
Understanding how “active efforts” are determined is crucial in the context of tribal adoptions, especially under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Under this law, the state must demonstrate efforts to prevent the breakup of the Native American family, as well as that those efforts were unsuccessful before the adoption of a child into a family outside of their tribe. What Are Active Efforts? These requirements are intensive, and purposeful actions that social services or child welfare agencies must undertake to support the reunification of a family… Read More