BIA official says progress made at Spirit Lake

FORT TOTTEN, N.D. (AP) — A top Bureau of Indian Affairs official says the agency is making progress in addressing child abuse and neglect on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota.

But Larry Roberts also says looming federal budget cuts could jeopardize funding for social services and law enforcement across Indian Country.

Roberts is a deputy assistant secretary with the Interior Department. He was one of the federal officials who met with reservation residents Wednesday for a discussion about what the BIA has done since taking over child protection services last fall. That happened after criticism that the tribe had failed to protect vulnerable children.

Some residents and officials say not much has changed in the past five months. But U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon says every alleged crime against a child is getting investigated

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