Native American children

Bill to protect Native American children passes Legislature unanimously, heads to Governor

By Miriam Raftery

September 19, 2025 (Sacramento, CA) – After passing both the Assembly and State Senate unanimously (with one abstention), a bill aimed at preventing placement of Native American children in foster care away from their tribes and providing supportive services is now awaiting action by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Assembly Bill 1378 would amend state law to let tribes and tribal organizations partner with the California Department of Social Services to provide services to help keep Native American children safely at home and out of foster care.

According to the bill’s author, Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rose),  Native American children in California are placed in foster care at about four times the rate of other children.


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ATTORNEY GENERAL BECERRA LEADS BIPARTISAN COALITION OF 21 ATTORNEYS GENERAL IN BRIEF DEFENDING LAW THAT PROTECTS NATIVE AMERICAN CHILDREN

 

 

East County News Service

January 17, 2019 (Sacramento) - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a bipartisan coalition of 21 states in filing an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this week to defend the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in Brakeen v. Zinke. ICWA is a 40-year-old federal law that strives to further the  best interests of Native American children and protects the sovereignty of Indian tribes by preserving children’s connections to their tribal heritage.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.