1. FOSTER CARE

2. Who are the children?  The Child and Family Services Division (CFSD) of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services place children ranging from infants to teenagers into foster care.  “On June 30, 2010, 1,638 Montana children were in foster care because they had been abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents or other caretakers” (DPHHS)  https://wayback.archive- it.org/499/20140928184608/http://www.dphhs.mt.g ov/cfsd/adoption/video/DigitalStoriesJeff.wmv https://wayback.archive- it.org/499/20140928184608/http://www.dphhs.mt.g ov/cfsd/adoption/video/DigitalStoriesJeff.wmv

3. Nationwide  In 2011 more than 400,000 youth were in foster care.  7,000 more youth entered the system than exited.  60% were children of color  10% of young adults who age out of foster care lack a permanent family and have a one in 11 chance of becoming homeless  Less than half of U.S. foster youth who age out of foster care graduate from high school.  -Huffington Press, 2011

4. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)  A response to the destructive practices in public and private child welfare systems that broke apart these bonds in many tribal families’ lives.  Tribe exercise sovereignty  Tribes had no words in their language for “orphans” because children in need were the responsibility of everyone in the tribe.