Our Priorities: Strengthen Tribal Child Welfare Programs and Enforce the ICWA

The California Tribal Families Coalition was formed by tribal leaders in 2017 as a grassroots coalition of tribes advocating together to ensure the rights of tribes, tribal children and families are protected. 

 Our priorities are driven by our member tribes. We achieve our priorities through: 

  • Strengthening our own tribal systems that can care directly for our children and families, to not just focus on reform of state and federal systems but continue to build our own. See our Tribal Capacity Building efforts.
  • Enforcing federal and state laws and rules, including the Indian Child Welfare Act and Cal-ICWA, through direct legal representation of tribes in ICWA cases and impact litigation. 
  • Advocating with federal and state legislators and agency administrators to protect and strengthen tribal rights to care directly for our children and families. 
  • Monitoring federal and California based legislation, rulemaking, budgets and government-to-government consultations that impact tribal children and families. 

 

Advocate for Funding Equity for Tribes

We know tribes are the best support system for our families when we have the resources we need to serve. CTFC advocates at the state and federal level to ensure equitable funding for tribes in California that reflect our unique cultural practices.  

Tribes Gain Access to California Prevention Dollars

CTFC advocates for tribes to receive funding to provide culturally driven services that prevent tribal children from entering foster care.

  • 2025 Legislative Effort: AB 1378 (Rogers) (Fact Sheet) – Preventing Tribal Children from Entering Foster Care Through Equitable Funding for Tribes – this legislation was vetoed by the Governor.
  • 2026 Legislative Effort: AB 1574 (Rogers) – Assemblymember Chris Rogers introduced AB1574. Co-sponsored by the Yurok Tribe, The Pechanga Band of Indians and the California Tribal Families Coalition, the bill seeks to preserve families and prevent tribal children from entering foster care by creating The Tribal Foster Care Prevention Program.

    • The program would establish tribes and tribal organizations as eligible entities to receive funding to provide prevention services for children and families at risk of entering the foster care system. Tribes would be able to enter into an agreement with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) by submitting an annual letter of interest. The program would fund the costs associated with tribally defined services aimed at preserving families and preventing the entry of children into foster care.

  • Successfully advocated for waivers of evidenced based practice requirements for tribes providing prevention services under Title IV-E programs through state and federal agreements. For more information, see the Children’s Bureau’s Program Instruction PI-24-11.
     

Federal child welfare funding Becomes Accessible to Tribes in California

CTFC advocates for tribes to access Title IV-E and IV-B funding and Social Services Block Grants.

  • 2021 Passed AB 873 (Ramos) – eliminating the tribal share of cost for tribal child welfare programs administered under a state-tribal Title IV-E agreement. 
  • Continue to advocate with the Administration for Children and Families to reduce administrative burdens, provide adequate funding and make all child welfare program funding available to tribes.   

Tribally Approved Homes Funding

CTFC advocated for California Tribes to have funding to support programs to recruit, approve and support tribal foster homes ensuring that our children remain connected to family, community and culture.

  • 2022 Budget Proposal (Ramos) for the Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program – Passed. This legislative effort established annual funding for tribes in California to support tribal programs that recruit and approve foster homes.  

ICWA Legal Representation Funding

CTFC advocated for California Tribes to have publicly funded legal representation in state court ICWA cases like all other parties.

  • 2022 Budget Proposal (Ramos) for the Tribal Dependency Representation Program-Passed. This legislative effort established annual funding for tribes to support the cost of legal representation in ICWA cases, making California the first state to support tribes, the only party in a child welfare matter without a publicly funded attorney, to have attorneys. 
  • Successfully advocated for regulatory change to allow  federal Title IV-E funding to support legal representation for tribes in state court ICWA cases resulting in a federal final rule approving this funding. The Final Rule on Foster Care Legal Representation affirms federal funding can be used for tribal attorneys and representatives participating or intervening in eligible cases governed by ICWA.

Enforce the Indian Child Welfare Act

ICWA has been in place since 1978, and we continue to advocate for its full implementation these many years later. While pursuing its full promise, we must also defend against attacks, to ensure it stays in place for future generations.  

