The National Indian Child Welfare Association issued the following annotated statement and court documents late Monday after 6-year-old Lexi was removed from her Santa Clarita foster home by L.A. County social workers.
[NICWA] – We are disturbed by this weekend’s flurry of negative media attention regarding the attempted reunification of a child with her family in Utah. In this contentious custody case, there have never been any surprises as far as what the law required. The foster family was well awareyears ago this girl is an Indian child, whose case is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)(1), and who has relatives who were willing to raise her if reunification with her father was unsuccessful(2).
In fact, the only surprising turn of events is the lengths the foster family has gone to, under the advice of an attorney with a long history of trying to overturn ICWA, to drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child in question. That the foster family now argues bonding and attachment should supersede all else despite testimony of those closest to her case(3), seems like a long-term, calculated legal strategy based on the simple fact that the law was always clear(4), they understood it(5), but just chose not to abide by it(6).
The purpose of foster care is to provide temporary care for children while families get services and support to reunite with their children, not to fast-track the creation of new families when there is extended family available who want to care for the child. The temporary nature of these relationships is also the reason we view those who serve as foster parents as selfless and nurturing individuals. Reunification and placement with extended family whenever possible is best practice for all children(7), not just Native American.
We call on the media to provide balanced reporting and to ask vital questions regarding these facts before inflaming the public and subjecting the privacy and future well-being of a little girl to national debate.
References
1. “On August 30, 2011, the court found that the ICWA applies and the matter was transferred to a specialized department for the ICWA cases…” (Cited here , p. 9.)
2. “At some point after father’s reunification efforts failed, the [foster family] decided they wanted to adopt A. They discussed the issue with the Department social worker, who advised them that the tribe had selected the [relative family] as the planned adoptive placement.” (Citedhere , p. 7.)
3. “A’s ability to re-attach to a new caretaker is stronger because of the stability that the [foster family] has provided for her.” (Cited here , p. 6) and “Javier did not believe A would suffer any severe trauma because she sees the [relative family] as family and would not feel as if she is being sent to live with strangers.” (Cited here , p. 11.)
4. “The Department consistently reminded the [foster family] that A is an Indian child subject to the ICWA placement preferences.” (Cited here , p. 7.)
5. “The [foster family was] aware that A was an Indian child and her placement was subject to the ICWA.” (Cited here , p. 5.)
6. “The [relative family] first visited A shortly after the court terminated father’s reunification services. Since then, they video chat with A about twice a week and have had multiple in-person visits in Los Angeles. The [foster family] refer[s] to the [relative family] as family from Utah…The participants agreed on a transition plan that involved a relatively short transition, with both families meeting for breakfast or at a park, explaining to A that she is going to with the [relative family], who are family who love A very much and will take good care of her. The [foster family] would reassure A that they love her and will always be a part of her family.” (Cited here , p. 8.)
7. “The benefits of extended family placements are not limited to biological relatives, but extend to placements within a child’s larger community. Child welfare agencies consider “members of [a child’s] tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a kinship bond with the child” as potential resources for kinship care.” (Cited here, pp. 8-10.)
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50 Comments
If you believe that unifying a child with their extended family is of the utmost importance…YOU SHOULD NEVER ALLOW A CHILD TO STAY WITH A FOSTER FAMILY FOR YEARS!!!!! This child has bonded with her foster family!!! SHE KNOWS ONLY THESE PEOPLE AS HER FAMILY..SHE HAS NOW LOST ALL STABILITY AND SECURITY … Oh yeah….1. if it takes this long to try and unify her with her biological father…and have now come to the conclusion that is not an option …shouldn’t her family that you have now given custody to been willing to foster her? THIS SYSTEM SUCKS!
The family was supposed to give her back 3 years ago
The Foster family is the reason that this young girl is so traumatized. If they would have followed the rules a long time ago this little girl would not have been exposed to all this trauma. All they’re doing is thinking of themselves
Catherine Seide exactly!
Exactly! They were the ones that called the news too.
Lexi has been in contact with her biological family for years – where are people getting the idea that the Pages are the only family she has known. Foster care is temporary. If you truly love her – let her go.
Agency still should not have allowed the child to stay in their custody for that long..Not fair to a child that does not understand the situation.
She should have been placed with her family years ago..
Kelly Morrison they were trying to place her. But they refused to give her up and took it to court which made it be a long time. If they gave her back when she was 3 like they were supposed to she wouldn’t have had much memory and it wouldn’t have been as traumatic. They also purposely called the news. This stuff happens all the time and the media never touches it
Mackenzie Kimes…the system is broken..that is all I am saying…the child suffers the most in all of this..also..I am aware the family has been Fighting it..but let’s not pretend to know the whole situation..we do not walk in anyone’s shoes but our own….
