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Indian child welfare: A community team approach to protective services
Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 2, pp. 29 - 35. Pergamon Press Limited. (B 1978. Printed in Great Britain.
INDIAN CHILD WELFARE: PROTECTIVE SERVICES
01452135/78/0401-0029$02.00/0
A COMMUNITY TRAM APPROACH TO
Casimer R. Wichlacz, John M. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe Casimer R. Wichlacz, M.S.W., former Agency Social Worker, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Cheyenne River Agency, Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Presently, Social Science Analyst, Departmentof Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Child Development, Indian and Migrant Programs Division, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. John M. Lane, Ph.D.(abd), Director, Sioux Youth Development Association, Inc., Eagle Butte, South Dakota, U.S.A. C. Henry Kempe, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
The purpose of this study is threefold: first, to describe the characteristics of child abuse and neglect on a major Indian reservation; second, to examine the impact of a co~unity team approach to child abuse and neglect as measured by the incidence of reported abuse and neglect and admissions for emergency foster care; and third, to make recommendations for actions to close the gaps in child welfare services to Indian children living on reservations.
BACKGROUND The focus of this study is the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The Reservation encompasses 4,393 square miles or 2,811,520 acres and includes the counties of Dewey and Ziebach (Ref. 3). The Tribal offices are located in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. The Indian population is 4,335 (Ref. 8). The total population, including Indian and non-Indian, is approximately 7,391 (Ref. 9). The unemployment rate for the Indian population is 21.6%; the unemployment for the total Reservation population is 6.5% (Ref. 4). There are approximately 15 communities on the Reservation. The largest number of persons reside in Eagle Butte. Commercial recreation is limited and there is no public transportation. In September 1974, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court in cooperation with the Sioux Youth Development Association, Inc., established a SCAN* Register for recording suspected cases of child abuse and neglect involving Indian children living within the jurisdiction of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
*SCAN is an acronym for Suspected Child Abuse/Neglect.
23
30
Casimk- R. Wichlacz, John M. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe
In cases of adjudicated abuse and neglect, the Court routinely assumed custody of the child and gave care, control, and supervision to a social service agency. It has been the policy of the Court to limit placements in foster care to foster homes located within the external boundaries of the Reservation.
FINDINGS There were 65 cases of reported child abuse and neglect of Indian children from September 1974 to December 31, 1975. The age and sex characteristics are found in Table 1. The average age was 4.5 years and many of the children were infants and toddlers. There was an almost equal distribution of boys and girls in the group.
TABLE I AGE AND SEX C~~CTERISTICS OF CHILDREN REPORTED AS ABUSED AND/OR NEGLECTED AGE: MEAN:
4.46
MEDIAN:
2
MODE:
1
RANGE:
1 to 17
SEX: MALE:
52%
FEMALE:
48%
TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN:
65
Approximately 1 out of 3 of the reported cases involved abuse (Table 2). It has often been assumed that physical abuse of children is rare among Indian children (Ref. 10). This assumption is not supported by the findings of this study. A. point of comparison is the observation that the number of cases of reported neglect outnumbers the cases of reported abuse by a ratio of approximately 6 to 1 in the general population (Ref. 7). TABLE 2 CLASSIFICATION OF REPORTED CASES OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT PERCENT ____~
NUMBER
ABUSE:
35
23
NEGLECT:
65
42
100
65
TOTAL:
Indian Child Welfare: A Community Team Approach
31
The incidence rate of reported cases of child abuse and neglect for the 12 month period in 1975 is 11.07 per thousand Indian persons living on the Reservation. Although accurate information indicating the incidence of child abuse in the United States does not exist, (Ref. 7) it is concluded from the incidence rate found in this study that the problem of child abuse and neglect is at least as serious on the Reservation as is estimated to be throughout the U.S.A. The characteristics of the child abuse and neglect reported are presented in Table 3. The latter is a summary description of the 65 cases and reflects the operational definitions of abuse and neglect utilized in the SCAN Register system.
