| The National Indian
Child Welfare Association (NICWA) was established
to serve as a central point of information for
Indian child welfare workers in both reservation
and urban-based Indian child welfare (ICW) programs,
to advocate on Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
(ICWA) policy, and to provide assistance on ICWA
issues.
NICWA’s constituents are geographically
dispersed and often remote. NICWA has served its
members’ needs by phone, gathering information,
and identifying and disseminating documents. In
order to bring all of its constituent’s
timely and consistent responses to its many requests,
NICWA decided to create an online repository of
information. The solution took shape in the form
of the National Indian Child Welfare Network,
dubbed NICWANet. NICWANet was envisioned as a
series of nine interactive web projects including
a web-based case management system and an online
needs assessment, as well as a searchable database
of child welfare resources. NICWANet, by serving
as a central information location, also helps
provide data that assist with policy making and
lobbying efforts.
The goals of NICWANet include: improving child
welfare practice by increasing access to information;
improving child welfare services through case
management coordination; increasing access to
research and policy; improving outcomes for Indian
children through increased access to tribal programs
and treatment; as well as linking to foster care
and adoptive services.
The fully-implemented NICWANet is designed to
have nine components to meet the project goals:
- An online library - will
be digitalized and have an electronic ordering
section. The library will include research reports
and statistics, newsletters and journals, and
links to additional materials.
- Online assistance - will
include frequently asked questions, ICWA Checklists,
and an e-mail address for contacting NICWA staff.
- A searchable resources database
- will include tribal and urban ICWA services,
contacts, specialists, and forms.
- Online registration for training
- will allow users to register for NICWA trainings
and conferences and allow data to be input related
to ICWA certification, CEUs, and college credit.
- A Listserv that will serve
two purposes: 1) as a dissemination method for
ICWA policy updates, legislation status, court
decisions, and other information and 2) a forum
for general discussion.
- The Training needs assessment
will serve as an online assessment tool, to
match up the needs of the requesting tribe with
a customized training program.
- Online ICWA training - will
include contracted trainers around the country.
It will provide training on culturally appropriate
social work practices, and provide certification
on Indian child welfare.
- A nationwide Case Management System
that will use pre-existing templates from 1Care
Place (an application service provider)
to customize software for tribes. The idea is
to have a centralized database for various Tribes
and ICWA workers, with a login and password
for authentication. This will be an alternative
way for to track cases across multiple locations
and jurisdictions.
- Linking Families Project
- will list adoption and foster care agencies,
adoption-related legal agencies, and potentially,
a mentoring program. It will be part of a database
which will contain information on families looking
to adopt, and children that are available for
adoption. It will help families understand the
process requirements to adopt a child, and provide
advice on how to overcome common hurdles. It
will also attempt to create a mentoring process
to help them become foster parents.
The project is currently in the development stages.
The project is expected to be a “value added”
service of NICWA membership, and may ultimately
be available to non-members for a nominal fee.
The NICWANet project is more than just a prototype
for similar projects. It is being built into the
structure of NICWA, to become part of the everyday
work that people perform.
For more information on NICWANet, please contact
Michael A. Dashner at NICWA, mike@nicwa.org.
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