Child Welfare League of America
Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2001
Formal apology for historical harm
Executive director Shay Bilchik apologized for CWLA’s role in the Indian Adoption Project, recognizing that the program was harmful and reflected bias even though it had been regarded as mainstream and well-intentioned at the time.
1958
Participation in the Indian Adoption Project
CWLA’s joint adoption initiative with the Bureau of Indian Affairs placed Native American children with predominantly non-Native families. It was later criticized as part of a wider system that separated Indigenous children from their families, cultures, and communities, despite the use of legal processes in many individual cases.