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Wash.
Admin. Code § 388-70-450
WASHINGTON
ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
TITLE
388. SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
CHAPTER
388-70. CHILD WELFARE SERVICES--FOSTER CARE--ADOPTION SERVICES--
SERVICES
TO UNMARRIED PARENTS--FOSTER CARE--ADOPTION
388-70-450.
Adoptive planning for Indian children by department staff.
(1) Definitions: For the purposes of these rules the term
'Indian' includes the following groups:
(a) Enrolled Indian
(i) Any person who is enrolled or eligible for enrollment
in a recognized tribe.
(ii) Any person determined, or eligible to be found, to
be an Indian by the secretary of the interior.
(iii) An Eskimo, Aleut or other Alaskan native.
(b) Canadian Indian: A person who is a member of
a treaty tribe, Metis community
or nonstatus Indian community from Canada.
(c) Unenrolled Indian: A person considered to be an Indian
by a federally or nonfederally recognized tribe or urban Indian/Alaskan
native community organization.
(2) An adoptive family shall be considered Indian if one
or both parents are Indian by the above definitions.
(3) In adoptive planning for Indian children, the unique tribal,
cultural and religious sovereignty of Indian nations, tribes and communities
shall be recognized. When consistent with the wishes of the
biological parents and/or the child, the adoption of Indian children
by Indian families is the primary goal.
(4) Standards implementing the policy are:
(a) Adoption exchange. In the referrals for an Indian child,
adoptive homes having the following characteristics shall be given preference
in the following order, each category being allowed 30 days
before proceeding to the next.
(i) An Indian family of the same tribe as the
child.
(ii) A Washington Indian family considering tribal cultural differences.
(iii) An Indian family from elsewhere in the United States
or Canada through the adoption resource exchange of North America.
Attention shall be given to matching the child's tribal culture
to that of the adoptive family.
(iv) Any other family which can provide a suitable home
to an Indian child, as well
as instill pride and understanding in the child's tribal and
cultural heritage.
(b) Foster parent adoptions: As a part of the total
evaluation for approving a foster parent adoption of an Indian
child, ESSO service staff shall document the foster family's past
performance and future commitment in exposing the child to its
Indian tribal and cultural heritage. The child's wish to be
involved in his Indian culture shall be considered.
(c) When an Indian child, in the custody of an
out-of-state agency, is referred for potential adoptive parents residing in
Washington, documentation shall be obtained that assures the department's standards
for planning for Indian children have been complied with.
(5) Local staff shall consult with an Indian child welfare
committee in planning for placement of Indian children.
Order
1167, S 388-70-450, filed 10/27/76.
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