Answers to commonly asked questions about: The Indian Child
Welfare Act (I.C.W.A.): Written by: Lori L. Arellano, May 29th,
2012 Q.: Why did the United States Federal Government enact the
Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978? Answer: After performing a
statistical study of the patterns of removal of Native American
children from their biological families in the United States,
the U.S. Congress deemed it necessary to enact federal law,
namely the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), to mitigate the
disproportionately high numbers of Native American children put
up for adoption. Historically non- natives, including state
court systems, Child Protective Service Agencies and county
officials “…often did not understand, ignored, or rejected the
cultural or social customs of the child’s tribal community…” and
therefore sought to assimilate Native Children by placing them
in non-native adoption homes or by placing them in institutions.
I.C.W.A. was federally enacted as a measure to set forth
standards and regulations that m