State Tribal Partnership
OJD works with the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon and tribes outside of Oregon to share information, collaborate around resources, and build relationships between those who work with Oregonians. While the juvenile court programs are not the only way OJD works with tribes and tribal courts, it encompasses a large portion of the work. OJD continually strives to improve compliance with and implementation of the Oregon Indian Child Welfare Act (ORICWA) and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and in doing so, build relationships between state and tribal courts.
In 2023, OJD was awarded the State-Tribal Partnerships to Implement Best Practices in Indian Child Welfare award no. 90CW1155 from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Along with a subaward to the Klamath Tribes, the grant focuses on three key areas:
ICWA Courts
ICWA Data Collection and Analysis
In addition to the work under the grant, OJD commits to building relationships by coordinating the Tribal, State, and Federal Court Forum, which began in 2015 when a group of tribal and state court judges met to discuss cross jurisdictional issues. Because of the interest in continuing communication, in 2016, the Tribal Court-State Court Forum was officially established and included judges from the state court as well as from the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. Since then, state court judges and tribal court judges have met regularly to discuss issues that impact both tribal members and Oregonians. In 2022, a representative from the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon also joined the Forum and it was renamed the Tribal, State, and Federal Court Forum.
State court judges have the opportunity to visit tribal courts either directly with cross-site visits or at events such as the 2025 Through the Eyes a Child Conference held at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. To find out more about these and other opportunities, please contact Adrea Korthase at
adrea.korthase@ojd.state.or.us
.