TABLE 3 F~QUE~CY
DISTRIBUTION OF TYPES OF CBILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT SPORTED
MALNUTRITION**
23
ABANDONMENT**
17
ACUTE LACK OF CARE**
8
BRUISES
8
BURNS
7
EKPOSURE**
7
WOUNDS
6
ABRASIONS
6
SEXUAL ABUSE
4
DEATH
3
FORCED INGESTION OF POTENTIAL POISON
2
TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES:
65
A review of the information on agencies and persons making initial contact with the reported cases of child abuse and neglect found that the Tribal Police were most frequently involved in the initial contact, that is, in 65% of the cases (Table 4). On the Reservation, this is not an unpredictable finding. The Tribal Police provide coverage of the reservation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and they have both radio and telephone communications systems in this rural and isolated area. The Tribal Police are probably the most accessible public service
Consequently, the sum of the *In several cases there were multiple injuries. frequencies is greater than 65, the total number of cases, **Classified as neglect in this study.
32
CasimPr R. Wichlacz, John I4. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe
agency on the Reservation. The fact that no case is recorded to have initially involved a State social services worker may reflect that during the period of this study, the nearest State social services office was located approximately 90 miles off the Reservation.
TABLE 4 INITIAL CONTACT WITH REPORTED CASES OF SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
TRIBAL POLICE
PERCENT* 65
NUMBER 42
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
23
15
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
14
9
RELATIVES
5
3
SCHOOL
2
1
SHERIFF
2
1
TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES:
65
PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENTS In calendar years 1973, 1974 and 1975, the only consistently available emergency care service and temporary shelter for children on the reservation was the Tribally sponsored and community supported organization known locally as SYDA House**. This non-profit emergency receiving home is located in the geographical center of the Reservation and operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The facility has a capacity for caring for 12 children at any one time. SYDA House started and has operated without a secure funding base and its operations have repeatedly came close to being suspended or terminated due to a lack of funds. The number of admissions for emergency foster care has significantly decreased over a three year period of time (Table 5). The number of admissions in 1975 was less than one-half the number of admissions in 1973. The dramatic decrease in the need for temporary emergency foster care is attributed to a progressive mobilization and organization of the Reservation community's resources and concern. The establishment and maintenance of SYDA House is a prime example of the latter. It involved the sustained effort and contributions of many persons. The decrease in the number of admissions for emergency foster care from the base year 1973 to 1974 is attributed primarily to the consequences of SYDA House obtaining, with considerable difficulty, a license
*In a few cases, more than one agency was involved in the initial contact. Therefore, the total for PERCENT is greater than 100. **Sioux Youth Development Association, Inc., Eagle Butte, South Dakota 57625
Indian Child Welfare: A Community Team Approach
33
from the State of South Dakota as an emergency care facility*. The License entitled SYDA House to receive payment for the care of eligible children from the State. Payments assured the assignment of a caseworker to provide services and the State policy limited the number of days a child could remain in an emergency care facility. The State license provided an effective linking mechanism for connecting the child and family to the primary protective services delivery system. Prior to licensure, the State would not make payments for care of otherwise eligible children in SYDA House. Furthermore, the perceived responsibility of the State for services was less clear when an Indian child was placed in the unlicensed facility. The problem of gaps in child welfare services on Indian reservations (1...due to a lack of finding and to unclear areas of responsibility among the confusing array of service providers in the area--federal (BIA and IHS), state social services departments, private agencies, and the tribes themselves" (Ref, 1) is not unique to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. TABLE 5 OMISSIONS
FOR TEMPORARY FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT CALENDAR YEARS 1973
ADMISSIONS**
322
m_ 246
1975 143
COMMUNITY CHILD PROTECTION TEAM The number of admissions for emergency foster care in 1975 decreased 42% from the previous year (Table 5). This change is attributed to the effects of having a Reservation Community Child Protection Team operational throughout 1935. The Child Protecltion Team was composed of representatives from the State Social Services Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service personnel including physicians, health nurses, and social services staff, the Director of SYDA House and consultants, including Legal Aid, a Tribal Judge, and Tribal Councilpersons. The Child Protection Team had a formal internal organizational structure, meetings were held regularly every two weeks, and a record was maintained of all cases staffed and included the plan and person(s) responsible for follow-up actions. This provided a tracking and follow-up system that did not previously exist. The meetings provided the opportunity to discuss, at times with considerable disagreement, respective agencies' responsibilities and services that could or should be provided in a particular case. The dialogue, relating to specific children and families, resulted in a local clarification of some of the ambiguous policy and jurisdictional issues relating to the delivery of child welfare services to Indian children on Reservations (Ref. 2). The inter-agency, multi-disciplinary team increased the quantity and quality of services to families and children through a more efficient and effective use of existing resources.
