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The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed with her father's extended family in Utah. However, a three-judge panel in Los Angeles found the lower court made the right decision and correctly considered the bond Lexi developed with the Pages as well as other factors related to her best interests. Her mother had substance abuse problems, and her father had a criminal history, according to court records. There is a 6-year-old little girl who is going to be ripped away from the only family that she has ever known. Her family will provide her a safe, stable and nurturing home to grow up with her sisters and to have contact with her extensive extended family. The Brackeens got an emergency stay and went to court. At issue is the Indian . Reading ICWA to demand this tragic result is inconsistent with Lexi's constitutional right to stability and permanence-- a right recognized by the California Supreme Court more than twenty years ago. , updated The placement preferences are just that -- preferences-- and they apply only when a child is in need of a placement. The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who was 17 months old when she was removed from the custody of her birth parents. Lawmakers found that Native American families were broken up at disproportionately high rates, and that cultural ignorance and biases within the child welfare system were largely to blame. Chris Evans doxxed his own dick Tweet may have been deleted By accidentally leaking his own nude, Chris Evans gave us one of the only relatable celebrity moments of 2020. She is watching them drive off. The Pages have fought efforts under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act to place Lexi with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. The Pages have appealed the case to the California Supreme Court. ", The National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement that the Pages were aware for years that the girl was an American Indian but chose to "drag out litigation as long as possible, creating instability for the child. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The legal fight has gone on for years. The law, passed in 1978, outlines federal requirements that apply to state custody proceedings that involve a child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe. "They are not strangers in any way, shape or form. "It would be fairly extraordinary for an appeals court to reverse that," he said. Please respect the privacy of Lexi and her family. Relatives are relatives.. The Pages said they plan to take the case to the California Supreme Court. Family members said Monday they were disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving their former foster daughter, a girl with Native American ancestry, who was ordered removed from their California home and reunited with relatives in Utah. Alexa suffered injuries on her face. Theyre using this to attack tribal sovereignty, attack Indian people, and attack the Indian Child Welfare act, he says. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. There is still considerable disagreement over the application of the law and whether it serves children's best interest, said Ralph Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School. When the grandmother died, Maldonado's mother was sent to live in Indiana with a Mennonite family who put bleach on her skin to lighten it, told her to say she was Armenian and kept her from communicating with her family, she said. Once a child is placed with a Native American family, it is highly unlikely that the decision would be reversed, he added. The Pages have three children and want to adopt Lexi, who has lived with them since she was 2. Its a crusade to them. One of the Pages attorneys, Lori Alvino McGill, also represented the adoptive family in the Baby Veronica case. The girl, Lexi, was taken away from foster parents. What happened yesterday should never happen . Lexi cried and clutched a stuffed bear on Monday as Rusty Page carried her out of his home near Los Angeles and Los Angeles County social workers whisked her away in a waiting car. There's a heartbreaking update to . What happened to Lexie Grey? Tribes and tribal advocates say Native American children are still separated from their families at rates higher than the general population, and the law helps them stay connected to their tribes, relatives and culture. The Pages had cared for the girl, known in court as Lexi, for four years and wanted to adopt her. Her father has a criminal history, according to court records. In 2011, extended family in Utah became aware that Lexi was with a foster family and expressed interest in adopting her, according to the documents. The Pages argued that Lexi has lived with them since the age of 2 and considers them her family. The state denied their request after the Navajo Nation identified a potential home with a Navajo family in New Mexico. Before enactment, as many as 25 to 35 percent of all Indian children were being removed from their Indian homes and placed in non-Indian homes, with presumably the absence of Indian culture. The Page family spoke out during a news conference a day after the California Supreme Court refused to intervene in their custody battle over Lexi. They fought for you, supporters screamed at the car, as officers prepared to pull away. Her family will provide her a safe, stable and nurturing home to grow up with her sisters and to have contact with her extensive extended family. The Five Tribes purchased new lands in present-day Oklahoma, but some relocated . Previously, Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California said: 