SD Lawmaker Withdraws Bill On Indian Foster Care

A state lawmaker has withdrawn a bill that sought to set up a monitoring program to determine whether South Dakota is complying with a federal law governing foster care for American Indian children.

The House Judiciary Committee rejected the bill Wednesday at the request of Rep. Kevin Killer of Pine Ridge, who says officials need to wait for a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a South Carolina case dealing with the Indian Child Welfare Act.

South Dakota tribal officials have alleged that the state is violating the federal law by removing too many American Indian children from their homes and putting them in foster care with non-Indian families.

Those tribal officials and the U.S. Interior Department are holding a summit in April in Rapid City to discuss the issue.