The effectiveness of an ICWA Court at achieving improved ICWA implementation and outcomes: A pre-post intervention study

Abstract

This article presents findings from a quasi-experimental study of the St. Louis County (Duluth, Minnesota) ICWA Court examining its effectiveness at achieving improved ICWA implementation and a better case process and outcomes for Indian families. Using a case file review method, cases prior to implementing the ICWA Court were compared to post-ICWA Court cases on demographics, case characteristics, application of ICWA requirements, presence of parties at hearings, achievement of child permanency outcomes, and permanency timeliness. Compared to pre-ICWA Court, this study found several statistically significant improvements in the ICWA Court's handling of cases, including taking less time to confirm the case as an ICWA case, greater appearance of tribal representatives by the Dispositional review hearing stage, more active efforts findings, more placements with relatives at earlier stages of the case, more placement with relative outcomes when reunifications were not possible, and timelier permanency.