AB 421

Introduction

Current law.

Under current law, the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA),

which governs jurisdiction over child custody proceedings involving an Indian child

and provides certain minimum standards for those proceedings, supercedes the

provisions of the Children's Code and the Juvenile Justice Code in any child custody

proceeding governed by ICWA. For purposes of ICWA, "child custody proceeding"

means any of the following:

1. Any out-of-home care placement, which is any action removing an Indian

child from his or her parent or Indian custodian, that is, an Indian person who has

legal custody of an Indian child under tribal law or custom or state law or to whom

temporary physical custody of an Indian child has been transferred by the Indian

child's parent, for temporary placement in a foster home or institution, from which

the parent or Indian custodian cannot have the Indian child removed on demand, but

not including a placement that is based on an act that would be a crime if committed

by an adult and not including an emergency removal of an Indian child from his or

her parent or Indian custodian to prevent imminent physical harm to the child.

2. A termination of parental rights (TPR) proceeding.

3. A temporary placement of an Indian child in a foster home or institution after

a TPR, but prior to or in lieu of an adoptive placement (preadoptive placement).

4. An adoptive placement.

The bill.

This bill incorporates the jurisdictional provisions of ICWA and the

minimum standards for Indian child custody proceedings established by ICWA into

the provisions of the Children's Code relating to child in need of protection or services

(CHIPS), TPR, and adoption proceedings and the provisions of the Juvenile Justice

Code relating to juvenile in need of protection or services (JIPS) proceedings, other

than proceedings that are based on the commission of an act that would be a crime

if committed by an adult and other than an emergency removal of an Indian child

from the home of his or her parent or Indian custodian to prevent imminent physical

harm to the child.

Jurisdiction

Exclusive tribal jurisdiction.

Under ICWA, an Indian tribe has exclusive

jurisdiction over an Indian child custody proceeding involving an Indian child who

resides or is domiciled within the reservation of the tribe and over an Indian child

who is a ward of a tribal court, regardless of the residence or domicile of the Indian

child, except when jurisdiction is otherwise vested in the state by federal law. This

grant of jurisdiction, however, does not prevent the emergency removal of an Indian

child who resides or is domiciled on a reservation, but who is temporarily located off