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From the press release we received. This will become the third ongoing federal lawsuit challenging ICWA:
Goldwater Institute to File Class Action Lawsuit Against Indian Child Welfare Act
Institute launching Equal Protection for Indian
Children Project to reform federal and state laws that discriminate
against abused and neglected Native American children
Contact: Starlee Coleman, (602) 758-9162
Phoenix—Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 7, the Goldwater
Institute will launch a new project to reform the Indian Child Welfare
Act and similar state laws that give abused and neglected Native
American children fewer rights and protections than other American
children. Part of this project will be a class action lawsuit.
“When an abused child is removed from his or her home and
placed in foster care or made available for adoption, judges are
required to make a decision about where the child will live based on the
child’s best interest. Except for Native American children. Courts are
bound by federal law to disregard a Native American child’s best
interest and place the child in a home with other Native Americans, even
if it is not in his or her best interest,” said Darcy Olsen, president
of the Goldwater Institute. “We want federal and state laws to be
changed to give abused and neglected Native American children the same
protections that are given to all other American children: the right to
be placed in a safe home based on their best interests, not based on
their race.”
On July 7, the Goldwater Institute will file a federal
class action lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of core
provisions of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The same day, the
Institute will release an investigative report that documents how
federal law leaves Native American children with fewer protections under
the law than all other American children, and the serious consequences
that have resulted from this unequal treatment. Recommendations for
changes to state and federal law will also be announced.
Two weeks ago both the House and Senate passed the Native
American Child Protection Act that for the first time requires
prospective adoptive and foster parents to be fingerprinted. The Bureau
of Indian Affairs is currently considering turning recent guidelines
into formal federal rules that would further entrench the legal
discrimination against Native American children.
Clint Bolick, the vice president of litigation at the
Goldwater Institute, litigated a class action in Texas in 1995 that was
the impetus behind the federal Multi-ethnic Placement Act, which
outlawed delays or denials in foster care or adoption placements on the
basis of the race, color, or national origin of the child or the adults
involved.
Media is invited to watch via live stream a press event
that will formally announce the details of the lawsuit, release the
investigation, and policy recommendations, and screen an original
8-minute documentary film. The briefing will feature Dr. William B. Allen, the former chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
What: Press conference announcing the Equal
Protection for Indian Children Project and federal class action lawsuit
When: Tuesday, July 7, 2015, 9:00 a.m. Pacific time
Who: Press event will feature Darcy Olsen,
president of the Goldwater Institute; Clint Bolick, the Institute’s vice
president of litigation; Mark Flatten, the author of the Institute’s
investigative report to be released; Dr. William Allen
Please contact Starlee Coleman at scoleman@goldwaterinstitute or (602) 758-9162 with questions.
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