Evaluating Progress Made Toward Reducing DMC in Woodbury County (Sioux City), IA: Native American children and the child welfare system

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The Minority Youth and Families Initiative
(MYFI) Reducing Public Child Welfare
Involvement Among Native Children and Families
in Sioux City, IA
Pat Penning, MSW Iowa Dept. of Human
Services Sioux City, Iowa Dennette Derezotes,
MSW Race Matters Consortium _at_ Westat Chicago,
Illinois Brad Richardson, Ph.D. DMC Resource
Center Univ. of Iowa School of Social
Work National Resource Center for Family Centered
Practice Iowa City, Iowa
Julia Kleinschmit Rembert, MSW Univ. of Iowa
School of Social Work DMC Resource Center Sioux
City Campus Frank LaMere MYFI, Alliance
Community Initiative for fNative Children
Families Sioux City, Iowa
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Where is Woodbury County?
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Location of Woodbury County

• 3 States Iowa, Nebraska South Dakota
• Nearly 30 Local Tribes

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Tribal Affiliations of Native Children Assessed
for Abuse, Woodbury County January
2005-December 2007

• Northern Cheyenne
• Oglala Sioux
• Oklahoma Omaha
• Potawatomie
• Rosebud Sioux
• Santee Sioux
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux
• Spirit Lake Sioux
• Standing Rock Sioux

• Alaska Native
• Assiniboine
• Blackfeet
• Oklahoma Cherokee
• Cheyenne River Sioux
• Chippewa
• Crow Creek Sioux
• Fort Peck Sioux
• Wisconsin Ho-Chunk
• Hopi

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Background History

• Public Law 280, 1953
• Migration to Sioux City, Iowa
• 55 years later

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Woodbury County Scorecard FY 06(July 1, 2005
June 30, 2006)
Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care (unduplicated counts) Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care (unduplicated counts) Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care (unduplicated counts) Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care (unduplicated counts) Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care (unduplicated counts) Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care (unduplicated counts)
Race/Ethnicity Estimated Population (0-17yrs) Number in Out of Home Care Disproportionality Rate Rate Per Thousand Disparity Ratio (compared to white)
American Indian/ Native Alaskan 752 (2.8) 111 (15.4) 5.5 148 7
Asian/PI 792 (2.9) 11 (1.5) 0.5 14 lt1
Black 1219 (4.5) 64 (8.9) 2 53 2
White 19,696 (72.8) 440 (60.9) 0.8 22 1

All Children 27,090 (100) 723 (100)

Hispanic 4,631 (17.1) 13 (1.8) 0.1 3 lt 1
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Today in Woodbury County (Sioux City) Iowa

• Native American 2.8 of the population
• Native American children 15.4 in foster care

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Recent Efforts

• Community Initiative for Native Children and
  Families (CINCF) Monthly gatherings
  2001-present
• Recover Our Children (ROC)
• Memorial Marches for Lost Children began in
  2003

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Casey Alliance 6 Dimensions of Change

• Legislation, Policy Change and Finance Reform
• Research, Evaluation and Data-Based
  Decision-making
• Youth, Parent and Community Partnership and
  Development
• Public Will and Communication
• Human Service Workforce Development
• Practice Change (site-based implementation)

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Dimension 1 Legislation, Policy Change and
Finance Reform Activities

• Creation and passage of Iowa Indian Child Welfare
  Act
• State-funded Minority Youth and Family Initiative
• State level examination of foster family
  licensing for processes and requirements that
  exclude Native Americans
• Current discussion of a Iowa State Indian
  Commission as part of Iowas Human Rights Division

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Dimension 1 Legislation. Policy Change Finance
ReformMinority Youth and Family Initiative
(MYFI) 2004 to present

• Created to reduce overrepresentation of Native
  Americans and African Americans in child welfare
• In Sioux City, planning involves multiple systems
  and stakeholders, especially Native American
  community and Tribal members
• Trust, communication, and relationship issues
  among IDHS, courts, families, Tribes, and Native
  community

Broken Trust by Stanley Wanlass
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Dimension 1 Legislation. Policy Change Finance
Reform MYFI Goal Statement
Native American children are safely raised in the
Native community as evidenced by

