Active Efforts

Select from the following sections to learn more about Active Efforts.

The Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act (WICWA) defines active efforts as an ongoing, vigorous and concerted level of case work. This is higher level of case work than reasonable efforts and is considered the gold standard of case work. It requires workers to not only make referrals for services but also ensure family members have the means to access the service. This may require a worker to provide transportation to appointments and visitation for children and parents.

Imagine you are working with an adult whose drug use has resulted in the removal of their children. Reasonable efforts would require you to provide that person with a referral to a service provider who could complete an AODA assessment. Active efforts, however, would require you to review referral options with the client to ensure culturally appropriate services are considered. They would also require you to assist the adult with scheduling the appointment as well as accessing transportation to the appointment.

  • Active efforts are required in order to:
    • Prevent the breakup of the Indian family,
    • Reunify the family,
    • Ensure the child's placement complies with placement preferences as outlined by WICWA.
  • In applying active efforts to prevent the removal of an Indian child, an Initial Assessment worker would provide the higher level of case work during the safety assessment and safety planning phases.
  • Active efforts must be conducted by the county agency with jurisdiction regardless of whether the child’s tribe intervenes. Even if the tribe chooses not to intervene, you may still be able to consult with a representative of the Indian child’s tribe in order to access culturally appropriate services.
  • Active efforts are also required even if the tribe is in agreement with the out-of-home care placement or involuntary termination of parental rights.
  • Active efforts are NOT the responsibility of the tribe and their assistance with case work should NOT be documented as the county worker’s active efforts.

You must attempt all of the following nine activities. If any of these activities are not conducted, you must submit documentation to the court explaining why. You should use the Statement of Active Efforts form to report your active efforts or lack thereof to the judge.

For additional details around these activities, download the Active Efforts Guide.


  1. Representatives designated by the Indian child's tribe with substantial knowledge of the prevailing social and cultural standards and child-rearing practice within the tribal community were requested to evaluate the circumstances of the Indian child's family and to assist in developing a case plan that uses the resources of the tribe and of the Indian community, including traditional and customary support, actions, and services, to address those circumstances.
  2. It is essential to solicit the Tribe’s participation in your assessment and case plan development. This is to ensure that you are not making decisions regarding the family based on misunderstanding a Tribe’s cultural practices. For example, it is a common belief for Ho-Chunk families that you do not buy anything for an expectant mother until after the baby is born. This has led to referrals being made on Ho-Chunk families by non-tribal service workers expressing concern that the mother is not preparing for the birth of her child. Communication with the Tribe can help workers understand the cultural norms of that Tribe so that they can make better decisions regarding the needs of tribal families.

    The tribe should be invited to participate in the Initial Assessment. In some counties, the tribes conduct joint Initial Assessments along with the county. Sometimes, distance or staffing makes this impossible, but the tribe should be updated and consulted throughout the entire process. Allowing a worker to appear by phone during contact with family and collateral contacts can aid in engaging the worker in the assessment and case plan development. In many cases, the tribe will have services and resources available to the family that a county worker may not be aware of. Also, county workers may find families more willing to work with them if there is a representative of the Indian child’s tribe involved.

  3. A comprehensive assessment of the situation of the Indian child's family was completed, including a determination of the likelihood of protecting the Indian child's health, safety, and welfare effectively in the Indian child's home.
  4. Comprehensively assess the family & explore in-home safety options. Caseworkers should be in contact with the Indian child’s tribe as soon as they become aware of that child’s connection to a particular tribe. It can help to have regular face-to-face meetings to discuss the case when possible. If distance is an issue, the caseworker should regularly call the representative of the Indian child’s tribe in order to update them on what is happening with the case. The representative of the Indian child’s tribe should be notified of all court hearings and invited to participate in person or via telephone. If a caseworker is having difficulty reaching a representative of the Indian child’s tribe , they can contact the Tribal Affairs Specialist at dcfwicwa@wisconsin.gov for assistance in reaching out to that tribe.
  5. Representatives of the Indian child's tribe were identified, notified, and invited to participate in all aspects of the Indian child custody proceeding at the earliest possible point in the proceeding and their advice was actively solicited throughout the proceeding.
  6. Identify a tribal worker at the earliest point possible. Actively seek their advice and invite them to participate in all aspects of the proceeding. The extended family is important for more than just a placement resource in the life of an Indian child. Many tribes have family structures that are different than non-native families, and will sometimes assign certain responsibilities to extended family members in the life of that Indian child. For instance, in some tribes the aunts and uncles of a child are also considered to be parents and culturally would be a first option for the child to go and live with if something happened to the Indian child’s biological parents. Some tribes look to the uncle of an Indian child to provide discipline to a child, or to provide a child with important life teachings. It is extremely important that caseworkers engage the extended family when working with an Indian child as those family members are an essential connection to that child’s culture.
  7. Extended family members of the Indian child, including extended family members who were identified by the Indian child's tribe or parents, were notified and consulted with to identify and provide family structure and support for the Indian child, to assure cultural connections, and to serve as placement resources for the Indian child
  8. Notify and consult with extended relatives to identify family support.

    The extended family can be very helpful in assisting the worker in ensuring the safety of an Indian child during unsupervised family interaction. Often, because the extended family has such close ties to the Indian child, the extended family will be likely to participate in any family interaction with the child. If the extended family is not able to ensure the safety of the child many tribes will have resources available for families to have more natural family interaction than most supervised settings. For instance, some tribes have family support workers who can supervise in-home family interactions. Often these workers are members of the community that Indian families will feel more comfortable around than a county caseworker.

