Report from Jill Kehaulani Esch, Esq. Ombudsperson for American Indian Families August 17, 2020

Report for the Period 6/22/2020 through 8/16/2020

Duties of the Ombudsperson for American Indian Families The Ombudsperson for American Indian Families investigates complaints for non-compliance of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), Minnesota Statutes, Rules and DHS Policies that involve child protection cases. The Ombudsperson also collaborates with tribes, agencies, counties, community organizations, courts, schools and other organizations to develop policies, rules and laws to improve outcomes for American Indian Families involved in the child protection system, as well as collaborating on prevention programs. The Ombudsperson is advised and reports to the Community Specific Board, who are all appointed by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.

Geographical locations of phone calls Bemidji, Bois Forte Reservation, Brainerd, Brooklyn Center, Carlton, Carver, Cass, Cloquet, Deer River, Detroit Lakes, Duluth, Eagen, Fond du Lac Reservation, Grand Rapids, Hastings, Itasca, Kandiyohi, Leech Lake Reservation, Lower Sioux Community, Mille Lacs, Minneapolis, Perham, Red Lake Nation, Redwood Falls, St. Cloud, St. Paul, Scott, and States of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Tribes Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Bad River Band of Lake Superior, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Cherokee Nation, Cheyenne River Sioux, Choctaw Nation, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Lower Sioux Community, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Northern Cheyenne, Oglala Sioux, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Rosebud Sioux, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, Spirit Lake, Standing Rock Sioux, Stevens Village, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Upper Sioux Community, White Mountain Apache, White Earth Nation and Yankton Sioux.

Some Issues from Cases for the Period of This Report • Third-Party Custody Petition filed in Family Court by two “friends” of American Indian mother. Mother reported that she agreed to allow “friends” to temporarily care for her child for a few weeks while she was dealing with two recent deaths (a parent and a stillborn). Friends refused to return child to mother; they filed a Petition for Custody. Petition did not state that mother and child were tribal members. Court granted Petition and filed Ex Parte Order awarding petitioners temporary legal and physical custody and reserved issue of mother’s parenting time. Guardian ad litem recommended non-native/non-family petitioners be awarded permanent legal and physical custody of child. Ombudsperson wrote letter to the Court re: ICWA violations: (1) appointment of counsel for mother; (2) lack of service on mother and tribe; and (3) a maternal biological aunt is willing to take custody of child. Within hours of sending letter, guardian ad litem contacted ombudsperson and reported that she would re- evaluate the facts of the case and would reach out to the GAL ICWA Liaison for direction and consultation. • Enrolled grandmother was referred by a tribal representative who said grandchildren were not eligible for tribal membership. Provided resources and information to grandmother. See “Feedback from the Community” section (at the end of this report) on response from grandmother. • Legislator referred paternal grandmother to ombudsperson re: concerns that grandchild was not being appropriately cared for by foster care provider. Reached out to grandmother and father of child. Jurisdiction was with tribal court and ombudsperson could not assist. Reached out to tribal child welfare about concerns that were reported. • Provided ICWA and MIFPA legal resources and information to tribal attorney. Sent two letters to Court re:ICWA/MIFPA, with copy of letters to parties. See response from tribal attorney in Feedback Section. • Mothers reporting that their attorneys are encouraging them to transfer custody during the permanency proceedings because within a year, they could ask that custody be transferred back to them. Attorneys should refrain from making such statements because these are case-by-case basis determinations, with tribal input.. • Challenges due to Covid-19 re: visitations, services and lack of communication to families re: reunification. • Counties are not providing active efforts -- not providing services that would help with the goal of reunification. • Children being placed in non-relative, non-ICWA homes and having inconsistent visits with family/siblings. • Kinship searches are inadequate and continued lack of follow-up by the counties with relatives/kin.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.ombudsfamilies.state.mn.us Tel. 651-643-2523

