Language assessment and proficiency tools are often the best gauges of language acquisition. There are a variety of tools that language projects can use, such as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages or ACTFL. Choosing the right assessment tools and providing staff training and support in their use can be difficult. Ku Kahakalau is the Project Director of the Institute for Native Pacific Education & Culture or INPEACE’s Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Funded Project located in Kapolei, Hawaii. The webinar was presented by ANA's Alaska Region Training and Technical Assistance Center on the Indigenous Language Proficiency Scale and other language assessment tools.

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.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions IX and X hosted the Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting on July 25‐27, 2016 at the Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting brought together Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies and collaborations to promote economic and social well‐being for individuals, families, and tribal communities. During the meeting, tribal representatives engaged in listening sessions, shared best practices, and participated in workshops in order to more successfully serve the program participants in their communities.

This blog post discusses the recently announced $600,000 in awards to six tribal entities for a new round of Tribal Early Learning Initiative (TELI) grants. These grants allow tribal communities to coordinate their early learning and development programs and enhance the services offered to children and families from pregnancy through kindergarten.

On May 5, 2014, the Social Security Administration presented a webinar, "An Overview of Social Security Programs and Services Important to Tribal Communities" sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Division of Tribal TANF Management, in partnership with the Administration for Native Americans. This webinar explained programs and services of particular interest to tribal community members throughout Indian Country. During this webinar, speakers Charles Jenkins and Alfredo Padilla Jr. expanded on important programs and services such Retirement, Survivors, Disability, Supplemental Security Income, grandchildren benefits, services offered to reservations in remote areas of the United States, upcoming field office changes, and more about the "my Social Security" account.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the 2013 Tribal TANF--Child Welfare Coordination Projects Annual Grantee Meeting on August 14-15, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The meeting provided Tribal TANF--Child Welfare Coordination Project grantees with the opportunity to share information with their peers regarding their program structure and performance. The meeting also addressed grant requirements for Year Two of the projects, strategies for building coalitions in Native American communities, home visiting programs, program sustainability, and approaches for documenting cross-agency coordination and collaboration.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Division of Tribal TANF Management hosted the first national Tribal TANF Summit to Improve Program Performance and Strengthen Native Families on August 12-14, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The workshop focused on Tribal TANF program administration and participant engagement. Experts from the field shared information on a variety of topics including: career pathways and subsidized employment, TANF policies and procedures, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, opportunities for economic development, and effective prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.

The Chippewa Cree Tribal TANF Program, operating on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana, submitted a Technical Assistance Request through the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network (Welfare PeerTA), stating their interest in integrating an official wraparound case management and intervention process for Tribal TANF participants who need services across many agencies. To support this intervention process, the Welfare PeerTA Network, a technical assistance initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, approached these objectives through a three phase technical assistance process: 1) Wraparound Services Training Event; 2) a Tribal TANF Case Review Teleconference; and 3) a Wraparound Case Management Services Webinar. Together, the phases of technical assistance contributed to the fostering of collaborations within Chippewa Cree's various social services agencies, as well as equipped Chippewa Cree staff with the tools and skills necessary to move forward on their own.

The Chippewa Cree Tribal TANF program operates on the Rocky Boy Reservation in northern Montana. At the request of Elaine Topsky (TANF Director for the Chippewa Cree Tribal TANF Program), the WPTA Network hosted a webinar for Ms. Topsky’s staff that addressed Wraparound services and how to use them effectively to best help Tribal TANF participants. The Wraparound approach is an outcome based approach that “ties the goals of the plan to observable or measurable indicators of success."

One of the key components of Wraparound services is that the program is “specialized to the unique needs of the child and their family.” The program utilizes the family, their community, case manager, and others to serve as sources of trust, collaborators who share the responsibility of accountability, and teammates who offer unconditional care. Through the duration of the Wraparound services, the case manager, who is often the facilitator, will help the family discover their strengths and determine their needs, at the same time helping the family set goals and develop strong options for their success. The WPTA Network engaged Dr. Geni Cowan of Eagle Blue Associates to facilitate the training.

The Welfare Peer TA Network held a one-day training on December 9, 2011 for the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency in Shelton, Washington. The training entitled, “Reviving the Vision of Cultural Values and Compassion in Client Services,” developed by the University of California, Davis Extension (UC Davis), is also referred to as “Tribal TANF Town” because it utilizes experiential learning in which participants assume roles and work through the systems that TANF clients must interact with on a daily basis. The training resulted in four key learning points for training participants:

• Provide case management services with compassion;
• Model positive communication and service delivery skills;
• Follow a uniform mission of assisting participants to achieve wellness and promote economic, cultural, and social well-being of individuals, families, communities, and Tribes; and
• Practice professionalism and partnership.

The Technical Assistance summary provides additional details about the training and includes specific feedback from participants.