Stronger Families = Stronger Tribes

January – March 2005

Save the Date!

Third Annual Region VI Department of Health and Human Services Tribal Consultation
April 6 - 7, 2005
1301 Young Street
Dallas, Texas

11th National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference
"Creating Positive Outcomes in Tribal Early Care and Education Settings"
April 24-27, 2005
Salt Lake City, Utah

National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
"Courage, Conviction, and Living Our Values: How Well Are We Protecting Our Children?" April 24-27, 2005
Hilton Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico

5th Annual ACF/Tribal Roundtables to be held in New Mexico and Oklahoma in June. More details to follow.

Greetings!

As a part of our regional strategy to strengthen programs funded by ACF and to promote the ACF Key Priorities, ACF Region VI held its 2005 Mid-Winter Leadership Training Conference January 25-27. Active participation of our Tribal partners assisted us in delivering program-specific training and education to achieve this year’s conference goals and objectives of promoting better service delivery focusing on clients and their needs; increasing participation of faith-based and community organizations in the grant application process and the delivery of services; promoting the key priorities that contribute to the well-being of children; and fostering leadership and accountability across all ACF-funded programs.

I look forward to working with you as we strategize and work together to improve ACF-funded services and to achieve positive outcomes to ensure the well-being of all children and families.

Sincerely,
Leon R. McCowan
Regional Administrator

Additional information including conferences, trainings and funding announcements are listed throughout the newsletter. Please contact the ACF Regional Office if you have any questions or need further details.

Grants.gov

Grants.gov allows organizations to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grant-making agencies. Grants.gov is THE single access point for over 900 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies. The US Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that will have an unparalleled impact on the grant community.

Mike Leavitt
Secretary of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Michael O. Leavitt was sworn in as the 20th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on January 26, 2005. As secretary, he leads national efforts to protect the health of all Americans and provide essential human services to those in need. He manages the largest civilian department in the federal government, with more than 66,000 employees and a budget that accounts for almost one out of every four federal dollars.

Prior to his current service, Leavitt served as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Governor of Utah. While at EPA, Leavitt signed the Clean Air Diesel Rule, implemented new, more-protective air quality standards for ozone and fine particle pollution and organized a regional collaboration of national significance to clean and protect the Great Lakes.

The people of Utah elected Mike Leavitt governor three times. Prior to leaving the statehouse to work in the Bush Administration, he was the nation's longest-serving governor. During his eleven years of service, Utah was recognized six times as one of America's best managed states. He was chosen by his peers as Chairman of the National Governors Association, Western Governors Association and Republican Governors Association because of his ability to solve problems across partisan lines.

Sec. Leavitt is widely recognized as a health care innovator and welfare reformer, and his record of achievement in Utah bears this out. In 1994, the Utah legislature passed Gov. Leavitt's "Healthprint," a comprehensive, incremental approach to health care improvement in the state. A decade later, Utah has more than 400,000 additional people with health insurance, marked increases in the number of children with health care coverage, dramatically improved immunization rates and per capita cost of healthcare 25% below the national average. He was chosen by the nation's governors to represent the states in Congress on welfare reform, Medicaid and children's health insurance.

The application of technology is a passion for Sec. Leavitt. During his tenure as Governor of Utah, the state's website was awarded "Best of Web," offering more than 110 services online. As Secretary of Health and Human Services he is committed to unleashing the power of technology to improve the quality of care, reduce mistakes and manage costs.

In Leavitt's previous public service he has always pursued three goals: to leave things better than he found them; to plant seeds for the next generation; and to give it his all. These are his goals as leader of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Born February 11, 1951, in Cedar City, Utah, Leavitt graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and business from Southern Utah University. He served as president and chief executive officer of a regional insurance firm, establishing it as one of the top insurance brokers in America. He is married to Jaclyn S. Leavitt; they are the parents of five children.

Source: http://www.hhs.gov/about/bios/dhhssec.html

Eleventh National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference

April 24-27, 2006
Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown – Salt Lake City, Utah

The Eleventh National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference "Creating Positive Outcomes in Tribal Early Care and Education Settings" will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, April 24-27, 2005. In addition to the continued focus on school-readiness, as part of the President’s Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS) early learning initiative; conference activities will emphasize improved program outcomes through quality services and accountability.

