This interview originally aired on In the Moment on SDPB Radio.
Rep. Peri Pourier, D-Rapid City, knows the statistics. Native American children in South Dakota make up disproportionate rates of kids in the foster care system and kids who drop out of high school.
That's part of why she and Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge, helped craft Senate Bill 191. The bill would form a task force to evaluate and address Native child welfare.
The proposed group included representatives from the Department of Social Services, the nine tribes in South Dakota, state courts and legislators from both political parties.
SB 191 failed in the House last week. Rep. Pourier joins In the Moment to discuss the frustration over the defeated bill and possible solutions moving forward.
