The U.S. House of Representatives considers H.R.1688, the Native American Child Protection Act, on May 12, 2021.

The bill updates the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, which first became law in 1990 to help tribes and the federal government address child abuse in Indian Country amid reports of widespread victimization.

“My bill will improve the prevention, treatment, investigation, and prosecution of child abuse and neglect in Indian Country by ensuring tribes have the resources they need to take care of Native children in culturally competent ways,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), who introduced H.R.1688 on March 9. “It does so by modernizing and reauthorizing three programs originally passed as part of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act.”

“Specifically, my bill does: one, provides tribes with more funding for culturally competent child abuse treatment; two, allows tribes to choose to partner with urban Indian organizations or tribal consortiums to identify and treat victims of abuse; three, creates a national child resource and family services center to provide technical assistance and support to tribes in maintaining child welfare programs; four, authorizes enough funds for every tribe to hire at least one child welfare case manager to help investigate and prosecute instances of abuse; and, five, authorizes the only tribal-specific grant program aimed at preventing child abuse in Indian Country,” Gallego added.

The House passed H.R.1688 by a voice vote under a suspension of the rules.

Video Courtesy C-SPAN