What is the Indian Child Welfare Act: ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) is a federal law passed in 1978 to protect the best interests of Indian children and promote the stability of Indian tribes and families. It sets specific requirements for child welfare cases involving an Indian child—such as timely notice to the child’s tribe, the tribe’s right to participate in court, higher legal standards for certain removals, and preferences for placement with family, tribal members, or other Indian families when a child cannot safely remain at home.
A message from the Robeson County Department of Social Services (DSS) Child Welfare Director
At Robeson County DSS, our mission is to keep children safe, strengthen families, and support permanency and well-being. We also recognize that when Native children and families are involved in the child welfare system, there are additional legal requirements and, just as importantly, additional opportunities to partner in ways that honor family, culture, and community. From a county perspective, we are committed to building strong, consistent practices that support compliance and collaboration—especially as we work alongside the Tribe and the courts to improve outcomes for children.
What we are doing now
- Strengthening identification and documentation: We are reinforcing early and ongoing inquiry about whether a child is Native/eligible for tribal membership so we can take appropriate steps as soon as possible and document our efforts clearly.
- Improving coordination and timely communication: We are standardizing how our staff share case information and collaborate with partners so that notice, family finding, and planning happen early—before critical decisions are made.
- Building staff capacity: We are prioritizing training and coaching for social workers, supervisors, and legal partners on best practices for Native child welfare cases, including culturally responsive engagement and courtroom preparation.
- Reviewing policies and practice tools: We are updating internal guidance (checklists, templates, supervisory reviews) to promote consistent practice across units and reduce delays.
- Focusing on family-centered placement and services: We are strengthening our approach to kinship engagement and culturally appropriate services to support children remaining connected to family and community whenever safely possible.
We know that strong outcomes are driven by relationships. Robeson County DSS is working to strengthen communication and trust with the Tribe’s child welfare leadership and staff by engaging early, sharing information consistently, and inviting feedback on how our county processes can better support children and families. Our goal is not only to meet requirements, but to build a dependable partnership that reflects shared responsibility for child safety, family well-being and cultural connection.
One of the most practical ways we are working to improve coordination is through our county Court Collaborative, where partners meet to address system barriers, align expectations, and improve how cases move toward positive outcomes. From the county’s perspective, it is essential that the Tribe have a consistent voice at that table and that is why we extended a formal request to the Lumbee Tribe to become a standing member of the Court Collaborative so that we can enhance our regular communication and ensure that court practice decisions reflect Tribal input from the beginning—not after key decisions have already occurred.
In addition to these system-level improvements, Robeson County and the Lumbee Tribe are working together on several ongoing efforts to strengthen safety, stability, and cultural connection for children and families. Together, we are focused on increasing the number of placements relatives and expanding the pool of licensed Lumbee foster homes; advocating for increasing available housing resources, including beginning conversations about supportive housing options; and deepening our shared understanding of the reasons children are most likely to enter care so we can build out more effective preventive services. We are also tightening practice to ensure all required notifications are transmitted by certified letter, identifying and addressing any unmet heritage needs for children, and looking for practical opportunities to encourage more Indigenous community members to become foster parents and/or serve as Guardian ad Litem (GAL) volunteers. Finally, we are working to ensure that existing community supports—such as Boys & Girls Club programming and scholarship opportunities—are prioritized for children in care whenever eligible.
We are committed to continuous improvement—listening, learning, and adjusting our practice so that Native children and families experience a system that is respectful, timely, and responsive. We appreciate the work that is currently happening in our county and look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Tribe through ongoing communication and shared problem-solving.
Tina Barnes-Dawson is the Child Welfare Director of Robeson County Department of Social Services
