In January 2014, Ms. Gwen Gua, SPIPA’s Social Services Manager, submitted a TA Request to the Welfare Peer TA (WPTA) Network seeking onsite training on wraparound services; SPIPA hoped to enhance its case management services for the three Tribes currently operating Tribal TANF/Child Welfare coordination grants by incorporating the principles of wraparound services into its service delivery. SPIPA requested that the Native American Training Institute (NATI) conduct a five-day culture-based wraparound training session titled: “Wraparound in Indian Country: The Ways of the People Are Who We Are.” OFA PeerTA provided technical assistance by facilitating a five-day onsite Wraparound Services training for SPIPA staff that are a part of the wraparound process or are supervising individuals that are implementing the process. The training was designed to prepare the participating Tribes to implement a wraparound care framework that defines agency roles, identifies areas for resource sharing to strengthen services, and establishes a common language to facilitate collaboration. Outcomes included understanding the wraparound process and how it can enhance service delivery for multiple complex needs individuals and their families, and learning the skills necessary for the implementation of wraparound services, including facilitating the wraparound process and conducting wraparound meetings.

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) requested TA from the PeerTA Network to assist in training their TANF and child welfare staff on the wraparound case management process – an intensive, individualized care management process for individuals with complex behavioral needs and/or significant work barriers. CTSI requested a site visit in which an outside trainer visited the Tribal agency to provide wraparound training. OFA PeerTA supported a facilitated site visit for the Center for Improvement of Child and Family Services, School of Social Work, Portland State University to provide CTSI with a 3-4 day onsite training focusing on wraparound case management.

On September 3 - 4, 2014, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held a meeting titled the “2014 Tribal TANF Case Management Meeting” in Tulalip, Washington. This meeting provided staff from Tribal TANF and workforce development agencies with structured forums and presentations about TANF case management, case plan development, client engagement strategies, and service delivery with the goal of transitioning hard-to-serve clients out of poverty. The presenters were Region X ACF staff and Tribal leaders. Participants were able to engage with ACF administrative staff to gain in-depth guidance on financial management, as well as network with other Tribal TANF agencies.

On December 12, 2013, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Region X held a webinar, "Strengthening TANF and Low-Income Families through Strategic Non-Custodial Supports." The webinar, open to State TANF Directors and staff, local TANF agencies, and contractors, focused on how promoting the financial and personal responsibility of non-custodial parents (NCPs) can increase their participation in the lives of their children, improve their employment and career path outcomes, and improve the long-term outlook for children in single-parent families. The presenters highlighted specific programs and provided an overview of innovative ways to serve NCPs, improve their engagement with TANF families, and develop partnerships that meet their needs.

On November 21, 2013, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Region X held a webinar, "State TANF Redesign/Human Services Modernization Efforts" that was open to all State TANF Directors and staff, local TANF agencies, and contractors. The webinar featured the following speakers: Babette Roberts, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services; Lorie Young and Catherine Scardino, State of Hawaii Department of Human Services; and Deborah Carroll, District of Columbia Department of Human Services. For nearly 20 years, Federal and State governments have been working together in earnest to simplify, streamline and enhance publicly financed, human services programs. Most States have embraced increasing access and simplifying policies, have streamlined processes, made procedures more client-friendly, reduced paperwork, and sought to increase outreach to potentially eligible individuals. As a result, millions of at-risk individuals who might not have obtained vital human services supports now do. This moderated webinar provided an overview of State TANF redesign efforts, including the process, lessons learned, and progress made thus far in Washington, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.

On June 27-28, 2012 the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Region X hosted a Tribal TANF Institute in Seattle, Washington bringing together Tribal TANF stakeholders throughout the Region to engage in dialogue and action planning on a variety of topics. The Institute featured presenters from the Tanana Chiefs Conference and their coaches from the Promising Pathways Initiative who led Institute attendees in sessions on data collection and TANF staff collaboration, developing process maps and logic models, and connecting Information Systems/Information Technology and TANF. Other sessions included: a facilitated conversation with the Tribes on work participation in rural areas; a panel on Child Welfare and Tribal TANF collaboration that included representatives from the Region X Child Welfare office, Mark Kimball from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and Don Shircel from the Tanana Chiefs Conference; Pamela Panther from the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency and Ilene Stohl from the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence who presented on the Family Violence Option and how to successfully develop and implement a comprehensive response to domestic violence; and Christy Finsel, a consultant, and Karen "Jack" Granberg who led a session on creating an Individual Development Account (IDA) program within Tribal TANF programs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Division of Tribal TANF Management hosted the first national Tribal TANF Summit to Improve Program Performance and Strengthen Native Families on August 12-14, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The workshop focused on Tribal TANF program administration and participant engagement. Experts from the field shared information on a variety of topics including: career pathways and subsidized employment, TANF policies and procedures, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, opportunities for economic development, and effective prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.

This presentation from Kathy Deserly of the National Resource Center for Tribes was given at the Region X Tribal TANF Conference in September of 2011. The presentation focuses on the different types of kinship care, how it is used in the child welfare and TANF systems, and advantages and challenges of kinship care. Ms. Deserly highlights characteristics of child-only cases within the TANF caseload and makes suggestions for addressing the specific and unique needs of this population.

On May 16, 2012 the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Region X hosted a Webinar on how Tribal TANF programs can use Federal TANF and State maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds for the creation and expansion of subsidized summer youth employment programs. The Webinar provided information on how Tribes have operated summer youth employment programs within a Tribal TANF System, strategies for leveraging funds for subsidized youth employment programs through Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), and presented promising practices of Tribal TANF agencies that currently operate summer youth employment programs. The Webinar was facilitated by Judy Ogliore and Karen "Jack" Granberg from Region X, and included presentations from Tammy Kieffer, the 477 Youth Employment Coordinator for the Spokane Tribe in Washington State; Lu Ann Warrington, the Assistance Director of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; and Arlene Templer, the Director of the Department of Human Resource Development for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana.

On October 18, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) convened an orientation meeting in Washington, D.C. for the Promising Pathways Initiative. The three primary meeting goals of the Promising Pathways All-Site Orientation Meeting were to orient site representatives to the Promising Pathways Initiative, provide hands-on, interactive training for site coordinators on how to define and document their practice using logic models, and plan the first intensive full team site visit. Participants included one or two representatives from each of the ten selected Promising Pathways sites, OFA staff, and ICF International site coaches and team staff. This executive summary describes the proceedings of the All-Site Orientation Meeting and includes the meeting agenda, participant list, and materials as appendices.