Political Quotes

“the Indian Child Welfare Act has been misapplied and distorted in recent years, hurting countless children. Consider the story I heard from a mother in Alaska. The little girl who is now her adoptive daughter was placed in foster care at the age of 7 months due to the Indian Child Welfare Act. After a year, the baby was placed with a biological grandmother, a native American, with the understanding that her two sons, both convicted child sex abusers, move out and live elsewhere. Well, they never left and the baby was found in a compromised situation, upon which the grandmother returned the child to the youth services with no explanations and no belongings. Only after this horrifying ordeal and after the native community failed to find a safe native home was she placed with this Native Alaskan couple who eventually adopted her. The adoptive mother writes to me, ``We are lucky. Our daughter was placed in only five foster homes before she found a family that was suitable to the tribe.'' There are many other children who are being kept from loving homes for 3, 4 and 5 years awaiting tribal action. Mr. Speaker, this is a native American speaking. She knows ICWA needs reform. She knows firsthand.”