Tribe: Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation
8.07.020 Effect of Permanently
Suspending the Legal Relationship between
a Parent and Child.
[…]
(d) No proceeding seeking to permanently
suspend the legal relationship between a parent
and child shall be commenced unless the
Lummi Nation shall have first convened and
facilitated a family decision making conference
among the members of the child’s extended
family for the purpose of:
(1) Exploring family resources that may
make permanent suspension of parental
rights unnecessary, and using the Nation’s
best efforts to utilize those resources;
(2) Identifying and providing resources and
assistance to the extended family and/or to
the parents of the child that may make
permanent suspension of parental rights
unnecessary; and
(3) Identifying and actively pursuing all
other alternatives to permanent suspension of
parental rights.
(e) If the Lummi Children’s Services
Department concludes that none of the
resources or alternatives identified and pursued
under this section has a reasonable probability
of success and that permanent suspension of the
legal relationship between the parents and child
is appropriate, the Department shall present the
case to the Grandparents Committee for review.
The Grandparents Committee shall review the
family situation, the resources available to the
family, the efforts by the Nation to reunite the
family, and such other factors as the Committee
deems appropriate, and decide whether
permanent suspension of the legal relationship
is warranted. If the Committee concludes that
suspension is not warranted, it shall inform the
Department of the additional steps that must be
taken by the Nation. If the Committee
concludes that suspension is warranted, the
Nation may proceed to file an action in the
Lummi Children’s Court to permanently
suspend the legal relationship between the
parent or parents and the child.