The Hoopa Valley Positive Indian Family Network in California requested technical assistance (TA) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance to help improve Hoopa Valley’s Positive Indian Family Network and their collaboration with other Hoopa Valley human service agencies, particularly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The Network operates through a Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination Grant. An event was held on July 8-9, 2008, that focused on wraparound case management practices and the Systems of Care framework from the perspective of the Medicine Moon Initiative through the Native American Training Institute.

The North Dakota Department of Human Services/Career Options Roundtable was held in Bismarck, North Dakota from May 5-6, 2009. Attendees included representatives from seven Rural Communities Initiative sites as well as administrators and case management staff from Career Options, Inc. Based on Career Options’ presentation during the Rural Communities Academy in September 2008, a number of Initiative sites requested follow-up on certain aspects of the programmatic work taking place at the organization. Specifically, sites expressed interest in Career Options’ organizational development model, child care and education programs, and case management strategies for hard-to-serve participants. With these requests in mind, the Roundtable was designed to include a series of in-depth breakout sessions that focused on the unique tools and case management approaches utilized by Career Options. In addition, as a way to show the diversity of Career Options’ caseload, Roundtable attendees participated in a site visit to the Standing Rock Reservation where they visited with case management staff and toured the Reservation. During the close-out session, attendees discussed their next steps for taking strategies from this Roundtable and replicating them in their local areas.