*Provisional license became effective 1 April 1974. **Approximately 99% of the admissions were Indian children. Por example, only one admission in 1974 and two admissions in 1975 could,be clearly identified as non-Indian.
34
Casimsr R. Wichlacz, John El. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe
The Team in most instances eliminated duplication of effort and such counterproductive occurences as multiple contacts with individual families by independent agencies for the same purpose. This coordination of resources in many situations resulted in the provision of supportive services to a child and family in the home that otherwise may have resulted in Court action and separation. After several months of operation, the Team increasingly became involved in early intervention in potentially abusive situations. The incidence of reported cases of child abuse and neglect declined following the formation of the community Child Protection Team. The comparative statistics presented in Table 6 show that for the period of comparison, the number of reported cases declined by almost one-half.
TABLE 6 A COMPARISON OF REPORTED ABUSE AND NEGLECT BEFORE AND AFTER FORMATION OF A CHILD PROTECTION TEAM BASE (4 months)* REPORTED CASES
17
COMPARISON (4 months)* 9
The Organization and operation of the Child Protection Team met with, on the one hand, community support and on the other, with institutional resistance. The participating agencies had no explicit policy or specific formal sanction within the respective organizations to support their staff's involvment in a child protection team. The Child Protection Team held its meetings at the Indian Health Service Hospital and the strongest ambivalence regarding the Team was manifested by the hospital administrator and staff. They were primarily concerned with the issue of discussing confidential information at a Team meeting with other than Hospital employees.
CONCLUSIONS This paper has described the characteristics and management of child abuse and neglect on one Indian reservation. The mobilization of resources and thejoperation of a local multi-disciplinary and inter-agency child protection team was found to be effective in the prevention, indentification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect as measured by the admissions of children for emergency foster care and reports of child abuse and neglect. Gaps in child welfare services to Indian children living on reservations continue to exist due to a lack of clear definition of responsibility among the various service providers.
RECOMMENDATIONS There is a need for funding of child welfare services and facilities on Indian reservations. The need for funding is as critical as is the need for a more efficient and effective use of existing resources. A clear definition of responsibilitiy, policy, and procedures in the area of child abuse and negelect by the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs would be a major step in this direction. The recently published U.S. Army (Ref. 6) and U.S Air Force (Ref. 5) regulations relating to child abuse and neglect are models that have
*In 1974, reporting by the Court was operational for only 4 months. calendar months in 1975 were used for comparison.
The same
Indian Child Welfare: A Community Team Approach
35
applicability to Indian reservations when the matters of jurisdictions, direct Federal responsibilities, and the provision of social services directly by Federal agencies are considered. A solution to the problem of gaps in child welfare services on Indian reservations will require leadership and direction at the national level.
REFERENCES
(11
Center far Social Research and Development. Indian Child Welfare: A Review of the Literature. Denver Research Instftute, Un-iversity of Denver, Denver, Colorado. (1976)
(2)
Center for Social Research and Development. Legal and Jurisdictional Problems in the Delivery of SRS Child Welfare Services on Indian Reservations. Denver Research Institute, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado. (1975)
(3)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Douncil. Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, June 1972 Survey. Eagle Butte, South Dakota. (1972)
(4)
Cook, W., Aslesen, H, and Rolando, N. Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Brady Consultants, Inc,, Spearfish, South Dakota, (1973)
(5)
Department of the Air Force. Air Force Child Advocacy Program. U.S. Air Force Child Regulation 130-38, Medical Service. Washington, D.C. (1975)
(6)
Department of the.Army. Army Child Advocacy Program. No. 600-48, Personnel, General. Washington, D.C.
(7)
Sussman, A. and Cohen, S. Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, Guidelines for Legislation. Ballinger Publishing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, (1975)
(8)
U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Report. Aberdeen, South Dakota. (1973)
(9)
B.S. Bureau of Census, (1970).
