Oklahoma governor urges collaboration on Indian child welfare

Thursday, December 5, 2013  

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) issued an executive order last month calling for more collaboration with tribes on Indian Child Welfare Act issues.

The order calls for more information sharing between tribes and the state Department of Human Services. It also envisions individual agreements to address child welfare issues for each tribe.

“A lot of kids are falling through the cracks, a lot of cases are falling through the cracks,” Jacque Hensley, Fallin's American Indian liaison, told The Oklahoman. “There's some cases that DHS has that the tribe does not know they have until way down the line. And so, things are just off kilter.”

The state emerged as an ICWA battleground due to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. A Cherokee Nation girl was forcefully taken from her father and given to a non-Indian couple in South Carolina.

Get the Story:
Oklahoma governor's executive order to improve communication between DHS and tribes (The Oklahoman 12/3)

Relevant Documents:
Executive Order: Direct Ed Lake, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, as follows to the items specified in the order regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act (November 13, 2013)