'The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together. In the days since Lexi was removed from the Southern California home, her foster parents have continued to fight the decision. Unlike other cases in Grey's Anatomy where the actors left due to behind-the-scenes problems, Chyler Leigh decided it was time to close Lexie's arc as she wanted to spend more time with her family. We will continue to expeditiously pursue our appeal through the state courts in California, and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read More All Rights Reserved. Santa Clarita, Calif., March 21, 2016, PEZ Cancels Easter Egg Hunt After Parents Cause Huge 'Mess', How We Can Learn to Live with COVID-19 After Vaccinations. They are taking her! She says she's an apple, red on the outside, white on the inside.". "The law is very clear that siblings should be kept together whenever they can be, and they should be placed together even if they were not initially together," Heimov told the Los Angeles Daily News (http://bit.ly/1pYtXlg ). More than 20 states have joined hundreds of tribes, advocacy groups and the federal agency that oversees Indian affairs in urging an appellate judge to uphold the law. Her father, who had a criminal history, never lived on a Choctaw reservation and didnt have any social, political, or cultural ties to the tribe, according to the court documents. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. . Please help #bringlexihome 1 talking about this. The states say the law is discriminatory, and the federal government has no right to tell states how to regulate child welfare cases. Lexi is also one sixty-fourth Choctaw, and last week she became the latest flash point in a long-running dispute over child welfare and Native American tribal identity. Last month, her kindergarten class gave her an award for being the most caring student. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the case of a Santa Clarita family fighting to regain custody of a 6-year-old foster girl. Her name is Lexi, the petition said. They are her sisters. But a decision earlier this month ordered the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (LA DCFS) to place Lexi with the Utah family in accordance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, the department said in response to inquiries about Lexi's case. "There's no doubt in my mind that what happened to Lexi should have never occurred," said Lauren Axline, a former foster care worked who handled Lexi's case in the past. LOS ANGELES -- A California family appealed Tuesday to the state's highest court in their fight to keep a 6-year-old foster child who was removed from their home after a lower court said her 1/64th Native American bloodline requires that she live with relatives. The result here is all the more senseless because placing Lexi with her non-Indian extended family members does nothing to further ICWA's purpose of keeping children connected to their tribes. That case has key differences from the fight over Lexi: Baby Veronica was legally adopted through a private agency, while foster care is a more limited form of guardianship. Her father has a criminal history, according to court records. Therefore we will continue to work to maintain these values and work toward the long-term best interest of this child.". The law has led to some emotional, high-profile cases, including one in 2016 in which a court ordered that a young Choctaw girl named Lexi be removed from a California foster family and placed . The Pages argued that changing the girls placement after four years would be difficult for her, given her rocky emotional adjustment when she first came to them, but the lower court ultimately disagreed. A federal law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings involving Native American children is facing the most significant legal challenge since it was enacted more than 40 years ago. The Choctaw Nation has advocated for Lexi to live with her family since 2011. Thousandsnearly one-third of the Choctaw Nationdie of starvation, exposure, and disease on the more than 500-mile journey. The appeal to return Lexi to the Pages is still before the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles. The girl's sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California, Lexi's court-appointed legal representatives. The Pages issued a press release saying To say we are heartbroken is an understatement While this is certainly a crushing blow, it will not stop us from fighting for Lexis rights and the rights of other children unnecessarily hurt by the Indian Child Welfare Act., The Choctaw Nation issued a press release saying it was pleased that this lengthy and unnecessary litigation has been brought to an end by the U.S. Supreme Court. "The foster family was well aware years ago this girl is an Indian child, whose case is subject to the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act," the National Indian Child Welfare Association said in a statement. ICWA gives a higher preference to family members seeking to adopt, as does California law. Images of the girl being carried away from her foster home drew widespread attention. The family's lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, filed the request for the California Supreme Court to hear the appeal. But this case shines a bright light on the ways in which the law in its current form is routinely being misinterpreted, with devastating consequences for families and children. The placement preferences are just that -- preferences-- and they apply only when a child is in need of a placement. