UKB ICW recognizes Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month

This plaque was dedicated to the new UKB ICW building to state the services which it provides.

The department continues to shed light on the month of April and works diligently with Keetoowah families and children.

By: LANI HANSEN, Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla- The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the UKB Indian Child Welfare recognizes the month of April as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month.

As former UKB ICW Director, Roxana Wilden brought up the resolution to Council it was mainly to remind everyone that they are here and do have an Indian Child Welfare Department that is looking out for our children. The legislation to support the cause was passed by UKB Tribal Council in April 2021, allowing the department to hold its first Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Day.

Four years later, UKB ICW has continued to work with Keetoowah children and their families in cases involving abuse, neglect and adoption. The department voices support for the National Indian Child Welfare Act.

The ICWA is a federal law enacted in 1978 that works to protect tribal children in custody cases from being separated from their families and tribal communities and placed into non-Native homes. It also sets minimum federal standards for child custody cases involving Native children prioritizing their best interests and strengthening family and tribal stability.

According to the reports on Indian Health Services, there are 772,000 children who were victims of child abuse and neglect, a rate of 13.9 per 1000 for Native American/Alaska Native children setting the second highest rate of victimization.

“We only have four active cases right now, one of them was related to neglect but it wasn’t bad,” UKB ICW Case Worker Nina Scott said.

The UKB ICW serves the 14 counties and nationwide as their social workers advocate for the children. The main mission of UKB ICW is keeping the children safe whether it is reuniting them with family or finding a healthy Keetoowah foster home and adoptive homes.

The department houses three staff members ICW Clerk Bethany Vance, ICW Case Worker Nina Scott and Ahnee Christie-Vangen who oversees ACES.