Foster care needs work

Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D.: Federal law says Native American children belong in Native American foster homes, except in the most extreme circumstances. Despite that law, the number of children in South Dakota who are pulled out of their culture and kept in white homes hasn’t changed much since the law was passed almost 35 years ago.

There are lots of reasons given for why Native children — at a high rate — are sent to white foster homes. There are not enough approved and available Native American foster homes on the list, for starters.

It’s often difficult to find family members to care for children placed into foster care.

It’s hard to solve the complex problem of finding suitable foster care homes, no matter what race the child is, particularly for Native children. But we have to, and we have to look at all possible options.

No one’s hands are clean. The state needs to work even harder to place children in safe Native American foster homes. That responsibility can’t be taken lightly.