Report: South Dakota Breaks Child-Protection Laws

A new report says South Dakota has violated federal law by removing too many American Indian children from their homes and placing them in foster care with non-Indian families.

The report was approved by the state's Indian Child Welfare Act directors during a Thursday meeting. It will be sent to Congress within the next few weeks.

The report is in response to a National Public Radio series last year that said the state routinely broke the Indian Child Welfare Act. Federal law requires that Native American children removed from homes be placed with relatives or put in foster care with other Native American families except in unusual circumstances.

A spokesman for Gov. Dennis Daugaard says officials could not comment because they hadn't seen the report.