6-2.01 Foster Care and Pre-Adoptive Care.
(a) Each Spokane Indian child and Indian child accepted for foster care or pre-adoptive placement
shall be placed in the least restrictive alternative setting.
(b) In placement, a preference shall be given to:
(1) a member of the Indian child's extended family;
(2) a foster home licensed, approved or specified by the Indian child's Tribe;
(3) an Indian foster home licensed or approved by authorized non-Indian licensing authority; or
(4) an institution for children approved by the Spokane Indian Tribe or operated by an Indian
organization which has a program suitable to meet the Indian child's needs.
Section 6-3 Youth in Need of Care
6-3.01 Youth in Need of Care – Definitions. A youth in need of care means a child who has been found to
be in 1 or more of the following situations:
(a) “Abused Child” means a child that has been injured, sexually abused, sexually exploited,
neglected or maltreated by any person under circumstances which indicate that the child's
health, welfare, and safety is harmed thereby; provided, that this subsection shall not be
construed to authorize the interference with child-raising practices, including reasonable parental
discipline, which are not proved to be injurious to the child's health, welfare, and safety.
(b) “Neglected Child” means a child whose parent or custodian fails to provide such food, clothing,
shelter, medical attention, hygiene, education, or supervision as a child needs for normal
development, and such failure is likely to result in serious harm to the child.
(1) A neglected child includes an unborn child whose mother does not adequately protect
its safety, health and well-being from date of conception to birth.
(c) “Delinquent Child” means a child who has been found, in a Tribal Court or other appropriate
proceeding, to have committed delinquent acts, and whose parent or custodian is unable or
unwilling to control such behavior.
(d) “Dependent Child” means a child who has no parent or custodian available, willing or capable of
adequately caring for the child such that the child is in circumstances which constitute a danger
of substantial damage to the child's psychological or physical development.
6-3.02 Action on Reporting. Within 24 hours after the receipt of any report or information regarding a
Spokane Indian child and an Indian child who may be a youth in need of care, it shall be the duty of the
Spokane Reservation social worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the report, including the
home environment of the child, any physical or emotional injuries suffered by the child, and all other matters
which, in the view of the Reservation social worker, shall be relevant to the investigation.
(a) If the Spokane Reservation social worker is unavailable, the information or report is to be
referred, within the aforementioned time frame, to the Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs Police,
or the Indian Child Welfare Advisory Committee Chairperson.
(b) If from the investigation, it shall appear that there is probable cause to believe that the Spokane
Indian child and/or Indian child is a youth in need of care, the person receiving the information
shall file a petition with the Tribal Youth Court.
(c) If, from the investigation, it appears that the Spokane Indian child and/or Indian child is in need
of emergency protective care the person receiving the information shall take appropriate steps
to provide emergency protective services as provided in Section 6-3.04.
6-3.03 Responsibility and Confidentiality of Reporting.
(a) Any individual who knows or suspects that a child is an Indian youth in need of care, should
report the case to the Reservation social worker, Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs Police, the
Indian Child Welfare Advisory Committee Chairperson, or the Youth Court.
(b) When any professional school personnel, registered or licensed nurse, social worker,
psychologist, pharmacist, medical professional, day care worker, Head Start worker, law
enforcement officer, child care agency worker, Tribal advocate, or mental health personnel, has
reasonable cause to believe that a child is a youth in need of care, that person shall report such
incident, or cause a report to be made.
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Revised Spokane Law & Order Code, 5/14/2013