What Lessons Can We Learn from ICWA Courts?
NCJFCJ partner, Casey Family Programs based out of Seattle, Washington recently published a Knowledge Management Brief on “What lessons can we learn from ICWA Courts?.” The content was developed with the help from professionals from Yellowstone County, Montana; Hennepin County, Minnesota; and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. This informative article outlines the best practices of the five principles of an ICWA Court:
- Judicial leadership;
- ICWA data collection to inform practice;
- Training on the letter and spirit of ICWA;
- Tribal nation collaboration; and
- Gold standard legal advocacy, social work, and judging
The full article can be accessed here: https://www.casey.org/icwa-courts-strategies/
“There’s nothing magic about an ICWA court. It’s a great community where there can be a larger focus on ICWA. We can really make sure everyone is in the right mindset for an entire docket of hearings. But the law is the same. The practices are the same. And everything we talk about with ICWA courts can be applied in any case. You don’t need to get an ICWA court going to raise the level of practice in ICWA cases in your community.”
– Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Stanley, Clallam County (Wash.)