U.S. Army Regulation (1976)
Aberdeen Area Annual
(IOf Wagner, C. Battered Infants and Neglected Children. Memorandum dated July 30th, addressed to all Indian HeaEth Area Directors. Washington, D.C. (1965)
INDIAN CHILD WELFARE: PROTECTIVE SERVICES
01452135/78/0401-0029$02.00/0
A COMMUNITY TRAM APPROACH TO
Casimer R. Wichlacz, John M. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe Casimer R. Wichlacz, M.S.W., former Agency Social Worker, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Cheyenne River Agency, Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Presently, Social Science Analyst, Departmentof Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Child Development, Indian and Migrant Programs Division, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. John M. Lane, Ph.D.(abd), Director, Sioux Youth Development Association, Inc., Eagle Butte, South Dakota, U.S.A. C. Henry Kempe, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
The purpose of this study is threefold: first, to describe the characteristics of child abuse and neglect on a major Indian reservation; second, to examine the impact of a co~unity team approach to child abuse and neglect as measured by the incidence of reported abuse and neglect and admissions for emergency foster care; and third, to make recommendations for actions to close the gaps in child welfare services to Indian children living on reservations.
BACKGROUND The focus of this study is the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The Reservation encompasses 4,393 square miles or 2,811,520 acres and includes the counties of Dewey and Ziebach (Ref. 3). The Tribal offices are located in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. The Indian population is 4,335 (Ref. 8). The total population, including Indian and non-Indian, is approximately 7,391 (Ref. 9). The unemployment rate for the Indian population is 21.6%; the unemployment for the total Reservation population is 6.5% (Ref. 4). There are approximately 15 communities on the Reservation. The largest number of persons reside in Eagle Butte. Commercial recreation is limited and there is no public transportation. In September 1974, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Court in cooperation with the Sioux Youth Development Association, Inc., established a SCAN* Register for recording suspected cases of child abuse and neglect involving Indian children living within the jurisdiction of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
*SCAN is an acronym for Suspected Child Abuse/Neglect.
23
30
Casimk- R. Wichlacz, John M. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe
In cases of adjudicated abuse and neglect, the Court routinely assumed custody of the child and gave care, control, and supervision to a social service agency. It has been the policy of the Court to limit placements in foster care to foster homes located within the external boundaries of the Reservation.
FINDINGS There were 65 cases of reported child abuse and neglect of Indian children from September 1974 to December 31, 1975. The age and sex characteristics are found in Table 1. The average age was 4.5 years and many of the children were infants and toddlers. There was an almost equal distribution of boys and girls in the group.
TABLE I AGE AND SEX C~~CTERISTICS OF CHILDREN REPORTED AS ABUSED AND/OR NEGLECTED AGE: MEAN:
4.46
MEDIAN:
2
MODE:
1
RANGE:
1 to 17
SEX: MALE:
52%
FEMALE:
48%
TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN:
65
Approximately 1 out of 3 of the reported cases involved abuse (Table 2). It has often been assumed that physical abuse of children is rare among Indian children (Ref. 10). This assumption is not supported by the findings of this study. A. point of comparison is the observation that the number of cases of reported neglect outnumbers the cases of reported abuse by a ratio of approximately 6 to 1 in the general population (Ref. 7). TABLE 2 CLASSIFICATION OF REPORTED CASES OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT PERCENT ____~
NUMBER
ABUSE:
35
23
NEGLECT:
65
42
100
65
TOTAL:
Indian Child Welfare: A Community Team Approach
31
The incidence rate of reported cases of child abuse and neglect for the 12 month period in 1975 is 11.07 per thousand Indian persons living on the Reservation. Although accurate information indicating the incidence of child abuse in the United States does not exist, (Ref. 7) it is concluded from the incidence rate found in this study that the problem of child abuse and neglect is at least as serious on the Reservation as is estimated to be throughout the U.S.A. The characteristics of the child abuse and neglect reported are presented in Table 3. The latter is a summary description of the 65 cases and reflects the operational definitions of abuse and neglect utilized in the SCAN Register system.