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Foster care is a much-needed temporary service provided for children until the child can be returned to the care of his or her family. The case was decided in the California court system three separate times, with three different trial court judges ruling in favor of Lexi's relatives in Utah. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. This button displays the currently selected search type. The bottom line is that children subject to ICWA are second-class citizens, by law. Although foster care is supposed to be temporary, the Pages want to adopt Lexi and for years have fought efforts under the federal act to place the girl with relatives of her father, who is part Choctaw. We are appealing the decision, and we have asked the state Supreme Court to step in and halt this hasty change in custody before it causes irreparable harm. The documents said that Lexi is related to the Utah couple, who are not Native American, through her step-grandfather. A happy, thriving six-year-old girl was forcibly removed from the people she knows as her parents because of a terribly misguided interpretation of a federal law that was designed to keep families together, not tear them apart. The wrenching dispute echoes themes of the 2013 Baby Veronica case, in which an adoptive family sued for custody of a young Cherokee girl after her biological father renounced paternal rights. Fletcher contends the Pages lawyers are using Lexis case as a legal weapon to challenge ICWA. Under the transfer, Lexi will live with a Utah couple who are not Native Americans but are related by marriage to her father. They were able to adopt the boy in January 2018 after the placement fell through. But new hope is on the horizon for the Choctaw Nation. AccuWeather: AM showers before a mild afternoon, Teammate facing charges in crash that killed local UGA player, Teens in stolen car crash into school bus on way to field trip in NJ. ABC's Kayna Whitworth has the details from Los Angeles. Her relatives said in a statement they hope the ruling brings closure and "Lexi is at last allowed to live a peaceful childhood in our home with her sister.". She did make the mat for Daytona 2020 but unfortunately never got to perform one final time as the . Official Statement from Lori Alvino-McGill representing The Page Family's Legal Team. The case is one of dozens brought by foster families since the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in the late 1970s. ICWA is the subject of other legal challenges, as the ABA Journal noted last October. All rights reserved, Two Hospitalized in Critical Condition, Including 3-Year-Old Child, in Fire at Long Beach Home, There Goes My Hero.' . "Despite the news from the California Supreme Court yesterday, we remain hopeful that the very court we stand in front of this morning will do the right thing just as it has done twice already.". The Supreme Court made no comment when it denied certiorari in the case Monday (PDF). A California appeals court affirmed in July a lower court's decision to remove the girl. Since then, Lexi has celebrated four birthdays with the Page family. Often there are no easy solutions, but when a court makes an order, we must follow it, said the departments director, Philip Browning. All Rights Reserved. Circuit Court of Appeals. The girl's sister is living with the couple, and another sister will be living down the street, said Leslie Heimov of the Children's Law Center of California, Lexi's court-appointed legal representatives. Our clients have been the only consistent source of love, nurturing, parenting, and protection she has received her entire life. David Crane / Los Angeles Daily News via AP, had been camped out in the street singing and praying since Sunday. We will continue to expeditiously pursue our appeal through the state courts in California, and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lexi is part Native American and was given . Her name is Lexi," the petition said. "To say we are heartbroken is an understatement.". The National Indian Child Welfare Association argues that the decision to re-place Lexi was the right one because "the purpose of foster care is to provide temporary care for children not to fast-track the creation of new families when there is extended family available who want to care for the child.". Attorneys general in Texas, Indiana and Louisiana joined in suing the federal government over the Indian Child Welfare Act in 2017. Lexi clutched a teddy bear and cried as she was taken from the Pages' home on March 21 as neighbors prayed and sang hymns in support of the family. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. In their petition, the Pages argued that the lower court misapplied the standard of review for good cause to depart from ICWA, but also that ICWA should not apply to children who had never been part of an American Indian family. She has woken up in their home every Christmas morning she can remember, and she has grown up over the past four years with three siblings who are her best friends and playmates. You have reached your limit of free articles. One of Lexis biological sisters, who is Choctaw, lives with the Utah family, and another lives nearby. In a statement, they said this case is not about politics. She has woken up in their home every Christmas morning she can remember, and she has grown up over the past four years with three siblings who are her best friends and playmates. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The custody battle over a 6-year-old girl heated up on Friday, as a state appeals court heard arguments from both sides. The privacy of Lexi and her family may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or! Utah couple who are not strangers in any way, shape or form Lexis case as a legal weapon challenge... 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