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Ramos measure strengthening Native American children and family rights signed by governor on California Native American Day

Family Code, Probate Code, Welfare and Institutions Code dealing with Indian children renamed California Indian Child Welfare Act

For immediate release:

SACRAMENTO—A bill safeguarding existing state statutes protecting Indian children, families and the rights of tribes in child welfare cases is now law after the governor signed the measure today on California Native American Day. Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) authored the proposal, AB 81. It was one of seven tribal-related bills authored by the lawmaker and at the governor’s desk.

This bill would specify that a county welfare department or county probation department has a duty to inquire whether the child is or may be an Indian child when first contacted regarding a child. The bill would require a court presiding over any juvenile proceeding that could result in placement of an Indian child with someone other than a parent or Indian custodian, to inquire at the first hearing on a petition whether the child is, or may be, an Indian child, as specified.

Ramos said, “We, as Native Americans, are all too familiar with governmental removal of Indian children from their families. AB 81 is aimed at fortifying the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) established in 1978 because large numbers of children were being removed from tribal families and placed in non-Indian families, away from their relatives and culture.”

Ramos added, “This bill helps to ensure that every effort is made to keep California Native American children in their communities. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decades-old ICWA law and the rights of Native families and communities. AB 81 adds another layer of protection against the travesties that compelled ICWA’s creation and future challenges.”

The lawmaker, the first and only California Native American elected to the Legislature, noted that the battle to protect ICWA brought back memories of the U.S. boarding school era when Indian children were forcefully separated from their families as a means to erase their culture and coerce assimilation. A recent Department of Interior report found that almost 1,000 Native students died at the schools and suffered physical and psychological abuse.

AB 81 strengthens protections for California Indian children in the welfare and institutions code by requiring clear notice of proceedings to parents, direct lineal ancestors and custodians of the child, and the right to court-appointed counsel in any removal, placement, or termination proceeding. It also enshrines the state’s duty to consult with local federally and non-federally recognized tribes regarding the placement of native children in their custody.

“We appreciate the ongoing work of Assemblymember Ramos to address tribal matters in our state. We also want to thank the Legislature for recognizing the importance of strengthening the Indian Child Welfare Act in California, and the Governor’s office for working with us to advance this critical legislation. Morongo has worked for many years at the state and federal level to protect tribal children and families, including our efforts in helping secure last year’s decisive U.S. Supreme Court victory upholding ICWA. AB 81 advances the essential rights of tribal children and tribes in child welfare proceedings,” said Morongo Band of Mission Indians Tribal Chairman Charles Martin. 

Co-Executive Director of the California Tribal Families Coalition Blair Kreuzer, MSW stated, “The California Tribal Families Coalition wants to thank Assemblymember Ramos for continuing to champion tribal issues, the Legislature for prioritizing this bill and Governor Newsom for signing AB 81, a bill that will strengthen California IWCA laws protecting Indian children, families, and the rights of tribes in child welfare cases.”

Among other provisions, AB 81 would require a case plan to include, in the case of an Indian child, that the county welfare agency:

  • Specify that a county welfare department or county probation department has a duty to inquire whether the child is or may be an Indian child when first contacted regarding a child,
  • Make active efforts to provide rehabilitative programs designed to prevent the breakup of the Indian family and would require the agency to make active efforts, as defined, to reunite an Indian child with their family
  • Authorize the State Department of Social Services to establish and administer programs designed to facilitate tribal participation in Indian child custody proceedings.

AB 81 is sponsored by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and the California Tribal Families Coalition. It is also supported by the Alliance for Children’s Rights, ACLU California Action, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, California Open, Colusa Indian Community Council, Enterprise Rancheria, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Jamul Indian Village of California, Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, Seneca Family of Agencies, Smart Justice California, Tejon Indian Tribe, The Children’s Partnership, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Tribe.

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Assemblymember James C. Ramos proudly represents the 45th Assembly district that includes the Cities of Fontana, Highland, Mentone, Redlands, Rialto and San Bernardino. He is the first and only California Native American serving in the state’s legislature. Ramos chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #6 on Public Safety.