JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Jurisdiction over tribal child welfare cases is being transferred to the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, a decision President Richard Peterson says the council has been working toward for more than a decade.

The Juneau Empire reports an agreement signed Wednesday between the Central Council and the state gives the tribe control over tribal child welfare.

The cases previously handled by the state will now go through the tribal court system and the Central Council will be authorized to license tribal foster homes.

Peterson says the agreement will help put Alaska Native families “back together.”

The transition will start with Central Council taking over a few cases from Juneau, where a majority of Tlingit and Haida foster children live.

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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com