Mother's Story

Mothers incarcerated at the Shakopee Correctional Facility are being given incorrect information stating that they cannot be reunified with their child who is in foster care due to their incarceration.  Many county social workers, and parent attorneys, mistakenly believe that due to the mothers’ incarceration, it is in the best interest of the child for the mother to voluntarily sign a transfer of custody for her child. Social workers are not working with the incarcerated mothers to determine the best options available, which is a violation under federal and state law.

Since early 2018, I have been making monthly visits to the Shakopee Correctional Facility to educate mothers with American Indian children regarding the laws and their rights under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA).  I have also been working with the Shakopee Correctional Facility Parenting Coordinator to schedule professional individual in-person meetings between me and the incarcerated mothers to discuss their cases.  During my meetings, I provide the mothers with resources and legal information.  I am a licensed Minnesota attorney; however, I am not the attorney for anyone who contacts me.  I encourage the mothers to contact their attorneys to let them know that they contacted me.  In addition to these meetings, I also reach out to tribal case workers to provide them with information on programs the mothers are involved in during their incarceration.  I also try to attend as many court hearings as my schedule will allow so that I can observe the proceedings. On August 30, 2018, I received a letter from a mother who is presently incarcerated at Shakopee Correctional Facility. Below (in bold) is her letter in its entirety, with the exception of the name of the county and the birthdate of her child.

"When I met Jill Esch in April 2018, my son had been in foster care/out-of-home placement for 9 months due to my incarceration at Shakopee. My county worker was telling me that there was no way for me to work my case plan, and that because I was going to be incarcerated for too long, there was no hope of keeping my son. I was sentenced to 36 months and required to serve 24 months before my release. I am here until February 2019.

I was told that because my son was so young (he will be 15 months in September), that the permanency placement had to be filed 365 days after he was placed out of home. Also, that it would be in my best interest to just sign a transfer of legal custody or else the Court would end up forcing me to. And that would mean, I would have a much harder time getting my son back. At the same time, my ICWA lawyer was telling me that the length of my incarceration was too long. And because I had no one to take my son, I would be forced to sign custody over to the Agency. And my son would end up in long term foster care.

After explaining everything to Ms. Esch, she asked me when my next court date was and offered to attend. Ms. Esch also provided me with informational resources on ICWA laws to help educate myself on how to better advocate for my son and for myself. During my incarceration, I have utilized every resource available to help me be the best possible mother to my son.

Since Ms. Esch’s involvement on my son’s case, I now have an updated case plan that I am in complete compliance with. My lawyer has become a powerful advocate for my son and me.  And at my son’s 1-year hearing, instead of filing for permanency, the judge ruled that based off of all evidence that had been provided, there was 'Good cause to deviate from the strict ICWA timelines.'

If it wasn’t for Ms. Esch, I would have lost my son. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for her involvement. I am forever indebted to Ms. Esch for all of her assistance. Ms. Esch’s position is absolutely vital in helping with the preservation of the American Indian Family.”