BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a law that gives Native American families preference in fostering and adopting Native children involved with child protective services. The state protections come as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could undercut a federal law providing similar protections. Gianforte signed the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act on Monday after it passed the Legislature by a wide margin. The measure is modeled after the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which Congress passed in response to the alarming rate at which Native American and Alaskan Native children were taken from their homes and subjected to physical and emotional abuse.
