CHOCTAW, Miss. – Human trafficking will be among the topics discussed during the Fifth Annual Indian Child Welfare Conference on Aug. 13 at the Silver Star Convention Center at Choctaw, Mississippi.
Other discussions will include tribal-state collaboration along with ethical principles for working with federally recognized Indian tribes.
Choctaw Tribal Assistant Attorney General Cheryl Hamby will moderate a panel that will include Rankin County and Youth Court Judge Thomas Broome, Mississippi Jurist in Residence John Hudson and Mississippi Assistant Attorney General Earl Scales.
The conference is said to be a collaborative effort among the Tribal Courts of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts, the Mississippi Judicial College, the state Department of Human Services, Casey Family Programs and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
The annual conference began five years ago as an effort to educate state judges and social workers on the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act, ICWA. The conference brings together state and tribal judges, court staff and social workers. Tribal judges from across the country are expected to attend.
