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The Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association, Inc. (OICWA) established the Tribal Resource Family of the Year Award to recognize a tribally approved resource family in Oklahoma who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment and dedication to the well-being of American Indian children in foster care.

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Criteria to be considered include being an approved foster, adoptive, or kinship resource home through an Indian Child Welfare program. The nominee must be an open home at the time the nomination is made. The ideal award recipient demonstrates substantial efforts to connect children to their birth families and tribal cultures, provides outstanding trauma-informed care and support to children, motivates and inspires other resource families, works effectively as a part of the professional child welfare team, and supports the protection of the Indian Child Welfare Act and tribal laws. 

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The nomination may be made from an employee of the Indian Child Welfare program through which the resource family is approved. Once submitted, nominations are automatically emailed to the Nominating Committee Chair.

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The Nominating Committee Chair provides all nominations to the Award Recipient Selection Committee who select one award recipient and report their selection to the Nominating Committee Chair. The Award Selection Committee consists of individuals employed outside of tribal or state child welfare in order to provide a fair and impartial selection process. If any individuals have a conflict of interest in relation to one or more of the nominees, they will recuse themselves from the committee. 

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The award recipient will be honored at the 2023 OICWA Annual Conference and receive a Pendleton blanket. 

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DEADLINE OCTOBER 5th, 2023