Rocha Beardall and Edwards Document Stark State Variation in Indian Child Welfare Preferred Placements
Posted: 2026-09-02 12:40:55 ()
CSDE Affiliate Theresa Rocha Beardall (Sociology) and her co-author Frank Edwards (Rutgers) recently published a research article in Children and Youth Services Review titled, “Promises unfulfilled? National patterns in ICWA-preferred kinship placements, 2018–2023.” The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was enacted in 1978 to safeguard the rights of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children, families, and nations in child welfare proceedings. ICWA directs that when removal is necessary, AIAN children should be placed with kin, Native foster homes, or tribally approved institutions. Yet more than four decades after its passage, evidence on state-level compliance remains limited. Using data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) for 2018–2023, Dr. Rocha Beardall and Dr. Edwards constructed a proxy for ICWA compliance by identifying placements with relatives or with foster caretakers classified as AIAN. They then estimated the likelihood of ICWA-preferred placements for AIAN children nationally and by state, and compared the results to kin placement patterns across racial and ethnic groups. Their findings reveal substantial geographic variation. For AIAN infants entering foster care, the expected probability of an ICWA-preferred placement ranges from approximately 5 percent in Delaware to 69 percent in Arizona, with 35 states falling below 50 percent. The study provides a national, state-comparative picture of how closely foster care placement patterns align with ICWA’s statutory priorities. To read the full study, visit this link.