November 27, 2002
| Protecting the
children By John Kozlowicz Staff Writer |
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Stories of child abuse and child abandonment frequently appear in the news. Unfortunately, some children (members defined as being under 18 years old and not married) of the Ho-Chunk Nation are victims of their own environment and need to be removed from that environment. While tribal, state and federal policies favor Native children be placed in Native homes, each case has its own merits and circumstances that determine the child's future. Tribal attorney, Leslie Cohan explained that while the Ho-Chunk Nation Court System does not get involved with child custody determinations resulting from divorce or other family disputes, it does have jurisdiction to hear cases involving child abuse, neglect or abandonment as described in the Nation's Children and Family Code. She explained that while cases may start at the county level, some start in the Ho-Chunk Nation Tribal Court, when the Nation files the petition. The Children's Code states that while no child can be removed from the home of a child's parent, guardian or custodian without a court order, if a child is thought to be at risk of death, permanent injury, serious emotional harm or is deemed to be neglected or cannot provide for basic necessities there are grounds for removal. The Court serves a petition on the parent or guardian and gives notice when hearings will be held on the case. The child is now in the legal custody of Child and Family Services. According to Division of Child and Family Services Supervisor, Molli White, each state has a different state law for child welfare but each tribe has the ability to enact their laws governing their children. Although the Ho-Chunk Nation has the Nation's Children Code, an outside tribal law may affect children eligible to enroll in the Ho-Chunk or another tribe or those residing with a non-Ho-Chunk parent. As stated in Article XVIII of the Children's Code, when a child is removed, an emergency hearing shall be held regarding the removal before the end of the second working day following the child/family protection petition. The initial hearing is held to determine if the child's removal from the home is necessary to protect the child's well being. If the child has not been removed from the home, a plea hearing will be held within 10 days of the filling of the petition seeking removal and the Court will have a formal hearing on the issue no later than 30 calendar days after the plea hearing. A dispositional hearing will then be scheduled no later than 60 days after the filing of the child/family protection petition. While in Court, the burden of proof lies with the accuser, who must prove that the child's best interest would be served by moving the child to a different setting. During this time the child remains in an out of home placement. Cohan stated that while it's preferred that Ho-Chunk children be placed in the home or tribal relatives or members, many other factors are considered when determining placement. White noted that while the Division of Child and Family Services is always seeking to recruit members for foster care and adoptive homes, the Nation's diverse population limits the responses, as many members live in different communities or states. For example, she added that tribal members offering care to children that would have to be moved out of state would affect the reunification efforts with the parents. She explained that " finding an appropriate home for a child in of protective services is a very careful process followed by this agency. Each case has different factors effecting the child's placement". In addition, White explained that those who volunteer to provide a home for children undergo extensive criminal and background checks. In addition to a home study done by the Division of Child and Family Services, criminal checks are done on all persons in the home over the age of 12. An individual found guilty of, or who entered a plea of no contest or guilty to any felonious offense, or any of two or more misdemeanor charges under federal, state or tribal law involving crimes of violence; sexual assault, molestation, exploitation, contact or prostitution, crimes against persons or offenses committed against children cannot be appointed to positions with duties and responsibilities involving regular contact or control over Indian children. Article XXIII of the Ho-Chunk Children's Code does list the Order of Guardianship and Guardianship Preferences. The Article notes that any appointment shall require the guardian to have the child maintain cultural ties with the Nation, be informed of the tribe's traditional ways and participate in the Ho-Chunk language classes. Appointments for the guardian of a child are made in the following order.
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