[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 86 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H3587-H3588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIVE AMERICAN CHILDREN'S SAFETY ACT
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 1168) to amend the Indian Child Protection and Family
Violence Prevention Act to require background checks before foster care
placements are ordered in tribal court proceedings, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1168
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Native American Children's
Safety Act''.
SEC. 2. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS.
Section 408 of the Indian Child Protection and Family
Violence Prevention Act (25 U.S.C. 3207) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(d) By Tribal Social Services Agency for Foster Care
Placements in Tribal Court Proceedings.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Covered individual.--The term `covered individual'
includes--
``(i) any individual 18 years of age or older; and
``(ii) any individual who the tribal social services agency
determines is subject to a criminal records check under
paragraph (2)(A).
``(B) Foster care placement.--The term `foster care
placement' means any action removing an Indian child from a
parent or Indian custodian for temporary placement in a
foster home or institution or the home of a guardian or
conservator if--
``(i) the parent or Indian custodian cannot have the child
returned on demand; and
``(ii)(I) parental rights have not been terminated; or
``(II) parental rights have been terminated but the child
has not been permanently placed.
``(C) Indian custodian.--The term `Indian custodian' means
any Indian--
``(i) who has legal custody of an Indian child under tribal
law or custom or under State law; or
``(ii) to whom temporary physical care, custody, and
control has been transferred by the parent of the child.
``(D) Parent.--The term `parent' means--
``(i) any biological parent of an Indian child; or
``(ii) any Indian who has lawfully adopted an Indian child,
including adoptions under tribal law or custom.
``(E) Tribal court.--The term `tribal court' means a
court--
``(i) with jurisdiction over foster care placements; and
``(ii) that is--
``(I) a Court of Indian Offenses;
``(II) a court established and operated under the code or
custom of an Indian tribe; or
``(III) any other administrative body of an Indian tribe
that is vested with authority over foster care placements.
``(F) Tribal social services agency.--The term `tribal
social services agency' means the agency of an Indian tribe
that has the primary responsibility for carrying out foster
care licensing or approval (as of the date on which the
proceeding described in paragraph (2)(A) commences) for the
Indian tribe.
``(2) Criminal records check before foster care
placement.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), no
foster care placement shall be finally approved and no foster
care license shall be issued until the tribal social services
agency--
``(i) completes a criminal records check of each covered
individual who resides in the household or is employed at the
institution in which the foster care placement will be made;
and
``(ii) concludes that each covered individual described in
clause (i) meets such standards as the Indian tribe shall
establish in accordance with subparagraph (B).
``(B) Standards of placement.--The standards described in
subparagraph (A)(ii) shall include--
``(i) requirements that each tribal social services agency
described in subparagraph (A)--
``(I) perform criminal records checks, including
fingerprint-based checks of national crime information
databases (as defined in section 534(f)(3) of title 28,
United States Code);
``(II) check any abuse registries maintained by the Indian
tribe; and
``(III) check any child abuse and neglect registry
maintained by the State in which the covered individual
resides for information on the covered individual, and
request any other State in which the covered individual
resided in the preceding 5 years, to enable the tribal social
services agency to check any child abuse and neglect registry
maintained by that State for such information; and
``(ii) any other additional requirement that the Indian
tribe determines is necessary and permissible within the
existing authority of the Indian tribe, such as the creation
of voluntary agreements with State entities in order to
facilitate the sharing of information related to the
performance of criminal records checks.
``(C) Results.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), no
foster care placement shall be ordered in any proceeding
described in subparagraph (A) if an investigation described
in clause (i) of that subparagraph reveals that a covered
individual described in that clause has been found by a
Federal, State, or tribal court to have committed any crime
listed in clause (i) or (ii) of section 471(a)(20)(A) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)(A)).
``(3) Emergency placement.--Paragraph (2) shall not apply
to an emergency foster care placement, as determined by a
tribal social services agency.
``(4) Recertification of foster homes or institutions.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, each Indian tribe shall
establish procedures to recertify homes or institutions in
which foster care placements are made.
