Conservative group to file class action lawsuit to challenge ICWA

The conservative Goldwater Institute of Arizona is mounting a legal challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The group plans to file a class action tomorrow that will dispute the constitutionality of the law, which Congress enacted in 1978 to prevent Indian children from being taken from their tribal communities. The lawsuit will be accompanied by a report into Indian child welfare practices across the nation.

"When an abused child is removed from his or her home and placed in foster care or made available for adoption, judges are required to make a decision about where the child will live based on the child’s best interest. Except for Native American children," said Darcy Olsen, president of the Goldwater Institute. "Courts are bound by federal law to disregard a Native American child’s best interest and place the child in a home with other Native Americans, even if it is not in his or her best interest."

http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/018089.asp