On May 10th, 2024, the House Ways and Means Committee held a Field Hearing on “Empowering Native American and Rural Communities,” in Arizona, the first Ways and Means Committee hearing ever to be held on sovereign Tribal land.
Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) opened the hearing and outlined the issues being discussed, particularly child support, child welfare, and healthcare in both Tribal and rural communities. He noted that, “tribes face unique challenges when it comes to administering federal child welfare programs.” He pointed out disproportionality of Native American children in foster care placements and the need for states and tribes to collaborate to serve Native American children and families.
Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) served as the Ranking Member and gave her opening statement, echoing Chair Smith’s thanks. Representative Chu outlined the history of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which ensures culturally appropriate services and keeps Native American children in their families and communities wherever possible. She mentioned her bill, H.R.3461 the Strengthening Tribal Families Act, which would assist state child welfare agencies in implementing federal protections for Tribal children and directs HHS to assess states’ implementation of ICWA. She also highlighted the issue of reproductive freedom for Native people.
Representative Schweikert (R-AZ) was the host of the field hearing and he stated that many of the issues being discussed were not partisan.
Mikah Carlos, Council Member of the Salt River Prima-Maricopa Indian Community and Board Member for NICWA, focused her testimony on tribal child welfare issues, sharing her personal story of disconnection from her culture and explaining the importance of keeping children connected to their families and culture, because culture is prevention. She noted that their child welfare program had shifted to a prevention-focused model and has reduced children in out of home placement from 450 to 99 in the last 10 years, a major accomplishment.
Ms. Carlos spoke about the barriers in Titles IV-E and IV-B that make it burdensome for Tribal programs to use the funds. She highlighted her support for the following bills: H.R.2762 the Tribal Families Fairness Act, H.R.3461 the Strengthening Tribal Families Act, S.1065 The Tribal Adoption Tax Parity Act, and H.R.7906 the Strengthening State and Tribal Child Support Act.
Elisia Manuel, Founder of Three Precious Miracles, also shared her personal story, noting that she is a parent of children formerly in foster care and her nonprofit supports native children affected by foster care. She stated that ICWA is important because it preserves culture and keeps tribal connections, but that many states struggle to comply with ICWA and need support. She gave support for the Strengthening Tribal Families Act and noted that Tribal child welfare programs could help so many more families if they had the same resources as state child welfare. Children under Tribal social services are not eligible for the same benefits as children in the state systems, such as subsidies and tax credits. Ms. Manuel asked the subcommittee to reauthorize and strengthen Title IV-B to provide prevention and additional support for Tribal child welfare programs.
Rachael Lorenzo, Executive Director of Indigenous Women Rising, spoke about providing sexual and reproductive health for native women. In her testimony, “our communities are entitled to continuing our cultural beliefs and our languages, managing our tribal lands, clean water, stable housing, paved roads, accessible childcare, well paying jobs on and off the reservation, quality education, state of the art healthcare that is culturally sensitive, consistent internet access, affordable fresh food, safe communities free from violence and addiction, and agricultural sovereignty.”
Many of the Committee members focused their questions on child welfare topics. Representative Schweikert noted that during his training to become a foster parent, he received cultural sensitivity training for caring for Native American Children and asked Ms. Carlos if this program still exists; she answered that those programs should exist to connect children back to their culture, but the reality is that tribes often don’t have the funds to support it. Representative Blake Moore (R-UT) also mentioned his own experience as a board member of a foster care organization and honored the late Representative Jackie Walorski, who was an effective advocate for child welfare.
Representative Chu asked Ms. Carlos for examples of collaboration between tribes and states in Maricopa County and how an increase in Title IV-B funds would impact the community. Ms. Carlos responded that the tribe gets only $135K from Title IV-B and an increase would allow them to do more prevention, prevent ACES and decrease the burden on the healthcare system.
Rep Kelly (R-PA) noted that he and Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI) had introduced the Tribal Adoption Parity Act in the House. Representative Tenney (R-NY) asked Ms. Carlos about her firsthand experience of implementing ICWA, who shared the importance of culture, being connected to community, and stated that ICWA gives tribes a chance to heal our communities.
Chairman Smith closed out the hearing with questions for each of the witness, noting that Title IV-B is due for reauthorization and enquire what Congress should do to ensure that reauthorization is supportive of tribal child welfare program and the relationship between tribes and states when addressing child abuse and neglect. Ms. Carlos recommended increasing the funding and simplifying the process for tribes. Ms. Manuel noted the need for collaboration and transparency, and offering the resources from Title IV-B can help with issues in communities such as housing, child care, mental health.
