25 Usc 1918

§ 1916

TITLE 25—INDIANS

the Indian community in which the parent or
extended family resides or with which the parent or extended family members maintain social
and cultural ties.
(e) Record of placement; availability
A record of each such placement, under State
law, of an Indian child shall be maintained by
the State in which the placement was made, evidencing the efforts to comply with the order of
preference specified in this section. Such record
shall be made available at any time upon the request of the Secretary or the Indian child’s
tribe.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 105, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3073.)
§ 1916. Return of custody
(a) Petition; best interests of child
Notwithstanding State law to the contrary,
whenever a final decree of adoption of an Indian
child has been vacated or set aside or the adoptive parents voluntarily consent to the termination of their parental rights to the child, a biological parent or prior Indian custodian may
petition for return of custody and the court
shall grant such petition unless there is a showing, in a proceeding subject to the provisions of
section 1912 of this title, that such return of custody is not in the best interests of the child.
(b) Removal from foster care home; placement
procedure
Whenever an Indian child is removed from a
foster care home or institution for the purpose
of further foster care, preadoptive, or adoptive
placement, such placement shall be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, except
in the case where an Indian child is being returned to the parent or Indian custodian from
whose custody the child was originally removed.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 106, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3073.)
§ 1917. Tribal affiliation information and other
information for protection of rights from
tribal relationship; application of subject of
adoptive placement; disclosure by court
Upon application by an Indian individual who
has reached the age of eighteen and who was the
subject of an adoptive placement, the court
which entered the final decree shall inform such
individual of the tribal affiliation, if any, of the
individual’s biological parents and provide such
other information as may be necessary to protect any rights flowing from the individual’s
tribal relationship.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 107, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3073.)
§ 1918. Reassumption of jurisdiction over child
custody proceedings
(a) Petition; suitable plan; approval by Secretary
Any Indian tribe which became subject to
State jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of
the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 588), as
amended by title IV of the Act of April 11, 1968
(82 Stat. 73, 78), or pursuant to any other Federal law, may reassume jurisdiction over child

Page 592

custody proceedings. Before any Indian tribe
may reassume jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings, such tribe shall present to the
Secretary for approval a petition to reassume
such jurisdiction which includes a suitable plan
to exercise such jurisdiction.
(b) Criteria applicable to consideration by Secretary; partial retrocession
(1) In considering the petition and feasibility
of the plan of a tribe under subsection (a) of this
section, the Secretary may consider, among
other things:
(i) whether or not the tribe maintains a
membership roll or alternative provision for
clearly identifying the persons who will be affected by the reassumption of jurisdiction by
the tribe;
(ii) the size of the reservation or former reservation area which will be affected by retrocession and reassumption of jurisdiction by
the tribe;
(iii) the population base of the tribe, or distribution of the population in homogeneous
communities or geographic areas; and
(iv) the feasibility of the plan in cases of
multitribal occupation of a single reservation
or geographic area.
(2) In those cases where the Secretary determines that the jurisdictional provisions of section 1911(a) of this title are not feasible, he is
authorized to accept partial retrocession which
will enable tribes to exercise referral jurisdiction as provided in section 1911(b) of this title,
or, where appropriate, will allow them to exercise exclusive jurisdiction as provided in section
1911(a) of this title over limited community or
geographic areas without regard for the reservation status of the area affected.
(c) Approval of petition; publication in Federal
Register; notice; reassumption period; correction of causes for disapproval
If the Secretary approves any petition under
subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary
shall publish notice of such approval in the Federal Register and shall notify the affected State
or States of such approval. The Indian tribe concerned shall reassume jurisdiction sixty days
after publication in the Federal Register of notice of approval. If the Secretary disapproves
any petition under subsection (a) of this section,
the Secretary shall provide such technical assistance as may be necessary to enable the tribe
to correct any deficiency which the Secretary
identified as a cause for disapproval.
(d) Pending actions or proceedings unaffected
Assumption of jurisdiction under this section
shall not affect any action or proceeding over
which a court has already assumed jurisdiction,
except as may be provided pursuant to any
agreement under section 1919 of this title.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 108, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3074.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Act of August 15, 1953, referred to in subsec. (a), is act
Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 505, 67 Stat. 588, as amended, which enacted section 1162 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, section 1360 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial
Procedure, and provisions set out as notes under sec-

Page 593

TITLE 25—INDIANS

tion 1360 of Title 28. For complete classification of this
Act to the Code, see Tables.

