July/August 2021Vol. 22, No. 7Active Efforts List for the Indian Child Welfare Act

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 emphasized the importance of ensuring Indian children remain connected to their community, tribe, and culture by recognizing the sovereignty of tribal nations in child welfare cases involving Indian children. One of the requirements of ICWA dictates that state child welfare agencies and courts must engage in active efforts to both prevent removal and reunify children with their families.

The Capacity Building Center for Tribes, in partnership with the Tribal Information Exchange, released a resource containing guidance on active efforts for states and courts regarding the implementation of ICWA within their child welfare agencies. The resource features information from the North Dakota ICWA Implementation Partnership on active efforts federal regulations and guidelines, a recent publication from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges that provides information on the history behind ICWA and active efforts as a best practice, a webinar from the Capacity Building Center for Tribes that discusses how active efforts benefit both tribal and state child welfare systems and serve the best interests of Indian children and families, and more.