TABLE 3 F~QUE~CY
DISTRIBUTION OF TYPES OF CBILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT SPORTED
MALNUTRITION**
23
ABANDONMENT**
17
ACUTE LACK OF CARE**
8
BRUISES
8
BURNS
7
EKPOSURE**
7
WOUNDS
6
ABRASIONS
6
SEXUAL ABUSE
4
DEATH
3
FORCED INGESTION OF POTENTIAL POISON
2
TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES:
65
A review of the information on agencies and persons making initial contact with the reported cases of child abuse and neglect found that the Tribal Police were most frequently involved in the initial contact, that is, in 65% of the cases (Table 4). On the Reservation, this is not an unpredictable finding. The Tribal Police provide coverage of the reservation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and they have both radio and telephone communications systems in this rural and isolated area. The Tribal Police are probably the most accessible public service
Consequently, the sum of the *In several cases there were multiple injuries. frequencies is greater than 65, the total number of cases, **Classified as neglect in this study.
32
CasimPr R. Wichlacz, John I4. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe
agency on the Reservation. The fact that no case is recorded to have initially involved a State social services worker may reflect that during the period of this study, the nearest State social services office was located approximately 90 miles off the Reservation.
TABLE 4 INITIAL CONTACT WITH REPORTED CASES OF SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
TRIBAL POLICE
PERCENT* 65
NUMBER 42
INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
23
15
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
14
9
RELATIVES
5
3
SCHOOL
2
1
SHERIFF
2
1
TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES:
65
PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENTS In calendar years 1973, 1974 and 1975, the only consistently available emergency care service and temporary shelter for children on the reservation was the Tribally sponsored and community supported organization known locally as SYDA House**. This non-profit emergency receiving home is located in the geographical center of the Reservation and operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The facility has a capacity for caring for 12 children at any one time. SYDA House started and has operated without a secure funding base and its operations have repeatedly came close to being suspended or terminated due to a lack of funds. The number of admissions for emergency foster care has significantly decreased over a three year period of time (Table 5). The number of admissions in 1975 was less than one-half the number of admissions in 1973. The dramatic decrease in the need for temporary emergency foster care is attributed to a progressive mobilization and organization of the Reservation community's resources and concern. The establishment and maintenance of SYDA House is a prime example of the latter. It involved the sustained effort and contributions of many persons. The decrease in the number of admissions for emergency foster care from the base year 1973 to 1974 is attributed primarily to the consequences of SYDA House obtaining, with considerable difficulty, a license
*In a few cases, more than one agency was involved in the initial contact. Therefore, the total for PERCENT is greater than 100. **Sioux Youth Development Association, Inc., Eagle Butte, South Dakota 57625
Indian Child Welfare: A Community Team Approach
33
from the State of South Dakota as an emergency care facility*. The License entitled SYDA House to receive payment for the care of eligible children from the State. Payments assured the assignment of a caseworker to provide services and the State policy limited the number of days a child could remain in an emergency care facility. The State license provided an effective linking mechanism for connecting the child and family to the primary protective services delivery system. Prior to licensure, the State would not make payments for care of otherwise eligible children in SYDA House. Furthermore, the perceived responsibility of the State for services was less clear when an Indian child was placed in the unlicensed facility. The problem of gaps in child welfare services on Indian reservations (1...due to a lack of finding and to unclear areas of responsibility among the confusing array of service providers in the area--federal (BIA and IHS), state social services departments, private agencies, and the tribes themselves" (Ref, 1) is not unique to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. TABLE 5 OMISSIONS
FOR TEMPORARY FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT CALENDAR YEARS 1973
ADMISSIONS**
322
m_ 246
1975 143
COMMUNITY CHILD PROTECTION TEAM The number of admissions for emergency foster care in 1975 decreased 42% from the previous year (Table 5). This change is attributed to the effects of having a Reservation Community Child Protection Team operational throughout 1935. The Child Protecltion Team was composed of representatives from the State Social Services Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service personnel including physicians, health nurses, and social services staff, the Director of SYDA House and consultants, including Legal Aid, a Tribal Judge, and Tribal Councilpersons. The Child Protection Team had a formal internal organizational structure, meetings were held regularly every two weeks, and a record was maintained of all cases staffed and included the plan and person(s) responsible for follow-up actions. This provided a tracking and follow-up system that did not previously exist. The meetings provided the opportunity to discuss, at times with considerable disagreement, respective agencies' responsibilities and services that could or should be provided in a particular case. The dialogue, relating to specific children and families, resulted in a local clarification of some of the ambiguous policy and jurisdictional issues relating to the delivery of child welfare services to Indian children on Reservations (Ref. 2). The inter-agency, multi-disciplinary team increased the quantity and quality of services to families and children through a more efficient and effective use of existing resources.