Many other important topics will be highlighted at this conference through plenary sessions and workshops. Several sessions will address the development of the two-year tribal CCDF plans, which are due this summer. Other workshops will address: developing culturally-relevant curricula; enhancing collaboration skills; tribal child care health and safety issues; State-Tribal collaborations; Head Start-Child Care collaborations; quality care for infants and toddlers, school-age children and children with disabilities; and financial and program data collection issues. Through hands-on workshops and individual time in the conference resource area, Child Care Automation Resource Center staff will be available throughout the conference to answer questions about using the improved Tribal Data Tracker.

It is recommended that all CCDF Administrators take advantage of the Sunday pre-conference trainings. The "CCDF New Administrators Training" provides an overview of the CCDF program and summarizes the key program regulations that must be addressed in administering a quality CCDF program for your Tribe. The "CCDF Experienced Administrators Training" will focus on leadership, management and problem-solving techniques, using a positive change model. Updates on the conference agenda will be available on the Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center's website at: http://nccic.org/tribal.

Please contact Lisa Blackmon-Hansard at (214)767-8129 if you have any questions or need additional information.

Department of Health and Human Services Region VI Tribal Consultation

The Third Annual Region VI Department of Health and Human Services Tribal Consultation will be held in Dallas, TX on April 6 and 7, 2005. All Tribal Leaders will be receiving a letter of invitation from Linda Penn, Region VI HHS Regional Director. The Consultation will be held at the HHS Regional Office at 1301 Young Street in Dallas. April 6 will be the formal consultation. On April 7, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will have individual consultations at the same location.

Please encourage your Tribal Leader to attend this very important consultation.

New Reports Reveal Promising Strategies to Strengthen Tribal Families

HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released a series of reports on the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program. The reports reveal ways that greater state flexibility in federal funding could strengthen the abilities of tribal families to care for their children.

The reports also highlight promising practices tribes have adopted to meet unique challenges they face in managing services to strengthen tribal families, children and youth. A major finding is that state flexibility in funding is critical for tribes to implement the best programs according to their unique history and circumstances.

Promising strategies to strengthen tribal families include:

These reports can be viewed online at the following links:

Source: HHS Press Release, November 17, 2004

Protecting Our Children, Preserving Our Culture

"Courage, Conviction, and Living Our Values: How Well Are We Protecting Our Children?" Indian child welfare work requires individual conviction, organizational courage, and the maintaining of values through innovative services. NICWA asserts that programming and advocacy that are reflective of our values and culture are crucial to maintaining strong families and communities. The work and commitment of all levels of Indian child welfare, from tribal councils to community elders, require support and regeneration. The balance of providing practical technical services to our families and maintaining the energy needed to create change can be a challenge for many communities and tribes. Together, we can learn from each other how to make a difference in our children’s lives and in our communities.

National American Indian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
April 24-27, 2005
Hilton Albuquerque
Albuquerque, NM
Contact: General conference questions call Tanya Firemoon @ (503) 222-4044, ext. 130

HHS Releases New Tribal Consultation Policy

A new HHS Policy on Tribal Consultation created under a federal-tribal partnership that included over 40 tribal and 20 federal representatives was announced.

The new policy updates the current policy for consistency and compliance with existing Executive Memorandum dated Sept. 23, 2004 and Executive Order 13175 and contains sections on performance, evaluation and results. These concepts were added to increase responsibility and accountability for tribal consultation consistent with the President's Management Agenda and HHS Objectives. The new policy also incorporates new practices implemented since 2001 such as reactivation of the Secretary's Intradepartmental Council on Native American Affairs (ICNAA), annual regional tribal consultations sessions, and enhanced consultation on the budget formulation process.

In March 2003, HHS initiated formal consultation with tribal governments to revise the 1997 "HHS Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribal Governments and Indian Organizations" which predated the recent Executive Memoranda and Executive Order signed to enhance tribal consultation.

