Governor Bill Walker and Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallot signed emergency regulations to ease Alaskan native children adoptions.
Walker stated, “What’s good for Alaska Native children is good for all children. What’s good for Alaska’s children is good for Alaska.”
He outlined part of what the emergency regulations entail.
Walker: “The Alaska Native Children are a much higher probability and the path will be easier to be adopted into a native family. The processes have been challenging over the years as far as allowing that process to work smoothly when you’re in a village.”
Those regulations to help native children more easily be placed with relatives or in their village were related to the national Indian Child Welfare Act.
Governor Walker also introduced a similar legislation, however since that bill won’t pass this session, leaders signed the emergency regulations.