Tribal representation low at first Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council meeting

Rep. Tamara St. John, R-Sisseton, speaks on the state House floor on Jan. 16, 2024. St. John sponsored a successful bill during the session to create an Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

The newly created Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council held its first meeting Thursday to discuss South Dakota’s foster care process and how to improve communication and collaboration between the state and tribal governments.

The Legislature and Gov. Kristi Noem approved legislation earlier this year establishing the advisory council to address the overrepresentation of Native American children in the state’s foster care system . A 2023 joint investigation by South Dakota Searchlight and the Argus Leader found that Native American children accounted for nearly 74% of foster children in the system at the end of fiscal year 2023, despite making up 13% of the state’s child population.

However, only two tribal representatives — from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe — attended the first meeting. There are nine tribal nations in South Dakota.

Department of Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff told council members he was “sad” there wasn’t full representation by tribal nations. He said feedback about how to improve work between his department and tribes is imperative to “penetrate through barriers” tribal members face regarding child abuse and neglect.

Low attendance due to scheduling conflicts & lack of communication, ICWA offices say

The department resisted the effort to create the advisory council during the legislative session. Sisseton Republican Rep. Tamara St. John, a tribal member who introduced the advisory council bill, said she was disappointed by the low representation at the first meeting, though she attributed it to the “friction” between tribes and the South Dakota government.

The Lost Children

Read The Lost Children , a series exploring the causes, effects and potential solutions to the decades-long overrepresentation of Native American children in South Dakota’s foster care system.

Representatives of all nine tribal governments have voted to ban Noem from their reservations because of her claim that tribal leaders are benefiting from drug cartel activity, and because of her statement that Native American children “ don’t have any hope ” due to economic, educational and cultural struggles on reservations.

“It’s going to take some time to develop a certain level of trust to be able to move forward in a productive way,” St. John said.

Tribal governments have offices that administer the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. Some ICWA directors could not attend the council meeting because of scheduling conflicts. Representatives with the Oglala Sioux Tribe were in San Diego at the Capacity Building Center for Tribes Summer Gathering, and the ICWA director for the Yankton Sioux Tribe was in North Dakota for the state’s annual Indian Child Welfare and Wellness Conference .

Employees with the ICWA offices for Oglala and Yankton Sioux tribes said they were not aware of the advisory council meeting until this week, since state communication about the meeting went through the president or chairman’s office rather than their department.

Heather Patton, an ICWA technician with OST, said she tried attending the meeting virtually but had technical difficulties.

The council is required to meet at least once a year. There is not a set time for its next meeting.

DSS announces new initiatives, including kinship program

Krista Young, director of the Center for Prevention of Child Maltreatment at the University of South Dakota, presented to the council about the organization’s mission and initiatives.

She also talked about the impacts that risk factors (such as poverty) and adverse childhood experiences (such as parental substance abuse or food insecurity) can have on children, and the benefits of strengthening cultural ties for Native American children who experience child abuse and maltreatment.

“We want to treat child maltreatment as a public health priority,” Young said.

Pamela Bennett, the division director of South Dakota Child Protection Services, presented to the advisory council about the South Dakota child welfare process and system, as well as initiatives within the Department of Social Services to improve child welfare in the state.

New initiatives include implementing federally funded Family First Prevention Services and developing materials to approve more Native American foster families in South Dakota . The Family First approach funds prevention services addressing child abuse and neglect at its root, including substance abuse treatment for parents , mental health services and parenting classes. South Dakota is one of the last four states to create a plan , which has yet to be finalized and approved by the federal government.

The department also plans to create a kinship licensing program .

“That’s a really important, attainable goal,” Althoff told council members.

Research shows that when children have to be removed from their homes, prioritizing kinship care (being placed with relatives or close family friends) can improve academic, behavioral and mental health outcomes, and allow the child to stay within their culture and community, according to Child Trends, a research organization focused on child welfare.

Currently, South Dakota kinship caregivers who accept a child into their home after being removed from their parents don’t receive the same amount of resources and support as foster parents, unless they become licensed foster parents themselves. Licensing brings a higher monthly payment to caregivers, helping them cover the cost of the educational, social and medical needs of the children in their care.

That process and training is intensive, time consuming, and potentially unrelated to the kin’s situation since they are already familiar with the child. Four percent of South Dakota children in foster care were placed in kinship care between 2021 and 2023, according to data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation .

Of the thousands of instances when Child Protection Services became involved with families during fiscal year 2024, families were able to remain together 28% of the time after implementing a “safety plan,” Bennett said.

“What we know is when parents and children can be together and both go through those changes and processes and see that behavior change at the same time, we tend to see better outcomes,” Bennett said.

Members of the council serve two-year terms and include representatives appointed by each of the nine tribes within South Dakota, a representative for the Department of Social Services, and a legislative representative from the Senate and House of Representatives.

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