Are American Indian and Alaskan Native children and families eligible for state services?
American Indian and Alaskan Native children and families are citizens of both their tribal governments and the states in which they reside. With respect to federally funded services, which form almost all state- or county-provided child welfare services, states are not allowed to discriminate in the provision of services based upon political subdivisions, geographic location or racial background. Tribal children and families, regardless of whether they live on or off tribal lands, are eligible to receive federally funded services as long as they meet the basic eligibility criteria for those services. These policies guide the service responsibility of the state or county in providing services to American Indian and Alaskan Native children. A related, but legally distinct concept is jurisdictional authority. A state may have service responsibility, but not have jurisdictional authority over child welfare legal proceedings. This can complicate the coordination of services, but many tribes