Kelly Morrison I know that. But her family has always known her. This wouldn’t have been as traumatic if the news and protestors were there. I know Lexi is suffering but she’s not going off to strangers. I’m not pretending to know the whole situation, but there is two sides to the story and everyone is siding with the parents whom made this a big deal when it really shouldn’t have. Now that she is 6 she will always remember this. This is also traumatic for the other kids who they didn’t even tell until the car to get Lexi was there. So that made it traumatic for them too. I feel bad for Lexi cause I’m sure she loved them and they loved her, but her foster parents made this harder than it had to be. She wasn’t put up for adoption, she was supposed to be there temporary.
Not taking parents side at all..I am taking Lexis….a nd saying g this sux..that is all…system needs to be reformed..
No matter who’s fault this is the child is paying the price
Mackenzie Kimes I agree 100% People who are standing in support of the parents are taking their side. THEY should have had this little girl’s best interest at heart and complied, THEY decided to fight and pro long this, it seem more and more to me that this set of parents put this poor baby through this. Loving parents and people who care about children don’t do that.
Glad someone is speaking for the truth to be told!!! So many band wagoners not researching things.
Boycott all Indian casinos and then let’s see how long it takes for Lexi to be returned.
Hahaha! You are a funny guy at the expense of a child and a family. If it were not for the ICWA this father and the child’s biological family would have lost her. You are a man. How fair is that to any father?
Have you read the information that is out there? The mother was a total drug addict and the father went to jail for grand theft auto. Of course the courts were reluctant to give the girl back to her father. Of course, there were demands that needed to be met. This girl was living in a stable environment that was NOT provided by her birth parents. Would you give your kids to a drug addict or a criminal, blindly? The NICWA article paints a picture of father that was struggling to get his daughter back. He basically gave up when it got difficult.
She will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father. The girl’s sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children’s Law Center of California, Lexi’s court-appointed legal representatives.
“The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together,” Heimov told the Daily News.
“She has a loving relationship with them,” Heimov said. “They are not strangers in any way, shape or form.”
In a statement, the National Indian Child Welfare Association said the Pages were aware for years that the girl was an American Indian but chose to “drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child.”
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-03-21/native-american-girl-6-removed-from-california-foster-home
This article IS TOTALLY INACCURATE!!!! Lexi only knows the ” family ” from Utah through skyping online. There were NEVER any visits IN PERSON!!!! Social Services NEVER put a transition plan into place. She is only 1.5% Indian…… not even enough to qualify for a college scholarship. Her foster mother, the only mother she has known, DOES have some Indian blood in her. The STEP Aunt in Utah who now has custody, DOESN’T. Lexi also has a blood sibling here in L.A. county……..
You may want to read the appellate court ruling which contradicts your assertion that she never visited the family in person, that a transition plan was not in place (it was 3 years ago), and that the Pages always knew she was never available for adoption.
http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/archive/B252999.PDF
more of the story, from 2014: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/24/broken-choctaw-father-california-thwarted-custody-battle-foster-couple-156035
How do we know these fact are even accurate. It is a very unfortunate situation since the day the child ended in the “system.”
The system is broken. :(
Why didn’t that “extended” family take her in from the very beginning? They waited for the father’s rights to be terminated before even seeking any action to take the girl in. DCFS and NICWA really are not considering the best interests of this child. NICWA is very defensive in this statement and acts like this foster family is the enemy. All this family did was love a little girl so much that she became part of their family. Sometimes, the rights of the extended family need to be relinquished when a child has been raised in loving family. My heart glued out to this family and to that little girl. NICWA, I’m really disturbed by your response to this situation.
I feel the same way. Why didn’t they take her immediately?
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/24/broken-choctaw-father-california-thwarted-custody-battle-foster-couple-156035 here is more info and father’s rights haven’t been terminated
Because the system is broken and allowed the foster family to drag this out in court for years at the expense of the child and her biological family.
That article is so skewed. It makes the foster parents look terrible. They provided a home and family for this little girl because the father was in jail and couldn’t take care of her. Her mom abandoned her, too.
The victim is the little girl not the father. The enemies are not the foster parents. I understand that he wanted custody, but he needed to meet the demands of the court. He didn’t. This law basically uprooted this little girl who was in a strong, stable environment with loving parents. This article clearly victimizes the father, when the real victim is the little girl.
Janet Kokonian
The foster family created this ridiculous media circus milking the attention from the real issue. Their efforts to keep the child beyond the legal parameters set forth by the court is what traumatized the child unnecessarily. She was never “theirs” to begin with and to delay her return to her extended family was criminal. Don’t be deceived
SCVTV thank you for posting both sides.
This is BS! She was with a family that loves her and the only family she has ever known and they ripped that from her! So sad! This child will hopefully not have lasting effects.
wait…..court docs are here….everyone is reading them, right??
