TRIBAL ALERT: Covid-19 Pandemic
CILS is closely monitoring the ever-changing work restrictions and recommendations from public health officials on the COVID-19 pandemic. Our priority is the protection of our staff, their families, and our clients. Our Sacramento CILS office is currently subject to mandatory closure, and we anticipate that other CILS offices may soon be under a similar mandatory […]
Protecting Indian Children: The Importance of Culture When Working with Indian Families
By Mica Llerandi, CILS Escondido office Staff Attorney When I worked as an attorney on my reservation, I was eager to jump into serving my tribal community. My employer, a legal aid program, provided cultural awareness training, but I incorrectly assumed it wasn’t necessary for me. In my mind, this was my reservation, this was […]
Domestic Violence in Indian Country
By Susan Dalati, CILS Escondido office Staff Attorney In 2015, California Indian Legal Services (“CILS”) created a Legal Team consisting of an attorney and legal advocate to handle legal issues pertaining to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. The Legal Team members both came from a social service agency where they handled the […]
Covid-19 Notice
IMPORTANT NOTICE – EFFECTIVE 3/13/2020 Due to the Coronavirus (aka COVID-19) pandemic, CILS offices will not be accepting any walk-in clients or individuals at this time. CILS will remain open and operating at this time but with limited in-person client contact unless absolutely necessary. CILS offices will remain open until such time we are directed […]
Criminal Background Checks and Job Searches
By Jay Peterson, CILS Sacramento office Senior Staff Attorney Communities of color experience disproportionate contact with the law. (Read: racial profiling.) This excessive law enforcement contact results in a similarly disproportionate number of criminal records in the form of arrests, custodial detentions, and convictions. Employers use these records to deny people of color jobs. This […]
Tribal Child Support: The Tribe is Not an Arm of the State’s Child Support Enforcement Unit
By Denise Hurchanik Bareilles, CILS Eureka office Acting Directing Attorney You have probably seen in the media various groups painting a picture that tribal governments make it difficult to collect child support for custodial parents. However, this is not the case. It is important to understand the significance of a Tribe administering its own child […]