Conferences/Policy Changes/Initiatives • Training, Incarceration in a Pandemic, 6/24/2020 • Ramsey County Stakeholders Meetings, 7/10/2020 and 7/24/2020 • Training, Affirming and Nurturing Racial Identity in Children, 7/14/2020 • Training, Implications for COVID-19 and Complex PTSD for Opioid Use Disorder, 7/15/2020 • Scott County CJI Meeting, 7/15/2020 • Co-Chaired USOA Children and Families Chapter Meeting, 7/15/2020 • Training, Contract Management 101, 7/16/2020 • Training, Extended Foster Care, 7/16/2020 • US Ombudsman Association (USOA) Monthly Board Meeting, 7/21/2020 • Meeting with DHS Director of Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy, 7/21/2020 • Training, Creating Positive Relationships, 7/22/2020 • CJA Task Force Meeting, 7/23/2020 • Chaired, USOA Children and Families Planning Committee Meeting, 7/27/2020 • USOA Virtual Training Work Group Meetings, 7/28/2020 and 8/11/2020 • American Bar Association Annual Virtual Conference, 7/29/2020 through 7/31/2020 • Training, Safe Harbor re: Sex Trafficking, 7/30/2020 • CASCW Trainings, 7/16/2020, 7/23/2020, 7/30/2020, 8/4/2020 and 8/11/2020 • DHS Signs of Safety Training, 8/5/2020 through 8/7/2020 • DHS Best Practices in Child Maltreatment Involving Domestic Violence Training, 8/12/2020 • Training, Overcoming Challenges in Forensic Interviews, 8/12/2020 • Juvenile Data Practices Continuing Legal Education, 8/12/2020 • Weekly Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) Agency Leadership calls

ICWA Education and Continued Community Outreach • NICWA Webinars and Trainings, 6/25/2020, 6/30/2020, 7/8/2020 and 7/21/2020 • Training, Serving Native Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders, 6/30/2020 • Meeting, Families First Prevention Services Act 101 with Tribes and Urban Indian Organizations, 7/8/2020 • Training, Capacity Building Center for Tribes -- Building a Trauma Lens, 7/9/2020 • Meeting, St. Paul Indians in Action, 7/15/2020 • Meetings, MUID Family Preservation (Mini MUID ICWA), 6/23/2020 and 7/28/2020 • Continued discussions with counties, judges, tribes, State Court Administration, Guardian Ad Litem Program and AI community on the importance of ICWA Education and complying with ICWA and MIFPA; provided resources. • Continued discussions on the importance of educating the families on ICWA and MIFPA because families are important stakeholders who can help to prevent the removal of American Indian children. Currently, Minnesota is number 1 in the Nation for the removal of Native children -- the highest disparity rate of Indian child removal by 22 times. Provided information and resources to parents and relatives re: active efforts and transfer custody.

Feedback from the Community Thank you so much for your guidance and input on the challenging child protection and permanency case my tribal client has had pending in state court over the past year. As you know, my client, a federally recognized Indian tribe, intervened as a party in the CHIPS case when it started, and the case has now become a permanency case. My client’s efforts to ensure compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act and Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act were not met with the type of accommodation or understanding I had experienced from other county agencies in my fifteen years of experience in ICWA cases. Your insight and involvement has been invaluable, identifying resources, and providing notifications and opportunities for education to the parties and the Court, so that hopefully the right decisions will be made. I recall your presence in other court cases has ensured compliance with the ICWA, and I wanted to let you know how much my client and I have appreciated your involvement. You’ve been a strong and necessary part of ensuring ICWA compliance in the Minnesota state courts. Keep up the great work! Received July 24, 2020 from a Tribal Attorney

Thank you so much. Oh you have been such a big help. I have confidence in getting my grandchildren now since you are involved. I can't tell you how much this means to me. Thank you so much. Have a great weekend. Received July 25, 2020

Email: [email protected] Website: www.ombudsfamilies.state.mn.us Tel. 651-643-2523