Since 2001, HHS leadership expanded tribal government access to HHS programs, initiated senior staff trips to Indian reservations, reactivated a dormant ICNAA and implemented annual regional tribal consultation sessions. As part of HHS' broadened emphasis on expanding programs to better serve this population and be responsive to tribal consultation issues, the Secretary determined revision to existing policy was needed.

Source: HHS Press Release, January 21, 2005

Technical Assistance for ANA Grant Applications

The grant announcements for ANA grants are currently open.

Training and Technical Assistance is available for ANA grant applications for Tribes in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana from the Native American Management Services, Inc. Contact person is Kendra King Bowes, 1-888-221-9686 or (703)821-2226, ext. 234, or by email at kking@namsinc.org or www.anaeastern.org.

For Tribes in New Mexico, information is available from ACKCO, Inc. @ www.anawestern.org. Contact person is Theron Wauneka, 1-800-525-2859 or (602)253-8174, or by email at Theron.Wauneka@ackco.com.

4GirlsHealth

The 4GirlsHealth web site was created to help girls (ages 10-16) learn about health, growing up, and issues they may face. It focuses on health topics that girls are concerned about and helps motivate them to choose healthy behaviors by using positive, supportive, and non-threatening messages. The site gives girls reliable, useful information on the health issues they will face as they become young women and tips on handling relationships with family and friends, at school and at home.

The mission of the www.4girls.gov web site, developed by the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, is to promote healthy, positive behaviors in girls between the ages of 10 and 16. The site gives girls reliable, useful information on the health issues they will face as they become young women, and tips on handling relationships with family and friends, at school and at home.

GAO Report for Foster Youth

In November 2004, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued the Foster Youth: HHS Actions Could Improve Coordination of Services and Monitoring of States’ Independent Living Program. GAO found that the doubling of federal funding for independent living programs has resulted in most states receiving an increase in funds. Although some states had difficulty expanding their program infrastructure in the first 2 years of increased funding, the amount of funds states returned to HHS declined the second year. Differences in funding also appeared in the amounts available per eligible foster care youth.

GAO is recommending to the Secretary of HHS to improve the availability of information on the array of federal programs that could be used to assist youth transitioning out of foster care at the state and local levels and to improve existing processes for monitoring states’ progress in meeting the needs of current and former foster care youth. HHS disagreed with GAO’s latter recommendation, which included standardizing the reporting format for plans and reports, stating that it would impose an unnecessary burden on states.

The full report can be found at: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-25

National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth

The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY) disseminates the NCFY Youth Initiatives Update, a monthly compilation of information on new youth-related initiatives and resources selected from the Web sites of more than 100 national organizations and Federal agencies.

We hope you find the information useful. Please feel free to contact NCFY by telephone at (301) 608-8098 or by e-mail at <info@ncfy.com> if you have questions.

www.ncfy.com

National Youth Summit
“Youth in Action– Making a Difference”

July 28-30, 2005
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, DC

This year’s Summit will focus on:
Youth & Public Policy
Youth & the Economy
Youth & Community Service
Youth & Creativity

The Summit is for youth in action who make a difference and for the adults who work with, learn from, and support America’s dynamic young people.

Online registration begins March 1.

Questions? Call (301) 608-8098 or email summit@ncfy.com for answers!

Child Care Bureau Announces New Materials from After School Investments Project

The Child Care Bureau at ACF announced new technical assistance materials developed by the After School Investments project. The resources are designed to assist state child care lead agencies as they work with other public and private sector partners to support quality and sustainable out-of-school time services that provide safe places for kids while their parents are working. High quality after school programs engage children and youth in a range of activities to promote healthy development and support learning.

The new materials include:

The After school Investments project is a Child Care Bureau contract with the Finance Project and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. The materials are available on the project’s website at www.nccic.org/afterschool

Source: ACF Messenger, January 26, 2005

REGION VI ACF/TRIBAL ROUNDTABLES

Plans are being made for the 5th Annual ACF/Tribal Roundtables to be held in New Mexico and Oklahoma. We anticipate the Roundtables will be in June, specific dates and locations to be determined. Tribes in Louisiana and Texas are invited to attend at either location.

Final plans will be forthcoming.

Native American Initiative Announced
Fortune 500 donations will help children and families

A Native American Initiative was announced on February 10, 2005 to strengthen American Indians and tribal governments through donations from private sector and Fortune 500 firms.