• Increases in
• Relative placements,
• Reunification with parents,
• Increase of Native American foster homes

• Decreases in
• Termination of Parental Rights
• Reabuse/neglect rates
• Entry into the foster care system
• Abuse/neglect rates overall
• Number of placements for Native children

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MYFI Areas of Primary Focus

• Dimension 1 Legislation. Policy Change Finance
  Reform
• Provision of culturally
• competent services
• Use of family team meetings
• Increase of Native children
• placed with relatives
• (including Tribal transfer), and
• Increase in Native children
• placed in Native foster homes.

- Photo by National Geographic
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Dimension 1 Legislation. Policy Change Finance
Reform MYFI Tools

• Special Native American Project Team
• Emphasis on Relative/Community/Tribal Networks
• Flexible resource dollar pool
• New approaches to recruiting Native foster
  parents
• Helping non-Native foster and adoptive parents
  become more culturally competent

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Dimension 1 Legislation, Policy Change and
Finance Reform Accomplishments

• Iowa Indian Child Welfare Act unanimously passed
  by the Iowa Legislature and signed by the
  Governor in 2003, the second year of its
  introduction.
• MYFI increased and made a part of the state
  annual budget

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Dimension 1 Legislation, Policy Change and
Finance Reform Challenges

• Woodbury County Attorneys office challenges Iowa
  ICWA
• 1 aspect of Iowa ICWA found unconstitutional in a
  Supreme Court Decision

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Dimension 2 Research, Evaluation and Data-based
Decision-making Activities

• Data Collected
• Minority Youth and Family Initiative January
  2004 to present
• Quarterly reports
• 2 annual reports 2005 and 2006
• Quality Service Reviews 2004 and 2007
• Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Compliance
  Reviews 2004 and 2007
• Casey/Center for the Study of Social Policy
  Alliance on Racial Equity
• Scorecard
• Advocate Record
• Internal Native Unit Tracking Database
• Social Distance Mapping

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Dimension 2 Research, Evaluation and Data-based
Decision-makingAccomplishments

• Tracking American Indian Children in Care over
  Time
• Active Woodbury County DHS Cases during the month
  of December 2004-2007

Year n as of n
2004 All cases 865
American Indian/Alaskan Native 130 15.0
2005 All cases 982
American Indian/Alaskan Native 136 13.8
2006 All cases 1002
American Indian/Alaskan Native 127 12.7
2007 All cases 829
American Indian/Alaskan Native 108 13.0

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Dimension 2 Research, Evaluation and Data-based
Decision-makingAccomplishments

• Tracking American Indian Children in Care over
  Time
• Active Woodbury County DHS Cases during the month
  of December 2004-2007

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• Dimension 2 Research, Evaluation and Data-based
  Decision-making Tracking Services Provided in
  and out of home over time Active Woodbury County
  DHS Cases during the month of December 2004-2007

Out of Home Placement Group care, family foster, shelter Out of Home Placement Group care, family foster, shelter Out of Home Placement Group care, family foster, shelter Out of Home Placement Group care, family foster, shelter Family-Centered at Home Family-Centered at Home Family-Centered at Home Family-Centered at Home
Year All Cases All Cases Am Ind/AK Native Am Ind/AK Native All Cases All Cases Am Ind/AK Native Am Ind/AK Native
n n n n
2004 303 35.0 61 46.9 517 59.8 72 55.4
2005 347 35.3 59 43.4 577 58.8 60 44.1
2006 335 33.4 45 35.4 674 67.3 85 66.9
2007 270 32.6 32 29.6 539 65.0 82 75.9
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Dimension 6 Practice change NCFAS Results MYFI
Year 1
2 clear strength 1 mild strength 0
baseline/ Adequate -1 mild problem -2
moderate problem -3 serious problem.
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Dimension 6 Practice change CFRA and CFRR 2005

• 24 Family Assessments
• CFRA
• 1 Low risk
• 9 Moderate risk
• 13 High risk
• CFRR
• 9 Low risk
• 6 Moderate risk
• 8 High risk

