now! Instructions.
Ampersand Families employment opportunities
Ampersand Families is hiring for two positions: a permanency specialist and a relative/kin-focused permanency specialist. Visit their website for more information and share with your networks!
Join the MN ADOPT professional and community partner email list
Join MN ADOPT’s professional & community partner email list where they share information and updates more often and in greater detail than is possible through the monthly Permanency Support Unit newsletter. As a member of this email list, you’ll receive information about event and ticketing opportunities for families, giveaways, Kid Connection features, coupons for educational trainings, upcoming workshops and general program overviews of all MN ADOPT programs. If you would like to opt in to the email list, please complete this subscription form.
MN ADOPT recruitment opportunities for youth
Recruitment opportunities for youth can be requested via the State Adoption Exchange (SAE) registration form. Print media opportunities include a monthly feature of a child on the State Adoption Exchange, with their public narrative and photo in newspapers throughout the state. Newspapers include the Star and Tribune, Duluth News Tribune, Adams Publishing (26 community papers) and the Press Publications (six community papers and one magazine).
This also includes a monthly feature on the Meet the Kids page. Please email Kim Sacay with any questions about recruitment opportunities at ksacay@mnadopt.org.
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