25 U.s.c. 1918

Page 391

TITLE 25—INDIANS

§ 1918

§ 1915. Placement of Indian children

§ 1916. Return of custody

(a) Adoptive placements; preferences
In any adoptive placement of an Indian child
under State law, a preference shall be given, in
the absence of good cause to the contrary, to a
placement with (1) a member of the child’s extended family; (2) other members of the Indian
child’s tribe; or (3) other Indian families.
(b) Foster care or preadoptive placements; criteria; preferences
Any child accepted for foster care or
preadoptive placement shall be placed in the
least restrictive setting which most approximates a family and in which his special needs, if
any, may be met. The child shall also be placed
within reasonable proximity to his or her home,
taking into account any special needs of the
child. In any foster care or preadoptive placement, a preference shall be given, in the absence
of good cause to the contrary, to a placement
with—
(i) a member of the Indian child’s extended
family;
(ii) a foster home licensed, approved, or specified by the Indian child’s tribe;
(iii) an Indian foster home licensed or approved by an authorized non-Indian licensing
authority; or
(iv) an institution for children approved by
an Indian tribe or operated by an Indian organization which has a program suitable to meet
the Indian child’s needs.
(c) Tribal resolution for different order of preference; personal preference considered; anonymity in application of preferences
In the case of a placement under subsection (a)
or (b) of this section, if the Indian child’s tribe
shall establish a different order of preference by
resolution, the agency or court effecting the
placement shall follow such order so long as the
placement is the least restrictive setting appropriate to the particular needs of the child, as
provided in subsection (b) of this section. Where
appropriate, the preference of the Indian child
or parent shall be considered: Provided, That
where a consenting parent evidences a desire for
anonymity, the court or agency shall give
weight to such desire in applying the preferences.
(d) Social and cultural standards applicable
The standards to be applied in meeting the
preference requirements of this section shall be
the prevailing social and cultural standards of
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.

(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, § 105, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat.
3073.)

(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
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), 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;

§ 1919

TITLE 25—INDIANS

(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), 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), 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.)
Editorial Notes
REFERENCES IN TEXT
Act of August 15, 1953, referred to in subsec. (a), is act
Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 505, 67 Stat. 588, 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 section 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.

Page 392

(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 damage 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.)