Cramer: House Passes H.R. 1168 - Native American Children's Safety

Press Release

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1168, the Native American Children's Safety Act. The legislation sponsored by Congressman Cramer requires criminal background checks be performed on foster parents and foster care employees before placing Native American children in foster care. Additionally, the bill requires background checks be performed on all adults who reside in the foster home. U.S. Senator John Hoeven has introduced companion legislation in the Senate. The bill, S. 184, was approved by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on February 4, 2015 and was approved by the U.S. Senate today.

"The support of the entire U.S. House of Representatives underscores our commitment to ensuring Native American children are placed into safe and secure foster care situations. Native American tribes have a complex and uneven series of procedures and guidelines for foster care and this bill addresses this problem with the creation of a national standard which unifies existing national requirements for non-tribal foster care placements, ensuring tribal children receive the same robust protections afforded non-tribal children, " said Cramer. "I would like to thank the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), the National Congress of American Indians, the BIA, and HHS for their insights and suggestions on this bill. Their assistance proved invaluable in refining and improving this legislation as well as ensuring tribes are provided adequate flexibility as they transition to these new standards," continued Cramer.

"Native American children living on reservations should have all of the same protections when placed in foster care that children living off the reservation have," Senator Hoeven said. "The Native American Children's Safety Act requires background checks for all adults living in a foster home, helping to ensure that children placed there are secure at an already difficult time in their lives."

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