American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations have an exemplary tradition of military service and sacrifice, serving at one of the highest rates per capita of any ethnic group. AI/AN Veterans are disproportionately impacted by suicide. A culturally centered comprehensive public health approach is needed to incorporate, respect, and elevate Indigenous Knowledge and build on the strengths of Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) and their communities.

This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration webinar will take place on August 6, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to illustrate the power of traditions and cultural practices in healing. For example, many communities hold ceremonies when service members leave for their service and again when they return. Practices like sweat lodges, talking circles, honor songs, and drumming all work to heal the mind, body, and soul.

Over the last three years, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has increased program investments in support of Public Law 102-477 (477) as part of their commitment to uplift indigenous communities, foster self-sufficiency, and honor tribal sovereignty. In fiscal year 2023, almost 300 Tribes within about 70 plans integrated 133 ACF grant awards totaling nearly 85% of the total funding integrated under 477 across the federal government. This includes Child Care and Development Fund, Community Services Block Grant, Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Native Employment Works programs. This ACF resource highlights examples of how tribes leverage the 477 Program based on the funding they get from ACF and their specific needs, including from Citizen Potawatomi Nation and from Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

Today, 60 federally recognized sovereign tribes and tribal consortia in 22 states implement Title IV-D tribal child support programs. This Institute for Research on Poverty literature review provides an overview of laws and policies that shape tribal child support programs; investigates the demographic and economic contexts of tribal communities; describes state and tribal program implementation; summarizes the small body of academic research regarding tribal child support programs and outcomes; and concludes with opportunities for future investigation.

The Office of Family Assistance podcast series, “Incorporating Lived Experiences into Decision Making,” provides insights into how TANF agencies can include and involve individuals with lived experience in receiving TANF into agency programming and policy development. The series discusses why including individuals with lived experience is important and highlights various strategies and resources agencies can use to incorporate these perspectives. This first episode explores various strategies agencies have taken to gather and use input from individuals with lived experience to benefit agencies’ understanding, decision-making, and programming. Podcast speakers discuss varying approaches, including gathering survey feedback on program operations, forming participant advisory committees, incorporating participant-led case management practices, and hiring individuals with lived experience into permanent positions. This episode also explores how to engage in lived experiences equitably, including discussions of compensating individuals appropriately for their time and expertise.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration hosted a virtual event on April 20, 2023 where the Division of Indian and Native American Programs invited Jim Warne, subject matter expert in the field of disabilities among Native populations, to share his presentation “Helping Native People with Disabilities Succeed Through Family and Community Engagement.” This presentation included information on the value of community-driven solutions, cultivating a deeper understanding of community practices, and the varying types of traumas affecting native people with disabilities. The presentation ended with an open dialogue, where Warne answered questions about practices employed to assist people with disabilities, potential partnerships with Section 166 programs, and smaller tribal vocational rehabilitation programs.

The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families has awarded $9 million to 32 Native American Tribes and Native organizations to help improve the social and economic well-being in their communities. Every year, ANA supports Native-led, community-based projects across the United States, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Funds will be awarded across three Notice of Funding Opportunities: Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS), Social and Economic Development Strategies Alaska (SEDS-AK), and Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Grant Awards (ERE). This ACF press release announces the new FY 2023 SEDS, SEDS-AK, and ERE community partners and highlights three tribal projects that will be supported with this funding.

This Office of Family Assistance Program Instruction answers questions on how the Tribal TANF Program can assist persons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Program Instruction complements TANF-ACF-PI-2020-01, which addressed questions and answers raised by state and tribal grantees on how they might use TANF and TANF’s administrative flexibilities to provide non-recurrent, short-term benefits for those in need due to COVID-19.

Because American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) families face consistent barriers to employment and repeatedly have the highest unemployment rates in the United States, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation studied subsidized employment programs conducted by Tribal TANF programs. This resulting report found that, overall, subsidized employment programs help participants gain work experience, skills, and training necessary to lower barriers to employment. They also emphasize the variety in regional contexts that can make the transition to unsubsidized employment difficult, particularly in small economies. The eight spotlighted Tribal TANF programs provide examples for practitioners in diverse areas and show how subsidized employment can at the least be a means of temporary income, and can often be a stepping stone toward job experience and economic stability.

This report from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation describes the implementation of the Tribal Home Visiting Program, which utilizes an evidence-based, two-generation approach. The report includes information about the technical assistance provided to support grantees, recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve services, and more aspects of the program.