RESOURCE COLLECTION

Resources for Tribal Child Welfare Professionals

To effectively engage American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families, child welfare professionals must be aware of their history, which includes violence, displacement, and forced assimilation perpetrated against them. These intergenerational traumas have understandably led to a distrust of the state and federal governments.

Taking active efforts to implement the Indian Child Welfare Act and improve collaboration between tribal and state child welfare systems can lead to better outcomes for tribal nations.

Use these resources to gain a better understanding of the impact of historical and intergenerational trauma, the laws designed to protect AI/AN families, and how to work in partnership with AI/AN children, youth, and families to support their well-being. 

Publication and Resource Collections

• The Indian Child Welfare Act: A Primer for Child Welfare Professionals
  Provides caseworkers with an overview of current and historical issues affecting child welfare practice with AI/AN families, practice implications, and cultural considerations.

• Resources for Tribal Professionals
  Connects tribal child welfare workers to resources that can support them in providing services to tribal children and families.
  
  
• Understanding the Impact of Intergenerational Trauma
  Offers resources to better understand the violence and oppression tribal families have faced in the United States over the past century.
  
  
• Engaging American Indian Children and Families
  Guides agencies and professionals with up-to-date resources that reflect best practices to more effectively and appropriately work with AI/AN children and families.
  
  
• American Indian Resilience: Culture as a Protective Factor
  Explores how AI/AN people find strength and resilience through their culture and community.
  
  
• Supporting the Well-Being of American Indian Youth
  Offers insight into the perspectives of AI/AN youth and provides information on services and programs specifically designed to support the well-being of these young people. Also includes resources supporting Native youth in out-of-home care.

Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Episodes

• Episode 31: "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Adapting to Child Welfare Cases"
  
  
• Episode 33: "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Revising Your Children's Code"

• Episode 34: "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Partnering With Tribal Social Services"
  
  
• Episode 37: "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Building Relationships With State Counterparts"
  
  
• Episode 38: "Tribal Courts and Child Welfare: Overcoming Challenges to Working With States"
  
  
• Episode 69: "Engaging Indigenous Families and Communities"

Partner Resources: Capacity Building Center for Tribes

• Culture Is Prevention: We Are All Connected
  Expands on the concept of culture as prevention, provides examples from tribal communities, and offers suggestions for how caseworkers can be mindful of incorporating the culture of the children and families they serve into their practice.
  
  
• Levels of Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect: Strategies and Resources for Tribal Communities
  Describes the three main types of prevention and provides resources aligned with each so tribal child welfare programs can better identify where their services fit along the continuum.
  
  
• Supporting Native Youth Into Adulthood
  Helps child welfare professionals support the health, well-being, and cultural connectivity of Native youth while they journey into adulthood.

Received this message from a colleague? Get News From CB sent to your inbox.

News From CB is sent by Child Welfare Information Gateway on behalf of the Children’s Bureau to support child welfare professionals in strengthening the well-being of children and families.

Sign up to receive other important news digests from Information Gateway and the Children’s Bureau.