Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was adopted by Congress in response to a long and disturbing history of removing Indian children from Indian families and tribes. ICWA sets forth a series of procedures that must be followed and substantive standards that must be met before an Indian child can be placed in foster care or adopted. Because those rules were not followed in this case, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the child must be returned to her Indian father. In its amicus brief, the ACLU argues that the South Carolina Supreme Court correctly interpreted and applied the Indian Child Welfare Act.