We must continue to strengthen ICWA state and federal protections and practice

  • 2018 California AB 3176 (Waldron) – Passed. Strengthening California law to include the Bureau of Indian Affairs ICWA regulations.  
  • 2024 California AB 81 (Ramos) – Passed. Strengthening California law by officially creating the California Indian Child Welfare Act that reinforces county responsibilities under ICWA to place children according to the ICWA placement preferences and to provide active efforts to ensure the preservation of tribal families. 
  • Developed legal Standards for ICWA Practicing Tribal Attorneys to effectively practice ICWA and represent tribes. In 2024, the Tribal Attorney Performance Standards were launched, providing a first of its kind resource for best practice for representing tribal governments in ICWA cases to ensure Indian children, tribal families and tribes across the country have strong legal advocates in ICWA-related cases. 
  • Each year we monitor all California legislation to ensure legislative proposals affecting tribal children and families include ICWA protections. 

Federal and state agencies must enforce their oversight of the implementation of ICWA

  • 2022 California Sponsored Legislation:  AB 1950 (Ramos) – ICWA Compliance Program-not passed. Although this legislation did not pass, we continue to pursue its intent. We must establish accountability measures for California counties to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act.   
  • Successfully advocated for the California State Department of Social Services (CDSS) to develop an Office of Tribal Affairs and an ICWA State Plan to assist the Department in engaging and consulting with tribes on policies that affect tribal children. 
  • Successfully advocated for the establishment of the statewide ICWA Complaint Hotline to provide tribes a method to report violations of ICWA and receive assistance from the California Department of Social Services in enforcing ICWA.   
  • Successfully advocated for federal and state collection of ICWA compliance data. In this effort we worked with the California Department of Social Services to implement the 2016 ICWA AFCARS rule and to develop the statewide ICWA Data Dashboard. We also conducted federal advocacy for the inclusion of ICWA data collection by states across the nation that resulted in the federal final rule. 
  • We continue to advocate with the California Department of Social Services to include tribes and ICWA data in the California Child and Family Service Reviews to ensure monitoring of ICWA compliance across California counties. 
  • Successfully advocated for the passage of the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act (P.L. 118-258) to include state reporting to the Department of Health and Human Services on ICWA outcomes in state child welfare systems. 

We must defend ICWA against ongoing attacks across the country

  • Successfully united tribes in California to support the National Protect ICWA Campaign opposing attacks on ICWA in the Haaland v. Brackeen Supreme Court Case. We partnered with other tribal organizations to secure tribal signatures on “friend of the Court” briefs (also called Amicus Briefs) to be certain ALL tribes in California had a voice in this pivotal case. We conducted webinars and trainings addressing Brackeen issues on request. CTFC worked with the intervening tribes, specifically, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, on litigation, public inquiries and legislative strategy. 
  • Developed the California ICWA Institute In 2022 to bring together thought leaders and experts in tribal child welfare across the country to create, iterate, and operationalize a proactive California playbook to neutralize and defeat legal, political, policy and communications attacks on tribal power in child welfare.  The Institute recognizes the pivotal role that California tribal child welfare policy and jurisprudence has on national tribal child welfare issues and thus advances the mission of the Institute with a lens on the national impacts and scalability of the Institute’s work. 

The concurrent jurisdiction of tribes over tribal children and families must be recognized

  • 2024 Sponsored Legislation AB 2108 (Ramos) – Passed. This legislation ensures that California counties notify tribes within 24 hours if a tribal child goes missing while in foster care. 
  • Successfully advocated for the California Department of Social Services to revise the tools used to assess the safety of tribal children to include consultation with the Indian child’s tribe. 
  • Successfully advocated for the inclusion of the right of tribes to designate individuals to conduct assessments for tribal children in the California implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act. 
  • Successfully advocated for the notification and inclusion of the Indian child’s tribe in the provision of prevention services by county and community-based programs through the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act in California. 
  • 2019 Sponsored Legislation AB 686 (Waldron) – Passed. Successfully advocated for the inclusion of tribes in statewide approvals of foster homes for tribal children. 

Legislation

See our Legislation page for previous and ongoing efforts.