Indian Child Welfare

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Key Terms

Child Custody Proceedings
Shall mean and include any court action involving an Indian child that results in a foster care placement, termination of parental rights, pre-adoptive placement or adoptive placement.

Foster Care Placement 
Shall mean any action removing an Indian child from its parent or Indian custodian for temporary placement in a foster home or institution or the home of a guardian or conservator when the parent or Indian custodian cannot have the child returned upon demand, but where parental right have not been terminated.

Termination of Parental Rights
Shall mean any action resulting in the termination of the parent-child relationship.

Pre-Adoptive Placement
Shall mean the temporary placement of an Indian child in a foster home or institution after the termination of parental rights, but prior to or in lieu of adoptive placement.

Adoptive Placement
Shall mean the permanent placement of an Indian child for adoption, including any action resulting in a final decree of adoption.

Indian Child
Means any unmarried person who is under the age of eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership is an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe.

Indian Child's Tribe 
Means (a) the Indian tribe in which an Indian child is a member or eligible for membership or (b) in the case of an Indian child who is eligible for membership in more than one tribe, the Indian tribe with which the Indian child has the more significant contacts.

Extended Family Member
Shall be as defined by the law or custom of the Indian child's tribe or, in absence of such law or custom, shall be a person who has reached the age of eighteen and who is the Indian child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, or stepparent.