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BILL SPONSOR
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Heidi Heitkamp
Democratic - ND
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TRACK BILL
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Bill Progress
BILL INTRODUCED 10/30/2013
SENATE PASSED
HOUSE PASSED
PRESIDENT TO PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT SIGNS
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S.1622 : A bill to establish the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children, and for other purposes.
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Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act - Establishes the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children in the Office of Tribal Justice of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Requires the President and Members of Congress serving in specified leadership positions to appoint to the Commission individuals who have significant experience and expertise in Indian affairs and the matters to be studied by the Commission.
Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of federal, state, local, and tribal programs that serve Native children, including an evaluation of:
the impact of concurrent jurisdiction on child welfare systems;
barriers Indian tribes and Native Hawaiians face in applying, reporting on, and using existing public and private grant resources;
obstacles to nongovernmental financial support for programs benefitting Native children;
issues relating to the validity and statistical significance of data on Native children;
barriers to the development of sustainable, multidisciplinary programs designed to assist high-risk Native children and their families, as well as any examples of successful program models and use of best practices; and
barriers to interagency coordination on programs benefitting Native children.
Directs the Commission to use the results of the study and analyses of existing federal data relating to Native children to:
develop plans and goals for federal policy relating to Native children in the short-, mid-, and long-term, which shall be informed by the development of accurate child well-being measures;
recommend modifications and improvements to programs that serve Native children at the federal, state, and tribal level that would integrate the cultural strengths of Native communities and improve those programs;
recommend improvements to the collection of data regarding Native children and the programs that serve them; and
identify models of successful federal, state, and tribal programs in the areas studied by the Commission.
Requires the Commission to submit a report to the President, Congress, and the White House Council on Native American Affairs on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for appropriate legislative and administrative action.