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Dimension 3 Youth, Parent and Community
Partnership and DevelopmentActivities

• CINCF a community collaborative, created by the
  American Indian community in 2001, today includes
  many partners
• Healing and Reconciliation Day
• Casey/CSSP Alliance PAYCD representation
• Quality Services Review Participation

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Dimension 3 Youth, Parent and Community
Partnership and DevelopmentAccomplishments

• The work in Woodbury County began in the American
  Indian community, efforts have created the
  collaboration today which has had many
  accomplishments indicated throughout this
  presentation.
• The community is seeing action, not just words.
  Action helps them to deal with all the removals
  and terminations in the past. Native community
  member
• Long term, sustainable change is only achievable
  with equal partnership with the community

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Dimension 3 Youth, Parent and Community
Partnership and DevelopmentAccomplishmentsTribal
Intervention at Time of Child Protective
Assessment (2005-2007)
YES YES NO NO DON'T KNOW DON'T KNOW BLANK BLANK TOTAL CASES TOTAL CASES TOTAL CASES
Year N N N N
2005 8 3 28 10 2 0.7 232 85 270 270
2006 20 9 47 21 1 0.5 156 70 224 224
2007 21 6 262 80 19 6 27 8 329 329
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Dimension 3 Youth, Parent and Community
Partnership and DevelopmentAccomplishmentsTransf
er of Jurisdiction to Tribe at Time of Child
Protective Assessment (2005-2007)
YES YES NO NO DON'T KNOW DON'T KNOW BLANK BLANK TOTAL CASES TOTAL CASES TOTAL CASES
Year N N N N
2005 6 2 13 5 3 1 248 92 270 270
2006 8 4 25 11 20 9 171 76 224 224
2007 26 8 183 56 72 22 48 15 329 329
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Dimension 3 Youth, Parent and Community
Partnership and DevelopmentChallenges

• Riding out the peaks and valleys of the changing
  relationship between a control system and the
  community
• Seeing the toughest cases as learning
  opportunities
• Maintaining trust

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Dimension 4 Public Will and CommunicationActivit
ies

• National Indian Child Welfare Association
  Conferences in 2007 and 2008 Get on the bus!
• Update to legislators and community, including
  blanket ceremony for legislator who championed
  Iowa ICWA 2007
• Woodbury County DHS presents at Annual Memorial
  March for Lost Children 2006, 2007

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Dimension 4 Public Will and CommunicationAccompl
ishments

• Continued Expansion of CINCF Representation
• Alliance Promising Practices Site
• Governors Recognition Request for other
  Directors to Visit Woodbury County (Iowa
  Workforce Development, Iowa Department of
  Economic Development, Iowa Finance Authority
  (Housing) and others)

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Dimension 4 Public Will and CommunicationChallen
ges

• Communicating project progress internally and
  externally
• Audience
• Data
• Format
• Frequency
• Leveraging support from systems players that have
  considerable power (e.g. courts)

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Dimension 4 Public Will and Communication
Disproportionality Diagnostic Tool (Baseline 2006)
  Society Society System System Individual Individual
  Community DHS Community DHS Community DHS
 
Strategy 50 75 33 100 19 43
Culture 30 54 37 73 44 88
Policy 44 86 25 100 38 100
Legal System 17 13 11 25 33 86
Training and Education 17 6 22 18 11 25
Communication 8 60 19 64 33 75
Resources 35 70 30 58 30 75
Practice 26 58 28 85 23 74
Economic Issues 34 69 28 65 38 56
Technology 25 25 25 63 13 33
People 50 100 46 56 13 100
Average Score 31 56 28 64 27 69
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Dimension 5 Human Service Workforce Development
Activities

• Cultural Competence Training
• Undoing Racism
• National Indian Child Welfare Association annual
  conferences
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Conference
  (co-sponsored by Mercy Medical Centers Child
  Advocacy Center)
• Childrens Bureau Trainings Youth in Transition
  Recruitment and Retention
• Wellbriety
• Fatherhood is Sacred Program (Ho-Chunk Nation)
• Beyond the Addiction A Community Uprising
• Indian Child Welfare Act 25 Years Later
• Iowa ICWA in-service by one of the authors of
  Iowa ICWA
• Understanding ICWAs true intention
• (for workers, judges,
  attorneys) Judge Thorne

