Who We Are
About ICWA
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal law which governs the removal and out of home placement of American Indian children. The law was passed in 1978 due to an alarming rate of Indian children being removed from their homes and communities and placed in foster care or adoption homes with non-Indian families.
About the Resource Center
In coordination with elders, grandparents, kinship providers, and foster/adoptive parents, the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council has developed an on-line ICWA Resource Center for Caregivers to support a culturally specific multidisciplinary balanced approach to contribute to a body of knowledge through virtual training and resources. The overall goal is to strengthen and support caregivers of children impacted by the Indian Child Welfare Act and navigating within state systems. The training platform includes culturally integrated storytelling trainings to strengthen the knowledge and ability of those who provide care and nurturing for Native children and youth.
Our Team
Our team coming soon.
Jade Snell
Coming Soon
Rita Hart
Consultant
Apelasv Consultant Services, LLC
Rita (Velarde-Willis) Hart, citizen of Jicarilla Apache Nation and descendant of the Choctaw Nation lives with her family in the Chickasaw Territory, Oklahoma. A graduate from Murray State College, East Central University, and University of Oklahoma with a Master of Social Work. She has 30 plus years’ experience in the tribal, state, and national child welfare arena. She currently owns and operates Apelasv (Choctaw, here to help) Consultant Services LLC serving as a national and local consultant for several organizations, including Rocky Mountain Leaders Council, Quality Improvement Center for Engaging Youth, the National Capacity Center for Tribes, Bureau of Indian Affairs Human Services, OSIYO Group, University of Minnesota Duluth Tribal Training Certification Partnership, University of Oklahoma Center for Tribal Social Work, ICWA Qualified Expert Witness, and Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Welfare. As a consultant, she supports and engages with tribal workforce program staff to enhance relational and cultural practices through training and tailored capacity building services. Family is most important to her along with self-care in being outdoors, hunting, crafting Indigenous attire, and browsing antique stores.
Kelly D. Tannehill
Consultant
KT Full Circle Training
Kelly Tannehill, of Cherokee descent, is a seasoned consultant and adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma's Tribal Studies in the Master's of Social Work. With over 22 years of expertise in tribal and state child welfare and social services, she shares her knowledge with the next generation of professionals, specializing in technical assistance, policy development, training, and support.
Kelly's background includes serving as a Program Field Representative with the Department of Human Services Child Welfare since 2015. In this role, she fostered collaboration between tribal and state agencies, writing curriculum for state training (on-line and in person) in all areas of state Child Welfare to ensure compliancewith the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
Outside academia, Kelly enjoys quality time with her loved ones, including her dogs, children, bonus children, family, and friends.
Dedicated to empowering tribal communities, Kelly's extensive experience and passion for social work continue to inspire positive change.