The Indian Child Welfare Act during the Brackeen years. (17th March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fort, Kathryn E.; Smith, Adrian T.
• Is Part Of: Juvenile & family court journal. Volume 74:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 9
• Page End: 36
• Publication Date: 2023-03-17
• Subjects: appellate -- child protection -- data -- Indian Child Welfare Act -- tribal nations; Juvenile justice, Administration of -- United States -- Periodicals; Juvenile courts -- United States -- Periodicals; Domestic relations courts -- United States -- Periodicals; 346.015
• DOI: 10.1111/jfcj.12231
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0161-7109

Abstract

Abstract: From 2017 through 2022, while the Indian Child Welfare Act ("ICWA") was under direct constitutional attack from Texas, state courts around the country continued hearing appeals on ICWA with virtually no regard for the decision‐making happening in Haaland v. Brackeen in the federal courts. For practitioners following or working on both sets of cases, this duality felt surreal, as they practiced their daily work under an existential threat. The data in this article draw from the authors' previous publications providing annual updates on ICWA appeals, and now include cases through 2021. It provides a description of appellate data trends across this time period, as well as for each year, while also highlighting key appellate decisions from jurisdictions across the country. Perhaps what this article demonstrates more than any single thing is the amount that ICWA is a part of child welfare practitioners' daily lives now, in a way that will be difficult to upend, regardless of the Supreme Court's ultimate decision.