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Dimension 5 Human Service Workforce Development
Accomplishments

• Funding of Native-provided services through the
  Sioux City Indian Education Committee in 2007
• Greater communication with Tribal child welfare
  workers.
• They are consulting with the Tribes where they
  hadnt done that in the past. There has been a
  dramatic change for the positive. They have the
  Tribe involved in decision making and working as
  a team instead of being in left and right field.
  If the Woodbury County Attorney would get on the
  team, things would be even better. Tribal Child
  Welfare Worker

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Dimension 5 Human Service Workforce Development
Challenges

• Maintaining commitment from workers to using
  culturally competent practices over the long haul
• Organizational capacity of area providers (Native
  and not) to provide culturally-competent and
  relevant services in multiple areas substance
  abuse, mental health, in-home services, etc.
• More Native providers would be helpful . . .
  Guardian Ad Litem

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Dimension 6 Practice change (site-based
implementation)Activities

• Special Native American Project Team (MYFI)
• Child Welfare System Navigator
• SCIEC Community Advocate (Federal Grant)

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Dimension 6 Practice change The Woodbury
County DHS SNAP Teamfor American Indian
children in out of home care

• Members
• Native family liaison
• Native tribal liaison
• Supervisor
• Social workers
• Child Protection workers
• Adoptions worker
• Provides active efforts to all children
  self-identified as Native.
• Lower caseloads allow workers to know their
  families better

• Working with relatives immediately
• Connecting with Tribes early and often
• Native Liaisons involved with case from point of
  CPS contact.

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Dimension 6 Practice change Accomplishments
Listening to Families Served MYFI Report 2006

• Interviews with 10 client families

The DHS Native American Unit helped by
having our family take the situation into our own
hands and learn how the system works. The workers
stood behind us and advocated for us, and helped
us contact the Yankton Tribe for help too.
. . . I was surprised that they gave me a
chance to participate in placement for my niece
because of my past history with DHS. People
change and the Unit recognized that and gave me a
chance.
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Dimension 6 Practice change (site-based
implementation)Accomplishments

• Increased use of healing ceremonies, sweats, and
  other culturally competent practices.
• DHS is more receptive to trying new services .
  . . A year or two ago, sending families to
  Flowering Tribe (substance abuse treatment for
  Oglalla Sioux women with children) would have
  been unheard of and now its considered part of a
  service option menu. Guardian Ad Litem

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• Dimension 6 Practice change
• I got my granddaughter back in my home and Im
  waiting to hear from the Tribe to go to Tribal
  court. The workers helped me until the end. The
  Unit workers know their job and the support from
  the Unit made a difference.
• There is an understanding of how I live, my
  culture, my values, and my ethics. It helped me
  to be honest with DHS, and they did not look at
  me negatively.

Although it took two years in the system, I got
my children back in my home. Today, I find it
harder to get services because I am not drinking.
I dont like the way the system is set up so you
can only get help if you are messed up.
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Dimension 6 Practice change (site-based
implementation)Challenges

• Caseload increases
• Caseloads were intended to be low theyve gone
  up because we have ongoing families and
  redesigning the system (has had an affect). DHS
  worker
• Organizational capacity of area providers (Native
  and not) to provide culturally-competent and
  relevant services in multiple areas substance
  abuse, mental health, in-home services, etc.

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A Look at Systems Relationships Over Timeas they
work to impact Child Welfare System Involvement

• Eco-maps of the past, present and future
• Key Strong/supportive relationship
• Tenuous/weak relationship
• Conflictive/harmful relationship
• New element

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Tomorrow in Woodbury County, Iowa

• Today, members of the Native American
  Community, the local child welfare system and
• other collaborative members all agree there is
  some progress toward a more racially equitable
  child welfare system for Native American children
  and families in Woodbury County, Iowa. The last
  slide shows how we look to the future
  

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