MDHHS Investigations involving Sault Tribe Children and Families

Upon receiving information that a child may be a member or eligible for membership in the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the caseworker must contact the Sault Tribe ACFS Office via phone at 800‑726‑0093 or 906‑632‑5250 and request to speak with Tribal ICWA/MIFPA contact to provide notification of an investigation involving a tribal child and to begin the engagement of the Tribe into the provision of culturally appropriate active efforts. The caseworker must also complete and process the MDHHS 5598.
The completed MDHHS 5598 may be submitted to:

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Melissa VanLuven, ICWA Program Director
2218 Shunk Road, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sault Tribe Family Support Services:

Sault Tribe has a primary service area in the following 7 counties in the Upper Peninsula:  Chippewa, Mackinac, Luce, Alger, Schoolcraft, Marquette, and Delta. When conducting investigations within these service areas, the Tribe is able to provide a variety of direct family support services to include: Parenting Education, Family Continuity, Adolescent In-Home Assistance, and Prevention. A referral for family support services can be made at any point Children’s Protective Services is working with a tribal family. To obtain a referral form, please do so by calling 800‑726‑0093.

Sault Tribe Children’s Protective Services:

Sault Tribe conducts Children and Adult Protective Services investigations for tribal children and families who reside on Sault Tribe Trust Land. Sault Tribe also has specific after hour’s agreements with MDHHS to allow MDHHS staff to conduct emergency investigations on Trust Land. Sault Tribe has a Centralized Intake Unit Routing Protocol on file with the Centralized Intake Program to allow for routine referral routing and follow up involving CPS/APS referrals that are called into the Centralized Intake Number. The designated Sault Tribe contact for the CIU program is the following mailbox: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Court Intervention:

If it is determined that court intervention is needed on a case the caseworker must call the Tribal ICWA/MIFPA contact immediately to ensure verbal notification to the Tribe of the pending court action as well as to develop a plan of action including safety planning, exploring and identifying potential placement resources, and requesting QEW contact information. The caseworker must ensure the Tribal ICWA/MIFPA contact is provided a copy of the petition as soon as it’s available/filed. The caseworker must also ensure that a MDHHS 120 with the supporting attachments is completed and processed in compliance with the law and MDHHS policy. 

Reports:

Please provide reports to Tribal ICWA/MIFPA contact upon request. 

G20 Family Support Referral Form