On April 29th, 2008, Welfare Peer TA conducted a site visit to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal TANF program in Plummer, Idaho based on the Tribe’s Request for TA. Welfare Peer TA staff partnered with consultants from the U.C. Davis Extension at the University of California to provide the Tribe with an in-depth needs assessment in order to strategize on developing solutions for programmatic improvement. The consultants, Julie Gondry and Dr. Geni Cowan, are Tribal TANF subject matter experts with program based skills in training, case management, and data reporting. Based upon the assessment results, the Coeur d’Alene Tribal TANF program will receive valuable recommendations to further enhance aspects of their program’s structure and administration to reach the end goal of self-sufficiency for their TANF participants.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) sponsored a 3-day conference for Tribal TANF grantees in Regions VI, VIII, and X. The annual meeting was designed to address the needs of grantees who have received funding to operate Tribal TANF programs. A total of 30 Tribal TANF programs were represented at the conference. The objective of the conference was to promote awareness and provide information on effective implementation and service delivery, as well as afford grantees the opportunity to collaborate and communicate with each other.

This resource guide was designed to support child welfare workers, supervisors, administrators, and other professionals that work with American Indian families. From the Rocky Mountain Quality Improvement Center, this guide offers strategies for best practices in serving these families with both child protection and substance abuse concerns.

This issue brief was developed by the Child Welfare Information Gateway and offers information to help States and Tribes work effectively together to serve families. Authors examine the key factors that affect Tribal-State relations in child welfare and provide promising practices for effective collaboration.

Researchers, from the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, conducted this study to explore the use of methamphetamine in Indian country. Professionals from three Western tribal communities completed questions on their perceptions of methamphetamine use and the implications for child abuse in their communities. The findings include significant methamphetamine use in Indian country and the professionals offered the implications that use has on children, women, families, and systems.

Authored by Walter Hillabrant, Judy Earp, Mack Rhoades, and Nancy Pindus. This report presents findings from a Mathematica study, done under the Welfare to Work evaluation, of economic development initiatives in eight tribes (Cheyenne River Sioux, Citizen Potawatomi, Colville Confederated Tribes, Gila River, Mississippi Choctaw, Navajo Nation, Three Affiliated Tribes, and Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and two Alaska Native corporations (Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Doyon Limited). This report discusses how American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages have embraced the goals, objectives, and programs associated with welfare reform, but the lack of jobs limits the success of tribal programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare-to-Work (WtW).

This series of reports, completed as part of a two-year study by James Bell Associates, describes how tribes use flexible Federal funds for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. The reports highlight promising practices tribes have adopted to meet unique challenges they face in managing services to strengthen tribal families, children, and youth. This report is labeled as Issue Paper #1.

This newsletter, from the Family and Youth Services Bureau, gives information on how youth in tribes are often best served through culturally-specific programs. Currently, more than a third of the Native American community is under the age of 18, which makes it important to work with the tribal youth. Tribes are currently working with Family and Youth Services Bureau in an effort to better serve Native youth and families.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, supported a 2-day conference held by Office of Family Assistance, Region VI, examining the issues of domestic violence and substance abuse as barriers to self-sufficiency for the Native American Population. The focus of the conference was to help TANF case workers better understand the impact of domestic violence and substance abuse in Native American populations, and identify barriers unique to Native American Communities. The conference also focused on developing strategies for collaboration with Native American organizations and governments. See Appendix A for the complete Agenda. TANF workers from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas were invited to attend.