Kenaitze Tribal Council Vice-Chairperson Bernadine Atchison and Gov. Bill Walker, fourth from left, sign the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact during a ceremony Thursday at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie Davidson and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott celebrate the moment. The government-to-government agreement will make it possible for participating tribes and tribal organizations to provide child welfare services that would otherwise be provided by the Alaska Office of Children&

Kenaitze Tribal Council Vice-Chairperson Bernadine Atchison and Gov. Bill Walker, fourth from left, sign the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact during a ceremony Thursday at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Valerie Davidson and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott celebrate the moment. The government-to-government agreement will make it possible for participating tribes and tribal organizations to provide child welfare services that would otherwise be provided by the Alaska Office of Children&

Kenaitze to take services for Native children from state

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe signed a government-to-government agreement to take over child welfare activities from the state on Thursday at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage.

The Kenaitze were among the 18 Alaska tribes to sign the agreement — called the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact — which will give the tribe duties formerly carried out by the Alaska Office of Children’s Services (OCS) including adoption, foster care licensing, and abuse and neglect investigations.

“It really opens the door to the tribes to be acknowledged as sovereign governments,” said Kenaitze Tribal Court Judge Kim Sweet, who was one of the three negotiators on behalf of the tribes. “The compact recognizes the fact that our children are our greatest resource — that’s how tribes continue on into the future. And that Alaska Native culture keeps Alaska Native children safe. Being able to afford that to our children, now, it’s been a long time coming for sure.”

While about 19 percent of Alaskan children are Native or American Indian, those groups make up about 55 percent of children in foster care, according to a press release from the office of Alaska Governor Bill Walker, also a signer. Of Native foster children, 61 percent are placed in non-Native homes, Walker’s release states.

When the national congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978 — giving tribal governments jurisdiction over child custody cases in their areas — 93 percent of adopted Native children were in non-Native families, according to statistics cited in the compact. Between 1973 and 1976, the rate of adoption for Native children was five times higher than for non-Natives, with one of every 29.6 Native children adopted.

For 23 years, Sweet said, the disproportionality has been discussed by the Tribal State Collaboration Group, on which she’s represented the Kenaitze Tribe for the past five years. OCS’s parent agency, the Department of Health and Social Services, had considered turning over services to tribes in its April 2016 five-year plan for improving treatment of Native children. They reached out to the Alaska Federation of Natives and began negotiating the agreement this April, according to an email from according to an email from OCS Director Christy Lawton.

“Alaska recognizes that a cultural and racial barrier exists within the delivery of services to minority populations in Alaska,” states the Department of Health and Services’ Child and Family Services 2017 Review. “OCS workers often have difficulty engaging with Alaska Native families because of fear and mistrust by the families and lack of cultural competency of OCS workers. As a result, families are often unwilling to open their door, or to engage in services.”

The staffing shortages that have plagued OCS also encouraged collaboration with tribes. The agency has a 34 percent turnover and vacancy rate, with most new employees lasting 18 months, the review states. The review notes that “state and federal requirements placed on Alaska’s child protection workers at both the state and federal level are nearly impossible to successfully meet in every case” and that OCS workers are “challenged with the increasing threats of violence to their personal safety through this work.”

Tribes and groups working with them have gradually been taking a greater role in providing services to Native children. The 2017 review states that “in response to high caseloads and as part of ongoing Tribal collaboration efforts,” Office of Children’s Services began including visits by tribal workers in its count of caseworker visits in May 2016.

The Kenaitze Tribe presently has a family services department that partners with OCS under the Indian Child Welfare Act and is able to bring child custody, guardianship, and adoption cases to the tribal court. The tribe has been taking children into custody since the formal creation of the Kenaitze Tribal Court in 1986 — prompted in part by the suicide of a Kenaitze member while in state custody, Sweet said. The new compact goes beyond the present partnership, particularly by allowing tribal officials to review reports of child mistreatment that OCS has received but decided to “screen out” and not investigate. Having this ability will let the tribe offer services to a family before a problem is severe enough to become a custody case.

“If you get these screened out reports, a lot of times there’ll be numerous reports that get on the state’s radar, but there’s not enough to get out and do child protection proceedings until it gets really bad and the state has to act,” Sweet said. “So if we can get them from those initial reports that aren’t always screened in, then we can start offering services and put some supports around the family.”

Kenaitze’s Family Services department is presently funded entirely by the tribe. The compact will provide an addition fund source: the state will pay for services delivered on behalf of the Office of Childrens’ Services.

For some Native children already in foster care and OCS custody, Tribal caseworkers may replace the state’s in some services like searching for relatives and providing family visits, Lawton wrote. These services would fall to the tribes in January 2018.

Details remain to be negotiated before the compact becomes effective on Dec. 15. These include the specific services tribes will be taking over, how the tribes will define their service populations, and how the state will pay them for the services. Sweet will continue representing the Kenaitze tribe in these negotiations.

Reach Ben Boettger at ben.boettger@peninsulaclarion.com

More in News

Students of Sterling Elementary School carry a sign in support of their school during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
District adopts budget with severe cuts, school closures

The preliminary budget assumes a $680 increase in per-student funding from the state.

A vote board shows a veto override attempt Tuesday by the Alaska Legislature on a $1,000 increase to per-student education funding falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority with a 33-27 vote. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Senate adds $700 BSA hike to school phone policy bill a day after veto override on $1,000 increase fails

Lawmakers say quick floor vote by Senate, concurrence by House may set up another override session.

The Soldotna Public Library is seen on a snowy Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna library advisory board hears update on federal funding cuts

The federal government’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services could cause the reduction or elimination of some statewide library services as soon as July 1.

Protestors stand with an American flag and a sign that reads “DEFUND HATE” on Saturday, April 19 at WKFL Park during the “Sustained Resistence, Makes a Difference” Rally. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
More than 600 gather in Homer for ‘Sustained Resistance, Makes a Difference’ rally

It was at least the third time this year the Homer community gathered to protest the Trump administration.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Legislature upholds governor’s veto of increased school funding

The governor last week said he vetoed House Bill 69 because it didn’t include any policy changes and because of the state’s “deteriorated” revenue outlook.

Kenai Central High School’s Kyle Foster speaks during the 35th Annual Caring for the Kenai Oral Presentations at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward freshman wins 35th Caring for the Kenai with thermal asphalt proposal

Twelve finalists were chosen in this year’s competition.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy’s veto of education funding bill puts pressure on lawmakers during final month of session

Governor also previews new bill with $560 BSA increase, plus additional funds for policy initiatives.

Brent Johnson speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly kills resolution asking for option to cap property assessment increases

Alaska municipalities are required by state statute to assess all properties at their full and true value.

City of Kenai Public Works Director Scott Curtain; City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel; Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche; Sen. Lisa Murkowski; Col. Jeffrey Palazzini; Elaina Spraker; Adam Trombley; and Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank cut the ribbon to celebrate the start of work on the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, June 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai bluff stabilization info meeting rescheduled for April 30

Originally, the event was scheduled for the same time as the Caring for the Kenai final presentations.

Most Read