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A newly updated agreement between the Navajo Nation and the state Children, Youth and Families Department better defines how to work together for the best interest of Navajo children in foster care, officials say.

The intergovernmental agreement, which details what is required of each to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families, hasn't been revised since 1985.

Eight of the other 21 Indian tribes in New Mexico are also reviewing similar revised agreements, said Bernie Teba, the Native American liaison for CYFD who crafted the agreement for the state.

In addition, state agencies in Utah and Arizona are considering using the New Mexico agreement as a model for their own revisions; the Arapaho tribe in Wyoming has also asked to examine the agreement, Teba said.

"We believe we have a very good model to work with," he said.

The agreement is authorized under the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, passed by Congress in 1978 with the intent of preventing any inappropriate cultural separation of Indian children from their families and their Indian community.

Under ICWA, state foster care agencies must contact the tribe in which a child entering custody is a member.

The tribe may then intervene in the case while the state retains custody, ask for the case to be transferred to its jurisdiction or do nothing at all.

The revised Navajo agreement includes no dramatic changes but makes clearer the timelines in which certain correspondence between the governments must take place, defines the roles and responsibilities of each and better explains coordination efforts between both, Teba said.

"This is somewhat going to change our practice within CYFD," he said.

Under the new agreement, for example, the state must contact the Navajo Nation within 24 hours by fax or phone if a child believed to be Navajo enters the foster care system.

A follow-up written notice must be submitted within five business days.

"We've been somewhat lax in that area," Teba said.

The agreement also defines the preferences in care for a Navajo child either for foster care or adoption as being, in order, returning the child to the family of origin, placement with a Navajo Nation family, placement with an Indian family other than Navajo or placement with a non-Indian family approved by the Navajo Nation.

Regina Yazzie, program director for the Navajo Children and Family Services, said she welcomes the revisions and lauded New Mexico for taking the lead on updating the agreement.

But she cautioned that it's too soon to know how well the revisions will work.

"With New Mexico, certainly they have made improvements with ICWA compliance, and of course more improvements are needed in regards to the problems we have had before in providing on-time feedback and timeliness of reporting on both ends," said Yazzie, whose agency encompasses the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.

"It comes down to training and awareness of what is required," she said.

Currently, there are 276 Navajo children in foster care across New Mexico, Yazzie said.

The agreement involved 22 months of give-and-take work between both entities, Teba said.

It began even earlier than that when in early 2004 Teba said he completed a U.S. General Accounting Office survey on state compliance with ICWA and noted some concerns, including how long it had been since intergovernment agreements in the states had been revised.

The agreement was finally in place last August, Teba said.

Training on the revisions is expected to begin soon in the counties where the Navajo population is highest, including San Juan, McKinley, Cibola, Sandoval and Bernalillo counties.