Updated 3:34 p.m. Feb. 16

By ANDY GARDNER

AKWESASNE -- The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is touting their Social Services Division exceeding statewide rates of placing children in “least restrictive home environments” in 2015.

According to a Tuesday news release from the tribe, their social services that year placed 100 percent of kids into relative foster homes. The 2015 statewide average was 28 percent, the tribe said.

According to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the number of children sent to foster care that year was two. However, St. Regis Mohawk Tribe spokesman Brendan White said that number is incorrect but he refused to share his data.

"Releasing specific data for that year would be detrimental to situations where several siblings have placed into an individual household, which comprise a significant percentage of placements. We want to avoid the likelihood of parents/siblings taking that data negatively," White said via email on Wednesday.

The tribe does not yet have data for 2016. They just received the 2015 data from the state in December, White said.

Both children who entered the Akwesasne social services program in 2015 were placed into foster care with a relative, OCFS said.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment that our community can take immense pride in serving the best interests of our children,” Social Services Commissioner Jade White said in a prepared statement. “The unconditional willingness to open their doors to welcome a child in need into their home is true testament to our Relative and Certified Foster Parent’s noble decisions to be involved with our child welfare system. We recognize that this honor would not have been made possible without the cooperation of our Preventive/Foster Care Unity and Foster Parents and we look forward to future collaborations.”

The number of children SRM Social Services put under foster care in 2015 is down dramatically from the previous year. In 2014, they sent 21 children to foster care. Of that, 14 went to relative foster care, six went to non-congregate care and one went into congregate care. Non-congregate care is defined as “foster boarding homes, foster adoptive homes or approved relative homes” and congregate care is “institutions, group homes, group residences, agency operated boarding homes, and other group settings,” according to OCFS.

The OCFS data shows that in 2015, four St. Regis Mohawk children were discharged from approved relative care and in 2014, three were discharged.

“Foster parents and relatives play an essential role in providing temporary, safe, and nurturing homes to children when their parents are unable to care for them,” Preventive Foster Care Program Manager Ella Fuller said in the release. “The safety of the child is always a priority and considerable thought is given to finding the most suitable home environment, whether it be with other family members or foster parents who are looking to adopt. Our goal is to help bring families together.”

Those who want to know more or who are interested in becoming a part of the Akwesasne Foster Care Program can call their Social Services Division at (518) 358-2728.