§ 1919. Agreements between States and Indian
tribes
(a) Subject coverage
States and Indian tribes are authorized to
enter into agreements with each other respecting care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over child custody proceedings, including agreements which may provide for orderly transfer of jurisdiction on a case-by-case
basis and agreements which provide for concurrent jurisdiction between States and Indian
tribes.
(b) Revocation; notice; actions or proceedings
unaffected
Such agreements may be revoked by either
party upon one hundred and eighty days’ written notice to the other party. Such revocation
shall not affect any action or proceeding over
which a court has already assumed jurisdiction,
unless the agreement provides otherwise.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 109, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3074.)
§ 1920. Improper removal of child from custody;
declination of jurisdiction; forthwith return
of child: danger exception
Where any petitioner in an Indian child custody proceeding before a State court has improperly removed the child from custody of the
parent or Indian custodian or has improperly retained custody after a visit or other temporary
relinquishment of custody, the court shall decline jurisdiction over such petition and shall
forthwith return the child to his parent or Indian custodian unless returning the child to his
parent or custodian would subject the child to a
substantial and immediate danger or threat of
such danger.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 110, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3075.)
§ 1921. Higher State or Federal standard applicable to protect rights of parent or Indian custodian of Indian child
In any case where State or Federal law applicable to a child custody proceeding under State
or Federal law provides a higher standard of protection to the rights of the parent or Indian custodian of an Indian child than the rights provided under this subchapter, the State or Federal court shall apply the State or Federal
standard.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 111, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3075.)
§ 1922. Emergency removal or placement of child;
termination; appropriate action
Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed
to prevent the emergency removal of an Indian
child who is a resident of or is domiciled on a
reservation, but temporarily located off the reservation, from his parent or Indian custodian or
the emergency placement of such child in a foster home or institution, under applicable State
law, in order to prevent imminent physical dam-

§ 1931

age or harm to the child. The State authority,
official, or agency involved shall insure that the
emergency removal or placement terminates
immediately when such removal or placement is
no longer necessary to prevent imminent physical damage or harm to the child and shall expeditiously initiate a child custody proceeding
subject to the provisions of this subchapter,
transfer the child to the jurisdiction of the appropriate Indian tribe, or restore the child to
the parent or Indian custodian, as may be appropriate.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 112, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3075.)
§ 1923. Effective date
None of the provisions of this subchapter, except sections 1911(a), 1918, and 1919 of this title,
shall affect a proceeding under State law for foster care placement, termination of parental
rights, preadoptive placement, or adoptive
placement which was initiated or completed
prior to one hundred and eighty days after November 8, 1978, but shall apply to any subsequent
proceeding in the same matter or subsequent
proceedings affecting the custody or placement
of the same child.
(Pub. L. 95–608, title I, § 113, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3075.)
SUBCHAPTER II—INDIAN CHILD AND
FAMILY PROGRAMS
§ 1931. Grants for on or near reservation programs and child welfare codes
(a) Statement of purpose; scope of programs
The Secretary is authorized to make grants to
Indian tribes and organizations in the establishment and operation of Indian child and family
service programs on or near reservations and in
the preparation and implementation of child
welfare codes. The objective of every Indian
child and family service program shall be to prevent the breakup of Indian families and, in particular, to insure that the permanent removal of
an Indian child from the custody of his parent or
Indian custodian shall be a last resort. Such
child and family service programs may include,
but are not limited to—
(1) a system for licensing or otherwise regulating Indian foster and adoptive homes;
(2) the operation and maintenance of facilities for the counseling and treatment of Indian families and for the temporary custody of
Indian children;
(3) family assistance, including homemaker
and home counselors, day care, afterschool
care, and employment, recreational activities,
and respite care;
(4) home improvement programs;
(5) the employment of professional and other
trained personnel to assist the tribal court in
the disposition of domestic relations and child
welfare matters;
(6) education and training of Indians, including tribal court judges and staff, in skills relating to child and family assistance and service programs;
(7) a subsidy program under which Indian
adoptive children may be provided support