{"report_id":308,"form_id":"22","user_id":81,"organization_id":13,"question_id":"319","question_type":"Free_Text","text_answer":"MIFPA notices not being sent after the subject child's father identified a possibility of Native American Heritage was influenced by the perception that there was no tribal affiliation or heritage due to the subject child's father not being able to provide information about a specific tribe. Agency practice supported notices not being sent when a family member states a possibility of Native American Heritage and is unable to provide information regarding a specific tribe. Further influencing the perception that there was no tribal affiliation or heritage was the fact that the father had previously denied Native American Heritage during prior involvement with the agency, which also supported staff identifying follow up with the father regarding possible Native American Heritage being lesser of a priority.\r\n\r\nIn addition, confusion exists about what notices need to be sent, as well as when and by whom, which contributes to inconsistent practice among workers and as a result, influences MIFPA notices not being sent. State and local guidance was unclear and supported inconsistent practice among workers as it was not as clear on steps that needed to take place to ensure policy\/statute was followed. State and local guidance is shaped by ICWA and MIFPA requirements that notices be sent to the BIA by a social services agency if a tribe is unknown. Furthermore, these ICWA and MIFPA requirements, coupled with changes to the AFCARS requirements, influenced the development of tabs in SSIS used for guiding ICWA related work. These tabs were not fulling developed at the time, which contributed to state and local guidance being unclear.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, in a case involving a critical incident, law enforcement oftentimes take the lead and social service agencies are sometimes asked not to conduct further interviews until the law enforcement investigation is complete. This contributes to workers' hesitancy to reach out to a family member to gain additional information, and follow-up with the father regarding Native American heritage not being prioritized and MIFPA notices not being sent.","created_by":81,"updated_by":81,"updated_at":"5\/26\/2021 11:48:37 am","created_at":"5\/26\/2021 11:48:37 am","id":31550}