CONTINUING EDUCATION RESOURCES:
Court Strikes Down ICWA (Native American adoption law) saying it discriminates against non-Native Americans
Summary: Article published by The Washington Post (October 18, 2018) This article looks at a ruling by District Judge Reed O’Connor which found that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 illegally gives Native American families preferential treatment in adoption proceedings for Native American children based on race, in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee.
TEXAS JUDGE ORDERS RARE $127,000 SANCTION AGAINST CPS AFTER WRONGFUL REMOVAL OF CHILDREN
Summary: Article published by The Houston Chronicle (November 8, 2018) – Sometimes children are removed from their homes unnecessarily as in the case of the Bright family in Harris county. Recently a months-long legal case with Texas Child Protective Services that began with the removal of the children from the Brights’ home and ended Thursday with a Harris County judge ordering what may be the largest-ever sanctions against the agency. After a five-day hearing, Juvenile Court Judge Mike Schneider ordered the state to come up with new regional training for workers and pay more than $127,000 for wrongfully removing the couple’s children and allegedly lying about the case in court. As advocates we need to ask objective questions and remain unbiased as we take on new cases.
