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Posted in2023 Legislature

Montana Indian Child Welfare Act gets a Senate hearing

The Senate Public Health and Human Safety Committee heard House Bill 317, which would create the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act and reinforce protections for the state’s Native children by prioritizing tribal involvement in the state’s child placement processes. The bill is under consideration as the federal Indian Child Welfare Act is challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court by non-Native guardians pursuing adoption of Native children and claiming that ICWA is unconstitutional on the basis of racial inequity.