Protective Planning
There are additional considerations to keep in mind when entering into a protective plan with an American Indian family. American Indian people have a long and traumatic history of having children removed—first into boarding schools, and then by the child welfare system—for reasons that were often influenced by cultural bias. Coercion and fraud were frequently employed by the various government entities in order to remove the children from their families. Workers need to remember many American Indian families are carrying their own lessons and memories from their elders into their interaction with the child welfare system. As a result, American Indian families are likely to be more resistant to services and sharing information.
It is important for workers to be aware of this history when working with American Indian families. A protective plan is utilized when present danger threats have been identified and the family agrees to a voluntary arrangement to allow protective action to occur without court intervention. This arrangement cannot be coerced by threatening any other action, such as the removal of the child. These plans must be skillfully executed in order to prevent coercion.
Workers should emphasize that the goal of the protective plan is to ensure child safety. Protective planning should be a collaborative process with the family, tribe, and county and should examine all available resources to safely maintain the child in their home whenever possible. Workers should also assure the family that they will be working closely with the tribe in order to assist the family with culturally appropriate resources.
Additionally, when a child needs to be separated from their parent as part of a protective plan there is sometimes confusion as to whether WICWA and the Active Efforts requirement apply because it is a separation, not an out-of-home placement. However, the requirement under WICWA is that you must provide Active Efforts to prevent the breakup of the Indian family before an out-of-home placement can occur. Since present danger threats have been identified there is a likelihood that the child may be placed out-of-home. Therefore, you are required to provide Active Efforts to the family—this includes notifying and engaging the tribe as soon as possible, ensuring that the family has access to the resources and services outlined in the protective plan, ongoing communication with the family and tribe about the family’s progress, and immediate return of the child to their home once the present danger threats are mitigated.