Office of Minority Health

Grantee Information

Minneapolis American Indian Center
11530 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55504
612-879-1714 (Phone)
612-879-1795 (Fax)

Minneapolis American Indian Center (MAIC) seeks to meet the needs of American Indians living in the urban area. The organization works with American Indian children and families to find and foster their strengths and innate resilience.

Grant Project Information

FY10 National Umbrella Cooperative Agreement Program (NUCA)
$300,000
Sheri Riemers
612-879-1714
riemers@maicnet.org

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to improve the health outcomes associated with out-of-home placement in American Indian children who are in non-reservation, out-of-home placements due to abuse or neglect. MAIC's project addresses court compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which, among other things, was enacted to ensure that the child's tribe and family have a voice in court proceedings, and provides regulations regarding removing an American Indian child from his or her tribe.

To this end, MAIC will build a national advocacy network, which will provide training to build the capacities of tribal and urban Indian organizations to understand compliance with the mandates of ICWA and implement methods for monitoring compliance in the courtroom, including a web-based system to enhance communication and coordination between tribal governments and urban Indian organizations and methods for utilizing non-compliance data. Intended outcomes of this project include improved mental health, lower rates of substance abuse and decreased future involvement with the child welfare system - particularly as future perpetrators - for American Indian children involved in the welfare system by way of increased state and county ICWA compliance. In order to determine if such outcomes are reached, data will be collected on a range of performance measures, such as trends in court decisions regarding American Indian victims of child abuse.

Objectives

• Increased awareness, education, and outreach to address racial/ethnic minority health and health disparities problems
• Improved access to, and appropriate utilization of, health and other community-based services and systems through user-centered design for racial/ethnic minorities (e.g., health IT, culturally/ linguistically appropriate services, service provider education/ training, workforce diversity)
• Strengthened leadership and coordination to leverage resources and enhance effectiveness and efficiency of individual and collective efforts (including, but not limited to, research and data)