``(B) Contents.--The procedures described in subparagraph
(A) shall include, at a minimum, periodic intervals at which
the home or institution shall be subject to recertification
to ensure--
``(i) the safety of the home or institution for the Indian
child; and
``(ii) that each covered individual who resides in the home
or is employed at the institution is subject to a criminal
records check in accordance with this subsection, including
any covered individual who--
``(I) resides in the home or is employed at the institution
on the date on which the procedures established under
subparagraph (A) commences; and
``(II) did not reside in the home or was not employed at
the institution on the date on which the investigation
described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) was completed.
``(C) Guidance issued by the secretary.--The procedures
established under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to any
regulation or guidance issued by the Secretary that is in
accordance with the purpose of this subsection.
``(5) Guidance .--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection and after consultation with
Indian tribes, the Secretary shall issue guidance regarding--
``(A) procedures for a criminal records check of any
covered individual who--
``(i) resides in the home or is employed at the institution
in which the foster care placement is made after the date on
which the investigation described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) is
completed; and
``(ii) was not the subject of an investigation described in
paragraph (2)(A)(i) before the foster care placement was
made;
``(B) self-reporting requirements for foster care homes or
institutions in which any covered individual described in
subparagraph (A) resides if the head of the household or the
operator of the institution has knowledge that the covered
individual--
``(i) has been found by a Federal, State, or tribal court
to have committed any crime listed in clause (i) or (ii) of
section 471(a)(20)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
671(a)(20)(A)); or
``(ii) is listed on a registry described in clause (II) or
(III) of paragraph (2)(B)(i);
``(C) promising practices used by Indian tribes to address
emergency foster care placement procedures under paragraph
(3); and
``(D) procedures for certifying compliance with this
Act.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Bishop) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume
to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the sponsor of this
excellent piece of legislation, to explain his bill.
Mr. CRAMER. I thank the chairman for yielding and for his good work
on this important legislation.
[[Page H3588]]
Mr. Speaker, during the last Congress, while I served on the Natural
Resources Committee, we held an oversight hearing regarding the child
protection crisis on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in North Dakota
in response to the numerous child deaths, as well as whistleblower
reports that were detailing unsafe tribal placement of almost 40 foster
children in abusive homes, many of which were headed by known convicted
child sex offenders.
In an effort to protect these children and children around the
country, I introduced the Native American Children's Safety Act, a bill
that Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota has also introduced in the
United States Senate.
This bill implements across-the-board minimum protections for
children placed in foster care at the direction of a tribal court.
These standards, Mr. Speaker, mirror existing national requirements for
nontribal foster care placements, ensuring that tribal children receive
at least the same, if not higher, standards of foster care as nontribal
children placed in foster care.
This bill is bipartisan. I believe it is noncontroversial. It was
reported out of the Natural Resources Committee in both this Congress
and the last Congress with unanimous consent.
I also want to take the time to thank several members of the
administration, particularly the BIA, as well as Health and Human
Services, for their assistance in refining the bill. I also want to
thank the National Indian Child Welfare Association, which assisted in
refining the bill, as well as the National Congress of American
Indians.
All of these refinements to the bill help make the bill better. More
importantly, it provides flexibility to the tribes in fulfilling the
obligations of the bill, and I think it makes it a much better bill.
I thank everybody who was involved, as well as my colleagues, and
hope that we can pass it without objection today.
Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Currently, Native America tribes and their tribal courts use
procedures and guidelines that vary significantly from tribe to tribe
when placing a Native American child in a foster home.
Current law does not require that the Federal Government or Indian
tribe perform vigorous background checks on foster parents or foster
homes in order to ensure the safety, health, and protection of Native
children.
Consequently, there have been appalling cases of Native American
children ending up in dangerous and unsafe living conditions because
they were placed in an overburdened foster care system that failed to
ensure sufficient background checks of placement homes. We critically
need background checks of individuals and institutions selected to
foster Native youth.
H.R. 1168 strengthens background checks on prospective foster care
parents prior to placement of Native children into foster homes and
sets forth a uniform manner in which Federal and tribal agencies
serving tribes may conduct such checks.
I ask my colleagues to stand with me in support of Native American
children by supporting passage of Mr. Cramer's bill, H.R. 1168, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, this has been fully explained. To protect Indian foster
children and provide these background checks is a wonderful thing. It
is well overdue. I appreciate and commend the gentleman from North
Dakota, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1168.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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