May 5, 2022 Vol. 17

CTFC MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS Latest News From California Tribal Families Coalition

Upcoming Events! 2022 ICWA Conference & the Inaugural California American Indian Disability Symposium: June 13-15

Mark your calendar for two important hybrid events set across three consecutive days in June!   Register today for “Rising Up! Re-Indigenizing ICWA,” the 2022 California Statewide ICWA Conference on June 13-14 at the Sycuan Casino Resort. Then, on June 15, stick around for the historic 1st Annual California American Indian Disability Symposium to learn about efforts to improve service access and equity to Native American families and Tribal communities!

Mon, Jun 13, 2022 8:30 AM PST 2022 California Statewide I.C.W.A. Conference Sycuan Casino Resort, El Cajon Tickets

Wed, Jun 15, 2022 8:00 AM PST 1st Annual California American Indian Disability Symposium Sycuan Casino Resort, El Cajon Tickets

Brackeen Breakdown Webinars Continue!

On April 22, CTFC hosted Episode 2 of our popular monthly Brackeen Breakdown webinar. This one-hour gathering offered an opportunity for anyone interested in this critical case to interact with the CTFC legal team and ask questions, share ideas, or dig deeper into this case.  Topics discussed over the Brackeen Breakdown’s first two episodes have ranged from general background to how this case compares to past Supreme Court cases challenging ICWA, to who is attacking ICWA and why. We look forward to seeing you at Episode 3 of the Brackeen Breakdown, entitled “California ICWA Protections & the Threat of Brackeen,” scheduled for May 27 at 12pm Pacific.

Register Here

ICWA Employee Policy Manual

The Coalition helped the Yurok Tribe create an ICWA Employee Policy Manual with several important resources, including a developed tribal practice model, advocacy procedures, trauma-informed onboarding and a supervision model. The ICWA Employee Manual will be an incredible reference for new ICWA advocates. It will help guide practice from the specific tribal approach while also providing a roadmap for advocacy with county child welfare systems.

AB 3176 Implementation

The Coalition continues to help spread the word about new ICWA legislation to all 58 counties across the state. We recently provided briefing materials to Coalition member tribes for a series of five All County Letters. These letters will provide guidance on the implementation of CTFC-sponsored legislation, AB 3176, for county child welfare departments. AB 3176 integrated the federal ICWA regulations into California law. Thank you to our member tribes for guiding this important work!

Welcome San Manuel and Torres Martinez!

CTFC is delighted to welcome two new tribes to our growing Coalition: The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians! With more than 50 tribes and tribal organizations, CTFC is continuing our mission to promote and protect the health, safety, and welfare of tribal children and families, which are inherent tribal governmental functions and at the core of tribal sovereignty and tribal governance.

Qualified Expert Witness Training

In April, CTFC experienced the beautiful Eastern Sierra region as we spent time with over a dozen tribal advocates, foster parents and Tribal leaders interested in becoming Qualified Expert Witnesses (QEW) in ICWA cases. These inspirational folks joined us for in-person and virtual training sessions. The training included two days of studying the crucial role of QEW’s while learning how to write Court reports and provide Courtroom testimony. The group was honored to be joined by Chief Judge Dean Stout of the Bishop Tribal Court who previously served as Inyo County Superior Court’s Presiding Judge before retiring. We look forward to seeing this new group of QEW’s provide their expertise and experience to help counties.

40th Annual NICWA Presentation

During the 40th Annual NICWA Conference in early April, policy innovations to help Tribes secure no-cost legal counsel in state court ICWA cases took center stage. CTFC Legal Director Kimberly Cluff and Alex Cleghorn, the Senior Legal and Policy Director for Alaska Native Justice Center, led the insightful session. Alex discussed ANJC’s efforts to provide no-cost direct legal services to Alaska Native Tribes in ICWA cases. Kimberly shared the goals, vision and plan for scaling up the CTFC Legal Counsel for Tribes (LC4T) project, which provides no-cost legal counsel to California Tribes.  The well-attended session prompted many thoughtful questions about overcoming the fundamental inequity of Tribes being the only parties in ICWA cases without access to legal representation. Thank you to NICWA and all who attended for an excellent session.

Be a Part of CTFC!

Help defend ICWA and protect our children by joining the more than 50 California tribes and tribal organizations that are a part of our growing coalition! Your membership and support helps further our mission to address ICWA compliance and to protect the civil rights of our most vulnerable population!

Email us for information about joining CTFC

Read past Monthly Highlights.

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