The SWAN Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Search Guide is designed to help children and youth agencies across the United States comply with federal laws, regulations, and guidelines when working with an Indian child or family. Child welfare professionals may need to perform a comprehensive ICWA Search when a child in care could have tribal connections.
SWAN defines an ICWA Search as a search completed to identify and locate potential tribal connections in order to allow the tribe to determine eligibility and placement under the Indian Child Welfare Act regulate placement proceedings involving Indian children, including Alaska Natives, who are unmarried and under the age of 18 (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et. seq.).
ICWA regulations require “active efforts” to maintain and reunite an Indian child with their family or tribal community. For that reason, an ICWA Diligent Search must be conducted to “identify, notify and engage” representatives of the child’s tribe. The SWAN ICWA Search Guide is a tool that will help streamline this process and ensure compliance with ICWA requirements.
Originally released in 2016, the SWAN ICWA Search Guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the law and as a supplemental tool within the full Diligent Search process. In 2021, SWAN updated the SWAN ICWA Search Guide to reflect changes in the ICWA laws and regulations that affect our practice.
Download the ICWA Search Guide