5/5/14

Rounds/Daugaard/Jackley shielding ICWA investigations

A federal judge has compelled South Dakota state courts to comply with subpoenas in a class action lawsuit brought by families who believe that the Department of Social Services violated the Indian Child Welfare Act. Pennington County's behavior has been called shocking.
Native American activists often accuse the Department of Social Services of seizing children unnecessarily and placing them with white foster families. A group of families sued social services in federal court last year, alleging children are taken for months, though hearings last less than five minutes and don't offer parents a chance to respond. Some child advocates say recent incidents in Aberdeen highlight a pattern of insufficient investigation and an agency more concerned with covering mistakes than correcting them. [John Hult, Secrecy cloaks foster care investigations by S.D. social services]
Read Cory Heidelberger's take linked here.


1 comment:

Tara Volesky said...

It is a big mess from every form of Government. Check out ANGELS NEED YOUR HELP on fb. Watch the Doug Boes story about what happened to them while being foster parents. Child abuse in SD has risen 36% in the last 3 years.