The Indian Child Welfare Act

( enacted November 8, 1978), codified at 25 U.S.C.  1901–1963) is a Federal

law that governs jurisdiction over the removal of Native American (Indian) children from their families in custody, foster care and adoption cases.
It gives tribal governments exclusive jurisdiction over children who reside on, or are domiciled on a reservation. It gives concurrent, but presumptive jurisdiction over foster care placement proceedings for Native American children who do not live on the reservation.

rate of forced removal of Indian children from their traditional

homes and essentially from American Indian cultures as a whole.
Before enactment, as many as 25 to 35 percent of all Indian children were being forcibly removed, mostly from intact American Indian families with extended family networks, and placed in predominantly non-Indian homes, which had no relation to American Indian cultures.
In some cases, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) paid the states to remove Indian children and to place them with non-Indian families and religious groups

child custody proceedings, including adoption, voluntary and involuntary termination of

parental rights, and removal and foster care placement of Indian children, but excluding divorce and child delinquency proceedings.
ICWA provides that state courts have no jurisdiction over the adoption or custody of Indian children residing within their own tribal reservation.
An "Indian child" is "any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe”.

"...to protect the best interest of Indian Children and to

promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children and placement of such children in homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture... ". ICWA provides guidance to States regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect and adoption cases involving Native children and sets minimum standards for the handling of these cases.

ICWA policies and procedures
Resources for more tribal workers dedicated to

ICWA cases
Timely receipt of ICWA notifications from states and counties
Need for training of state and county workers on ICWA legal and practice aspects
Increasing state and county workers understanding of why ICWA is needed
Increasing understanding and awareness of tribes and reservation contexts on the part of state and county workers

ICWA placement preferences, especially placement with extended family and other

tribal kin
Widely differing perceptions on the parts of tribal and state/county child welfare staff regarding the quality and level of state/tribal collaboration and state ICWA compliance
Continuing adoption of tribal children by non-Indians in state and county courts

for "good cause," but that term is not defined in

the ICWA. The BIA has issued an advisory set of guidelines for state courts to use in determining "good cause.”While these guidelines are not mandatory, many states have adopted them, and they include:
No tribal court as defined by the ICWA,
The proceeding was at an advanced stage when the transfer request was made, and the party asking for the transfer did not request the transfer promptly after receiving notice of the proceeding,
The Indian child is over the age of 12 and objects to the transfer,