The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network (Welfare Peer TA) sponsored the Navajo Nation follow-up site visit conducted on December 8-12, 2008 in six locations over the course of five days. Staff from the Navajo Nation’s Native Employment Works (NEW) program requested Dr. Geni Cowan and Julie Gondry from the University of California - Davis Extension to assist them in improving services in various programmatic areas including case management, linkages and coordination with related programs and other resource groups, outreach, recruitment, and other areas essential to customer services. Welfare Peer TA staff accompanied Dr. Cowan and Ms. Gondry on the site visit. The Native Employment Works program operates within the Navajo Nation’s Department of Workforce Development (NDWD). The site visit was structured to include interviews with program directors, staff, and program participants. From the visit, the team identified areas where the NDWD could improve their services. The Navajo Nation Administrative Offices will be reviewing the team’s recommendations and seek to implement changes within the Department throughout the year.

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).