*Provisional license became effective 1 April 1974. **Approximately 99% of the admissions were Indian children. Por example, only one admission in 1974 and two admissions in 1975 could,be clearly identified as non-Indian.
34
Casimsr R. Wichlacz, John El. Lane, and C. Henry Kempe
The Team in most instances eliminated duplication of effort and such counterproductive occurences as multiple contacts with individual families by independent agencies for the same purpose. This coordination of resources in many situations resulted in the provision of supportive services to a child and family in the home that otherwise may have resulted in Court action and separation. After several months of operation, the Team increasingly became involved in early intervention in potentially abusive situations. The incidence of reported cases of child abuse and neglect declined following the formation of the community Child Protection Team. The comparative statistics presented in Table 6 show that for the period of comparison, the number of reported cases declined by almost one-half.
TABLE 6 A COMPARISON OF REPORTED ABUSE AND NEGLECT BEFORE AND AFTER FORMATION OF A CHILD PROTECTION TEAM BASE (4 months)* REPORTED CASES
17
COMPARISON (4 months)* 9
The Organization and operation of the Child Protection Team met with, on the one hand, community support and on the other, with institutional resistance. The participating agencies had no explicit policy or specific formal sanction within the respective organizations to support their staff's involvment in a child protection team. The Child Protection Team held its meetings at the Indian Health Service Hospital and the strongest ambivalence regarding the Team was manifested by the hospital administrator and staff. They were primarily concerned with the issue of discussing confidential information at a Team meeting with other than Hospital employees.
CONCLUSIONS This paper has described the characteristics and management of child abuse and neglect on one Indian reservation. The mobilization of resources and thejoperation of a local multi-disciplinary and inter-agency child protection team was found to be effective in the prevention, indentification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect as measured by the admissions of children for emergency foster care and reports of child abuse and neglect. Gaps in child welfare services to Indian children living on reservations continue to exist due to a lack of clear definition of responsibility among the various service providers.
RECOMMENDATIONS There is a need for funding of child welfare services and facilities on Indian reservations. The need for funding is as critical as is the need for a more efficient and effective use of existing resources. A clear definition of responsibilitiy, policy, and procedures in the area of child abuse and negelect by the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs would be a major step in this direction. The recently published U.S. Army (Ref. 6) and U.S Air Force (Ref. 5) regulations relating to child abuse and neglect are models that have
*In 1974, reporting by the Court was operational for only 4 months. calendar months in 1975 were used for comparison.
The same
Indian Child Welfare: A Community Team Approach
35
applicability to Indian reservations when the matters of jurisdictions, direct Federal responsibilities, and the provision of social services directly by Federal agencies are considered. A solution to the problem of gaps in child welfare services on Indian reservations will require leadership and direction at the national level.
REFERENCES
(11
Center far Social Research and Development. Indian Child Welfare: A Review of the Literature. Denver Research Instftute, Un-iversity of Denver, Denver, Colorado. (1976)
(2)
Center for Social Research and Development. Legal and Jurisdictional Problems in the Delivery of SRS Child Welfare Services on Indian Reservations. Denver Research Institute, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado. (1975)
(3)
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Douncil. Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, June 1972 Survey. Eagle Butte, South Dakota. (1972)
(4)
Cook, W., Aslesen, H, and Rolando, N. Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Brady Consultants, Inc,, Spearfish, South Dakota, (1973)
(5)
Department of the Air Force. Air Force Child Advocacy Program. U.S. Air Force Child Regulation 130-38, Medical Service. Washington, D.C. (1975)
(6)
Department of the.Army. Army Child Advocacy Program. No. 600-48, Personnel, General. Washington, D.C.
(7)
Sussman, A. and Cohen, S. Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect, Guidelines for Legislation. Ballinger Publishing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, (1975)
(8)
U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Report. Aberdeen, South Dakota. (1973)
(9)
B.S. Bureau of Census, (1970).
U.S. Army Regulation (1976)
Aberdeen Area Annual
(IOf Wagner, C. Battered Infants and Neglected Children. Memorandum dated July 30th, addressed to all Indian HeaEth Area Directors. Washington, D.C. (1965)