  9. Arrangements were made to provide natural and unsupervised family interaction in the most natural setting that can ensure the Indian child's safety, as appropriate to the goals of the Indian child's permanency plan, including arrangements for transportation and other assistance to enable family members to participate in that interaction
  10. Arrange for family members to participate in natural and unsupervised visits.

    Some tribes have programs that utilize traditions to help families stay together. For instance, the Bad River Band of Ojibway has a Mishomis (Grandfather) and a Nokomis (Grandmother) program that utilizes elders who work with families to make positive change. Other tribes also have programs based on traditions to support families in making positive change. Sometimes accessing these types of services can be difficult when there is distance involved, but the assigned tribal worker can assist in exploring alternative options such as a similar program offered by a nearby tribe. It is essential that you work with the Indian child’s tribe in reaching out to another tribe to provide services to ensure that the services provided are appropriate to the culture of that child’s tribe and family.

  11. All available family preservation strategies were offered or employed and the involvement of the Indian child's tribe was requested to identify those strategies and to ensure that those strategies are culturally appropriate to the Indian child's tribe.
  12. Offer all family preservation strategies and seek the assistance of the tribal worker to determine if the strategies are culturally appropriate.

    Caseworkers should be in regular contact with the Indian child’s tribe in order to familiarize themselves with the services the tribe could provide to the family. If a family is not living near their own tribe, they can sometimes access services from other tribes that may be in closer proximity. For instance, many tribal health clinics will provide services to members of other tribes. Remember, tribal members are also county citizens and have the right to receive assistance through county service providers. Talk to families about their preference as to where they receive services and talk to the assigned tribal worker about the family’s decisions.

  13. Community resources offering housing, financial, and transportation assistance and in-home support services, in-home intensive treatment services, community support services, and specialized services for members of the Indian child's family with special needs were identified, information about those resources was provided to the Indian child's family, and the Indian child's family was actively assisted or offered active assistance in accessing those resources.
  14. Actively assist the family in accessing services that meet their needs.

    Families often face many barriers to accessing needed services. For instance, not having telephone service would prevent a family from calling a service provider to schedule appointments. Not having a driver’s license or vehicle would limit a family’s ability to get to appointments. It is up to the county/state caseworker to assist in overcoming these barriers by assisting in scheduling appointments and arranging transportation. In one case, a mother had isolated herself from extended family. After her child been in out-of-home care for 18 months, the assigned tribal worker convinced the grandmother to join a family team. With the grandmother’s support, the mother was able to reconnect with her family, make positive changes and was reunified four months later.

  15. Monitoring of client progress and client participation in services was provided.
  16. Actively engage tribal workers, service providers and families in monitoring client progress and participation in their court ordered services.

    The assigned tribal worker is a partner in assessing client progress and can assist with identifying needs, barriers and opportunities for case plan progression. For example, if a family is having supervised visits the assigned worker and tribal partner can collaboratively assess ongoing safety risks during visitation. Once the safety risks have been eliminated, progressing to unsupervised visitation should be explored.

  17. A consideration of alternative ways of addressing the needs of the Indian child's family was provided, if services did not exist or if existing services were not available to the family.
  18. Typical child welfare services such as AODA treatment, parenting, or therapy are often necessary to assist families in eliminating safety concerns. However, assisting an Indian family in accessing or connecting with customs and traditions can be a more effective way to eliminate safety concerns. Some tribes have parenting programs that focus on traditional ways of parenting. County/state caseworkers should work with the Indian child’s tribe to learn about some of these resources and work out ways to allow the family to access them.


  • Rely on the tribe/family for guidance on what that might mean as they are the experts about the culture of that tribe and what it means for the individual family.
  • It is essential to engage the representative of the Indian child’s tribe throughout the entire case process in order to have them help you determine that the services you are providing are culturally appropriate for that tribe/family.
  • If the Indian child’s tribe chooses not to intervene in a case you may still be able to consult with a representative of that child’s tribe in order to access culturally appropriate services. Additionally, you can look to the Indian child’s family for guidance on their culture and what traditions/services would be meaningful to them.

  • You may be able to access services from a closer tribe.
  • Contact that program directly to ask about their policies. For instance, if you were looking to set-up health services for a child at a tribe that was not their own you could contact the health clinic directly and ask about their policies on providing service to a member of another tribe. Be sure to talk to the Indian child’s tribes about cultural differences between the Indian child’s tribe and the tribe the family is receiving services from, and how to best go about working through those differences. For instance, some tribes are matriarchal and others patriarchal which may result in a difference in how service providers work with families.
  • Explore the possibility of teleconferencing or videoconferencing. Inviting a tribal worker to participate in home visits via telephone or organizing teleconference options to discuss updates with service providers will allow that worker to actively participate in assessment and case plan development.

eWiSACWIS Documentation

Permanency Plan

Tip: Active Efforts are documented in the Permanency Plan.

Permanency Plan
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Document your active efforts to prevent the removal of the Indian child in the Removal tab. Document your active efforts to reunify the Indian child under the Planning and Services tab.


Court Form

Statement of Active Efforts

Tip: Use the Statement of Active Efforts to document your Active Efforts at the following:

  • Petition for CHIPS/JIPS, Involuntary TPR and Appointment of Guardian
  • Consent Decree
  • Fact Finding Hearing during CHIPS/JIPS and Involuntary TPR
  • Court Report for CHIPS/JIPS and Involuntary TPR
  • Change in Placement
  • Extension of Order
  • Permanency Plan
  • Dispositional hearing for Appointment of Guardian


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