The Native American Initiative is a collaboration between the Administration on Native Americans (ANA), and Gifts In Kind International, the world’s leading charity in product philanthropy and the third largest charity in the United States.

ANA serves as the lead agency in the Initiative by providing information to tribes, tribal colleges and nonprofit Native American organizations about Gifts In Kind and its programs. ANA is coordinating outreach to Native American communities that are interested in accessing resources.

The goals of the Native American Initiative are to:

For additional information about the Native American Initiative, contact ANA at: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ana and go to the Native American Initiative, or call toll-free at 877-922-9262

Source: HHS Press Release, February 10, 2005

Child Welfare Training Opportunities

Looking for tools and information to build and strengthen your child welfare workforce? Visit the Child Welfare Workforce and Training Resources section of the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information website at http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/profess/workforce.

Along with up-to-date research, reports and literature on current workforce issues such as turnover, worker safety and worker competencies, the website offers a wealth of links to university degree programs, training organizations and curricula for caseworkers, supervisors, parents and other professionals.

HHS Reallocates SCHIP Funds, No State Will Fall Short

A redistribution of $643 million dollars in unspent State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funds to help states avoid funding shortfalls in 2005 was announced.

States have three years to spend each year's SCHIP allotment. In previous years, Congress has allowed a portion of funds left unspent to be redistributed to states that have exhausted their money.

"I am very pleased that we can take action to prevent any loss or break in coverage because program funds weren't being used by states that need them the most," said Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the SCHIP program. "We intend to do as much as possible to use SCHIP funds to improve access to coverage, and even with this redistribution, we expect to complete the 2005 fiscal year with over $5 billion in unspent federal matching funds."

SCHIP was enacted with bi-partisan support in 1997 as a state/federal partnership program. All states administer a SCHIP program which is intended to provide health coverage to otherwise uninsured children whose families earn too much for traditional Medicaid, but not enough to afford employer-sponsored or private sector policies. Currently, some 5.8 million children are enrolled in SCHIP. More information about the program can be found at www.cms.hhs.gov/schip.

Source: HHS Press Release, January 19, 2005

Tribal TANF and CCDF Guide to Financial Management, Grants Administration and Program Accountability

A “Tribal TANF and CCDF Guide to Financial Management, Grants Administration, and Program Accountability” was developed in conjunction with a special Tribal Cluster Training, “Collaboration and Accountability as Foundations for Success,” held in Portland, Oregon on August 24-25, 2004. This Tribal Cluster Training was jointly sponsored by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), which administers the Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Child Care Bureau (CCB), which administers the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program.

Recognizing that the TANF and CCDF programs have a number of cross-cutting issues, this Guide focuses on general program administration and accountability issues that are common to the Tribal TANF and CCDF programs, including basic grants management and financial management principles, audits, and procurement and Federal property requirements. TANF and CCDF specific information is highlighted throughout the Guide.

By working collaboratively across the TANF and CCDF programs, Tribes have the opportunity to provide enhanced services to Indian families as they move along the path toward social and economic self-sufficiency.

Source: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/ta/tanf-guide/fmgapa1.htm

Welfare Rolls Continue to Fall

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced that caseloads for both families and individuals receiving cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program declined between the first and second quarters of calendar year 2004.

“Throughout the first four years of the Bush Administration, we have seen caseloads decline continuously,” Secretary Leavitt said. “Now it is important to work with Congress to reauthorize welfare reform so more families can be strengthened by work instead of weakened by welfare dependency.”

Between March and June 2004, TANF caseloads for families dropped 1 percent, from 1,992,143 to 1,969,909. For individuals the caseload declined 1.3 percent, from 4,798,986 to 4,729,291.

Welfare rolls have fallen during the last year of data. The most recent twelve months of reporting show that between June 2003 and June 2004 TANF caseloads for families dropped 3.0 percent, from 2,031,563 to 1,969,909. For individuals the caseload declined 4.4 percent, from 4,948,745 to 4,729,291.

The 1996 TANF law expired September 30, 2002 and is operating under a temporary extension. President Bush’s proposal to reauthorize welfare reform would strengthen work requirements while providing the assistance needed to help low-income Americans advance in their careers.

