Osiyo-
CherokeeNaEonhascreatedaworkplacepolicyemphasizingtheimportanceofprotecEngour
children,oneofourcorevaluesasCherokeepeopleandpartofourhistoryandheritagegoingback
generaEons.Iamsoproudwecreatedanewopportunityforourtribalemployeeswhochoosetoopen
theirhomesasfosterparents.IrecentlysignedahumanresourcespolicythatwillofferCherokee
NaEonfull-EmeemployeesfiveaddiEonaldaysofpaidleavewhenaCherokeechildisplacedintheir
CherokeeNaEonIndianChildWelfarecerEfiedhome.
WeconEnuetoleadthewayinOklahomaandacrossIndianCountrywhenitcomestoprogressive
policies.CherokeeNaEonisoneofjustahandfulofenEEesacrossthecountrymakingthis
commitmenttoourworkforce,butthecommitmentisreallyaimedatCherokeechildreninneed.
Whenafosterplacementismadeintoafamily,itisoTenanemergencysituaEonandcanbeatall
hoursofthedayornight.WedonotwantourworkersstrugglingtojuggleworkastheyaGendtothe
needsofafosterchildandtherequireddoctorappointments,schooltransfersordaycareenrollment
and,mostimportantly,thebondingandtrustEmethatmustdevelopduringplacement.Ifparentsare
unabletotakeEmeoffwork,thechildisyetagainnegaEvelyimpacted.
IhavetalkedandwriGenabouttheneedformorefosterandadopEveparentsforCherokeeNaEon
childrensincemyfirstdayinoffice.Sadly,theneedtodayisjustasstrongasitwasin2011.Rightnow,
thetribehas15employee-ledfamiliesthatareopenforfosterplacementthroughCherokeeNaEon’s
IndianChildWelfare.Weneedmore.Iknowthejobofafosterparentisrewarding,andIknowitdoes
comewithsomeuniqueandtryingchallenges.However,lackofworkplacesupportshouldneverbea
reasonafamilyclosestheirhometofosterchildren.
AtCherokeeNaEon,wemadeadecisionthatifweaskedourpeopletostepupasfosterparents,then
wemuststepupasanemployerandsupporttheserviceourfosterfamiliesareproviding.Thisisan
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importantwaywecansupportourworkforceandgrowourdatabaseoffosterparents.Thefive
addiEonaldaysofpaidleaveforfull-EmeemployeescanbeusedduringthefirstfullyearaTer
placement.
OurICWdepartmentisoneofthestrongestprogramsinthestateandinthenaEon.Asthelargest
tribeintheUnitedStates,wehavemorechildreninvolvedinthesekindsofcasesthananyothertribal
government.CherokeeNaEonIndianChildWelfarehascustodyofapproximately80childrenduring
anycalendaryearbutintervenesasapartyandparEcipatesinmorethan1,600casesperyear
throughouttheUnitedStates.NaEonally,NaEvechildrenareoverrepresentedinthenaEon'sfoster
caresystem,andwehavetoaddressthosestaEsEcs.Wemustensureourchildrenhavesafe,stable
homesandremainconnectedtotheirCherokeeculture.
AtCherokeeNaEon,westrivetobetheemployerofchoiceinnortheastOklahoma.Duringmytenure
asPrincipalChief,wehaveraisedminimumwageto$9.50anhourandcreatedaneight-weekpaid
maternityleaveprogramformothersandsixweeksofpaternityleaveforfathers.
FormoreinformaEononCherokeeNaEon’sIndianChildWelfareprogramsandservices,visit
hGp://www.cherokeekids.org.
Wado
BillJohnBaker
[email protected]@cherokee.org
Toforwardthismessage,pleasedonotusetheforwardbuGonofyouremailapplicaEon,becausethismessagewasmade
specificallyforyouonly.InsteadusetheforwardpageinournewsleGersystem.
Tochangeyourdetailsandtochoosewhichliststobesubscribedto,visityourpersonalpreferencespage
Oryoucanopt-outcompletelyfromallfuturemailings.
CherokeeNaEonP.O.Box948Tahlequah,OK74465
POWERED BY PHPLIST
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