STATE OF NEVADA - Division of Child and Family Services

Prior to this report period, The Nevada Indian Commission provided the Indian Child Welfare Committee with a list serve
beginning in November 2008, with the intent to serve as a communication mechanism to facilitate information sharing and
collaboration between the State, Counties and Tribes: NVICWA@listserv.state.nv.us. The State, Counties and Tribes
continue to utilize the communication mechanism for information sharing.
The Indian Child Welfare Committee decided that regional roundtables held on or near tribes in Northern or Southern and
Rural Nevada would be more effective in reaching local tribes and child welfare agencies.
The Indian Child Welfare Committee’s State-Tribal Roundtables’ plan was presented to ITC-N on April 14, 2009. The
purpose of the State-Tribal Roundtables was to build upon existing partnerships and increase collaboration between
State, County and Tribes. The State-Tribal Roundtables provided the forum for information, dissemination, and discussion
about the new law: Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, Public Law 110-351, which
allows tribes direct access to Title IV-E funding under certain conditions. The Casey Family Programs facilitated the 2009
State-Tribal Roundtable meetings, the Nevada Indian Commission coordinated logistics of each of the meetings, DCFS
presented systems overview for greater understanding of the Nevada child serving systems, and ITC-N participated as
well.
The State-Tribal Roundtables provided a forum to share information and improve provision of child welfare services for
Indian children and families through consultation to: 1) identify tribal foster care and ICWA needs; 2) explore Title IV-E
funding and/or agreements; and 3) provide technical assistance as indicated.
• Building State-Tribal Partnerships: Regional Roundtable
Meeting on May 21, 2009, at Las Vegas Indian Center; Las Vegas, Nevada.
Meeting on June 30, 2009, at the Te-Moak Shoshone Tribal Diabetes Center; Elko, Nevada.
Meeting on July 27, 2009, at Nevada Urban Indian Center; Reno, Nevada.
Increased participation of Tribes during the CFSR of 2009
1. Inter-Tribal Council Meeting-Building State-Tribal Partnerships
A report to State, County and Tribal leaders was facilitated by DCFS on August 18, 2009 at the Nevada Health
Division.
Workgroups
Ongoing consultation with Nevada Tribes was conducted on ICWA policies and procedures and the development
and/or improvement of at least one policy or protocol. Tribal discussion during the Indian Child Welfare Steering
Committee Meetings of 2009; called for the formation of a workgroup to create a draft memorandum of understanding
(MOU) for the child serving agencies in Nevada. The MOU Workgroup was created to clearly define the issue and
how to approach appropriate service referral and delivery. The workgroup addressed the issue of non-enrolled or
non-Native children residing on Indian reservations and who should serve these children across jurisdictions. The
CJA Task Force Indian Child Welfare Committee formed a workgroup to develop a formal charter for the
membership. The charter defines the purpose of the committee and outlines the goals and objectives of the work.
The workgroup convened on March 29, 2010 to finalize the charter to be presented at the first meeting of 2010. The
Indian Child Welfare Committee will reconvene in the spring of 2010 with plans to hold regional roundtable meetings
during the summer of 2010.
• Protecting our Children and Sustaining our Families Indian Child Welfare Track
This was held in Reno, Nevada, on November 17 – 18, 2009. The Indian Child Welfare Track was part of the 44 th
Annual Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada (ITC-N) Convention. The Indian Child Welfare Track was coordinated by the
CJA Task Force Indian Child Welfare Committee. Representatives were included from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA), ITC-N, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and Division of Child and Family Services
(DCFS) staff. The convention included a panel consisting of representatives from DCFS Family Programs Office, BIA,
Court Improvement Program, and the Nevada Indian Commission which presented information on the CJA Task
Force Indian Child Welfare Committee and provided updates in regard to the regional State-Tribal Roundtables during
the general session. The Indian Child Welfare Committee provided the keynote speaker for the convention’s first
general session. Nationally-recognized Indian Child Welfare expert Judge William Thorne, of the Utah Court of
Appeals, presented “In the Spirit of ICWA, We All Need to Work Together to Help Our Children.” Judge Thorne
provided the American Indian perspective on historical trauma in terms of the Boarding School era, effects on the
Nevada APSR – SFY 2010
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