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St. Juv. P. § 232B.10
Iowa
Code
Title
VI. Human Services
Subtitle
5. Juveniles
Chapter
232B. Indian Child Welfare Act
232B.10. Qualified
expert witnesses--standard of proof--change of placement
1. For the purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,
a "qualified expert witness" may include, but is not limited
to, a social worker, sociologist, physician, psychologist, traditional
tribal therapist and healer, spiritual leader, historian, or elder.
2.
In considering whether to involuntarily place an Indian child in foster
care or to terminate the parental rights of the parent of an Indian child,
the court shall require that qualified expert witnesses with specific
knowledge of the child's Indian tribe testify regarding that tribe's family
organization and child-rearing practices, and regarding whether the tribe's
culture, customs, and laws would support the placement of the child in
foster care or the termination
of parental rights on the grounds that continued custody of the child
by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional
or physical damage to the child.
3.
In the following descending order of preference, a qualified expert witness
is a person who is one of the following:
a.
A member of the child's Indian tribe who is recognized by the child's
tribal community as knowledgeable regarding tribal customs as the customs
pertain to family organization or child-rearing practices.
b.
A member of another tribe who is formally recognized by the Indian child's
tribe as having the knowledge to be a qualified expert witness.
c.
A layperson having substantial experience in the delivery of child and
family services to Indians, and substantial knowledge of the prevailing
social and
cultural standards and child-rearing practices within the Indian child's
tribe.
d.
A professional person having substantial education and experience in the
person's professional specialty and having substantial knowledge of the
prevailing social and cultural standards and child-rearing practices within
the Indian child's tribe.
e.
A professional person having substantial education and experience in the
person's professional specialty and having extensive knowledge of the
customs, traditions, and values of the Indian child's tribe as the customs,
traditions, and values pertain to family organization and child-rearing
practices. Prior to accepting the testimony of a qualified expert witness
described in this lettered paragraph, the court shall document the efforts
made to secure a qualified expert witness described in paragraphs "a",
"b", "c", and "d". The efforts shall include
but are not limited to contacting the Indian child's tribe's governing
body, that tribe's Indian Child Welfare Act office, and the tribe's social
service office.
CREDIT(S)
Added by Acts 2003 (80
G.A.) ch. 153, § 11. Amended by Acts 2004 (80 G.A.) ch. 1101, §
29.
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