Statutory Reform

Wisconsin (2018 YIC)

• • Description: Working with the state, tribal, and county juvenile justice system partners, the team will implement a new legislation, Act 185, in a way that creates a coordinated, evidence-based continuum of service at juvenile justice facilities across Wisconsin. 

  • Contacts:

    • Jason Benzel, Superintendent State of Wisconsin Copper Lake and Lincoln Hills School

    • Gregory Bucholtz, Detention Facilities Specialist Wisconsin Department of Corrections

    • Kristi Dietz, Director and Tribal Liaison Wisconsin Department of Corrections

    • Shelby McCulley, Assistant Administrator, Division of Juvenile Corrections Wisconsin Department of Corrections

Washington (2010 MSI - Public)

• • Description: 1) Completion of a publishable law review article analyzing the historical and traditional underpinnings of most American Indian tribes’ refusal to terminate parental rights and the correlation between lack of long-term placement stability and delinquency, 2) The development of a plan to amend federal funding law (likely through an amendment to the Fostering Connections act) to allow funding to “follow the child” when an alternative to TPR and adoption are utilized, and 3) The development of a model tribal code for use (and modification) by tribes interested in opening up the possibilities for permanency that do not include the permanent severance of parental rights.

  • Contact: Raquel Montoya-Lewis, Chief Judge/ Associate Professor of Law - Lummi Nation Tribal Court/ Fairhaven College, Western Washington University