If you read enough of them, you’ll find that this is the second time the same foster family tried unsuccessfully to fight court orders and keep a child who was ultimately returned to his/her extended family. “Native American” is a red herring.
Yes…..sorry…was more directed to the comments on the page. Many do not have the right info. Thank you!
https://turtletalk.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/b252999.pdf
This is pure exploitation of this child for personal gain and should stop if any of you care about this child’s wellbeing. A foster parents role is very clear, temporary care until permanency is decided, this child will never, no matter how much money is raised or how much her name and family are drug through the mud, will be back in this foster family’s care, they probably won’t ever be permitted to foster again seeing as this isn’t the first time they’ve created a situation like this, this is absolutely selfish and only further hurts this already disadvantaged child. Have some decency. Her family has been fighting this foster family for years,she has had regular visitation with them for years and will now be living with one sister and not far from another, these are not strangers by any means, and if these foster parents had a decent bone in their body they would have never divulged this child’s identity or created this media circus. Family placement and reunification should and is always the goal, this family knew she was not adoptable from the beginning, fostering is hard, your asked to care for and love them as your own until they leave, not everyone can handle it obviously, but this exploitation of this child for their own personal gain has to be stopped for the child’s sake, for she is the only innocent victim here. The state screwed up but that’s to be expected, this foster family completely failed at their job too!! There should be an immediate gag order to stop this exploitation by this foster family for monetary gain and attention.
Indian Child Welfare Act: DEMOCRATIC LAW, introduced by SD Democrat James Abourezk April 1st, 1977, signed by DEMOCRATIC President Jimmy Carter November 8th 1978. WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR AGAIN?
Citation: Wikipedia & all of Google
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Child_Welfare_Act
Its time to ABOLISH this law!
I read Lexi is 1/64 Choctaw. Another article I read said she was 1.5 percent Choctaw. She is as much Choctaw as Pres. Obama is black (actually less).
Wonder if anyone ever asked Lexi what she thought or wants? My guess is, she wouldn’t pick the Non Indian Aunt related by marriage.
All American Indian Children have been protected since 1978 by the law, Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 to have the right to live within their culture and own unique extended family. As an Indian, I want to stress to all who do not understand: the only beings that are “papered” in our world are dogs and horses…….to be a “card carrying” Indian is two fold. 1. We are “allowed” to be who we are by the dominate society on our own land AND 2. We are the only group of persons who must prove who we are on Our Mother the Earth, like those of Jewish descent in Nazi Germany….
Laurie Smith
This is purely racist. If you try to tell anyone else where they must live or who they must live with based on their racial background and you’d be in lots of trouble.
A foster family takes in a troubled and needy child and this is what they get for it. I guess no good deed goes unpunished?
It is not based on race. By law, a foster family is paid (approx. $900 per month per child) to provide shelter and support for wards of the state until such time as the child can be placed with family members. Period. That is the law. That is the foster system. Court documents show that her extended family visited her regularly, contrary to what the foster parents might lead people to believe, and further, court documents show this is the second time the foster family has attempted to keep a foster child who was ultimately returned to his/her extended family.
You’re not disturbed by the negative media attention. You are gaining from it, and using a little girl to forward your politics. It is disgusting. You did not do right by this little girl. Every adult with compassion knows this is wrong. Just because it’s a law doesn’t make it right. Quit hiding behind the ‘law’ and realize you are dispicable human beings. Shame on you.
These foster parents are despicable!It is state and federal law that create priority for all kids to be raised by kin regardless of the Indian Child Welfare Act. Lexi could have be moved in 2012 with her FAMILY but the foster parents FOUGHT it and now they want me to sympathize with their situation? They chose to GAMBLE with Lexi’s life even though they KNEW the law was not on their side and they parade themselves in front of the press crying….I am disgusted by them. They should never be foster parents again!
I can certainly understand the foster parents’ anguish, but someone needs to put the needs of this child first. She is the pawn of a media circus and a very traumatizing situation. It didn’t need to be like this. I just hope Lexi isn’t returned to the local family while the appeals go on. That would just prolong the agony. Think of the child, people! She is the victim of all this drama.
Well that seems unlikely; it would require extradition from Utah. It’s starting to come out that the “only 1/64th Choctaw” PR campaign was orchestrated by attorneys who are seeking to dismantle ICWA. (The courts never considered ethnicity. It’s about nationality. The lawyers knew the public doesn’t understand tribal sovereignty.) If you remove “Indian” from the equation, what exactly happened? Following regular child welfare laws, the court told the foster (=temporary) family from the very beginning that it was going to place the child with her biological family, and then it did so. If the foster family is the “only family she’s ever known” — it isn’t, according to court documents, but if it were — it’s only because the foster family made the situation drag out for three extra years by appealing the decision every time they lost in court (3 times).