Source: ACF Messenger, February 9, 2005

Tribal Colleges and Universities Initiative

President Bush recognized the important role Tribal Colleges and Universities play in American Indian communities and on July 3, 2002, signed Executive Order 13270 on Tribal Colleges and Universities.

There are 34 federally recognized Tribal Colleges and Universities in the United States. Located mainly in the Midwest and Southwest, Tribal Colleges and Universities service approximately 30,000 full- and part-time students. They offer two-year associate degrees in over 200 disciplines with some providing a bachelor's and master's degree. They also offer 200 vocational certificate programs.

Region VI ACF continues to support the executive order which states, "It is the policy of the Federal Government that this Nation's commitment to educational excellence and opportunity must extend as well to the Tribal colleges and universities that serve Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities".
There are three Tribal colleges located within Region VI: Crownpoint Institute of Technology, the Institute of American Indian Arts and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

TITLE: Overview Information, William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs--Grants for Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005

AGENCY: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

CITATION: Federal Register: February 17, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 32) Page 8085-8089 Log on to: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov
/2005/E5-657.htm

SUMMARY: The William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs (Even Start), including the grants for Indian tribes and tribal organizations, are intended to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of low-income families by integrating early childhood education, adult literacy or adult basic education, and parenting education into a unified family literacy program. These programs are implemented through cooperative activities that: build on high-quality existing community resources to create a new range of educational services for most-in- need families; promote the academic achievement of children and adults; assist children from low-income families to meet challenging State content and student achievement standards; and use instructional programs that are based on scientifically based reading research and on the prevention of reading difficulties for children and adults, to the extent such research is available. A description of the required fifteen program elements for which funds must be used is included in the application package.

DATE: Applications Available: February 18, 2005. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2005.

CONTACT: Doris Sligh, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3W246, Washington, DC 20202- 6132. Telephone: (202) 260-0968, or by e-mail: Doris.Sligh@ed.gov.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Collaborative Efforts to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse RFA 05038. Application Deadline: April 4, 2005.

For information on additional funding opportunities from CDC, please access http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grantmain.htm

SUBSTANCE ABUSE/MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Effective January 3, 2005, SAMSHA will only post Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) and Requests for Applications (RFAs) on the SAMHSA website at www.samhsa.gov and at www.Grants.gov. Single source or limited competition announcements will continue to be published in the Federal Register.

Copies of grant fund application materials will continue to be available from SAMHSA's clearinghouses: National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 1-800-729-6686 for substance abuse prevention or treatment grants; and the National Mental Health Information Center at 1-800-789-2647 for mental health grants.

The Region VI “Stronger Families = Stronger Tribes” Newsletter is issued by the Administration for Children & Families, Region VI.
Look for the next Newsletter in June 2005

U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
Administration for Children & Families
1301 Young Street,
Room 958/ ACF-3
Dallas, Texas 75202-5433

Leon R. McCowan,
Regional Administrator

Tribal Program Specialists
Fax: 214-767-8124

Judy Baggett
Tribal Team Leader
Tribal Child Welfare
(214) 767-8078
jbaggett@acf.hhs.gov

Carl Rich
Tribal Child Support Coordinator
Tribal TANF & NEW
(214)767-8095
crich@acf.hhs.gov

Lisa Blackmon-Hansard
Tribal Program Specialist
Tribal Child Care
Tribal Domestic Violence
(214) 767-8129
lblackmon@acf.hhs.gov

Ken Cook
Financial Operations Specialist
Tribal Child Care
(214)767-8822
(214)767-8890 fax
kcook@acf.hhs.gov

Regional Office VI Who We Are

Service Area: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Up-to-date information about Region VI states can be found at http://www.stateline.org/

Profile
5 States
68 Federally Recognized Tribes
176 Head Start Grantees serving 114,647 children
67 Early Head Start Grantees serving 6,033 pregnant women, infants and toddlers
30 Runaway and Homeless Grants

Mission
Region VI will fulfill ACF's mission of meeting the needs of children and families in a positive and productive environment, through visionary leadership, effective program integration, and responsible staffing.