OAR 413-115-0090
Placement of Indian Children
(1)
The Department must conduct a search for an appropriate placement, which includes, at a minimum:(a)
Contact with the appropriate representative from the child’s tribe;(b)
A search for Oregon Indian foster home availability;(c)
Contact with any Indian tribe and Indian organization that may have a viable placement resource; and(2)
Foster-care placement preferences.(a)
In determining the appropriate placement for an Indian child, the Department must contact the child’s tribe to determine if the tribe has established an order of placement preference.(b)
If the Indian child’s tribe has established a different order of placement preference than that specified in subsection (c) of this section for Indian children of the tribe, the tribe’s placement preferences apply, so long as the placement is the least-restrictive setting appropriate to the particular needs of the Indian child, as provided in subsection (d) of this section.(c)
If the child’s tribe has not established by resolution a different order of preference, and the court has not determined on the record that there is good cause to depart from the ICWA prescribed placement preferences, preference must be given, in descending order as listed below, to a foster placement of the child with:(A)
An extended family member of the Indian child;(B)
A foster home that is licensed, certified, approved, or specified by the Indian child’s tribe;(C)
An Indian foster home licensed, certified, or approved by an authorized non-Indian licensing authority; or(D)
An institution for children approved by an Indian tribe or operated by an Indian organization which has a program suitable to meet the child’s needs.(d)
The Indian child must be placed in the least restrictive setting that:(A)
Most approximates a family, taking into consideration sibling attachment;(B)
Allows the Indian child’s special needs (if any) to be met; and(C)
Is in reasonable proximity to the Indian child’s home, an extended family member, or siblings.(e)
The Department must inform the substitute caregiver that the child is an Indian child.(3)
Guardianship Placements.(a)
In determining the appropriate guardianship placement for an Indian child, the Department must contact the child’s tribe to determine if the tribe has established, by resolution, an order of placement preference or has placement resources different from those described in this section for Indian children of the tribe.(b)
If the Indian child’s tribe has established by resolution a different order of placement preference than that specified in subsection (c) of this section, the tribe’s placement preferences apply for Indian children of the tribe.(c)
If the child’s tribe has not established by resolution a different order of preference, and the court has not determined on the record that there is good cause to depart from the ICWA prescribed placement preferences, preference must be given, in descending order as listed below, to guardianship placement of the child:(4)
Adoptive Placements.(a)
In determining the appropriate adoptive placement for an Indian child, the Department must contact the child’s tribe to determine if the tribe has established, by resolution, an order of placement preference or has placement resources different from those described in this section for Indian children of the tribe.(b)
If the Indian child’s tribe has established by resolution a different order of placement preference than that specified in subsection (c) of this section, the tribe’s placement preferences apply for Indian children of the tribe.(c)
If the child’s tribe has not established by resolution a different order of preference, and the court has not determined on the record that there is good cause to depart from the ICWA prescribed placement preferences, preference must be given, in descending order as listed below, to adoptive placement of the child with:(A)
An extended family member of the Indian child;(B)
Other members of the Indian child’s tribe; or(C)
Other Indian families.(5)
Change of Placement.(a)
When an Indian child is moved from one placement setting to another or if the foster family moves, the placement preferences outlined in this rule must be followed for each subsequent placement, unless the child is returned to the parent or Indian custodian from whose custody the child was originally removed.(b)
The Department must notify the parent, Indian custodian, and the child’s tribe in writing prior to a change in placement or before the foster family moves, as required in OAR 413-115-0050 (Notification to the Tribe of Placement or Change in Placement).(c)
The Department must inform the substitute caregiver that the child is an Indian child.(6)
Records of Placement.(a)
The Department must maintain a written record of each placement for each Indian child.(b)
The Department must document, in detail, in the Department’s information system, the efforts to comply with the order of placement preferences established by the tribe.(c)
When the Department departs from the order of placement preferences established by the tribe, the Department bears the burden of providing to the court, by clear and convincing evidence, that there is good cause to depart from the order of placement preferences established by the tribe.(d)
Upon the request of the Indian child’s tribe or the Department of the Interior, the Department must make available the record of every foster care, pre-adoptive, and adoptive placement of an Indian child for which the Department has records.
Source:
Rule 413-115-0090 — Placement of Indian Children, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=413-115-0090.