ICWA Continues to hurt Famlies

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We get at least three letters a month at http://www.CAICW.org from families that need help. The Indian Child Welfare Act is hurting them and their kids. But we don't have much for staff at CAICW. It's a volunteer org made up of busy parents. We care, we pray, we encourage, we tell our stories. We try to connect people that can help each other.

But the Tribes have the money and attorneys. Tribal government leaders want our children to bolster their memberships, bring them more money, and help them to keep their little kingdoms. They don't really care about what's good and right for our kids. All our kids are to them is warm bodies that bring federal dollars.

And what would the BIA be if all tribal members left the tribal system? The BIA doesn't want to lose its purpose - and people that work for the BIA don't want to lose their government jobs.

Lord Please help us. It's a tribal industry and our kids are pawns in a game.
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Reality - Kids are being put just anywhere -

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Several of the tribes don't really care whether they place the kids in bad homes. They do it all the time.

You can't tell me any different - I've seen it first hand. I wouldn't leave my dog in some of the homes I've seen the tribe place children in.

Further, they placed four children with us for a good year or more before they bothered to come out and do a home visit. They never once even spoke to us prior to or during the interim before that one visit. They didn't bother to ask any other social services to check on us. They had no clue how we were handling the kids, and they really didn't care.

Finally, they came out for a visit. The two social workers flew in because we were in a different state. They were supposed to be there for a two day visit. They spent about an hour or so with us. We talked in the Upholstery shop. They walked through the first floor of our apartment. Didn't look at any bedrooms. Didn't talk to any kids. Then they asked us where to go in the valley for sight seeing. That was the last we saw of them for that two day visit.

And we've never had a social worker come visit again. That was 12 years ago. We still have two of the kids in our home, and the tribe still has no clue how we're handling them.

Fortunately, we are a good home. But I have seen so many bad homes in our extended family that it's sickening.

Those that say that kids of heritage are better off within the tribal system simply because they have a small amount of heritage, or even if they are 100% tribal, are nothing but racists more concerned about tribal funds then they are about the kids.

And that's reality.
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