This article discusses the third annual Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Capital Access conference. The conference brought together CDFIs from around the country with funders, investors, and other national partners to celebrate the impact CDFIs have had in Native American communities to generate wealth and financial success. The conference also discussed new measurements of financial stability, policy and advocacy opportunities, and new financial capability tools Prosperity Now is creating.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions IV through VIII hosted the 2018 OFA Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting on July 17-18, 2018 at the Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The meeting provided Tribal TANF and Native Employment Works (NEW) representatives with an opportunity to discuss promising strategies for serving low-income families, share challenges, and gather with peers. Attendees participated in presentations from program administrators and experts, heard from practitioners who serve low-income populations, and learned about technical assistance opportunities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions IX and X held the OFA Regions IX-X Tribal TANF Technical Assistance Meeting at the Suquamish Clearwater Resort in Suquamish, Washington on August 21-23, 2018. The meeting provided Tribal TANF and Native Employment Works (NEW) representatives with the opportunity to learn about promising practices, discuss shared challenges faced by Tribal TANF and NEW programs, and share ideas with peers on how to respond to the needs of tribal families. Attendees listened to presentations from program administrators and experts, heard from practitioners who work with tribes, learned about technical assistance opportunities, and shared lessons from their own programs.

OFA PeerTA coordinated a multi-part training series for Tribal TANF programs seeking to improve case management outcomes. The facilitated online training series was delivered to assist frontline staff, client support specialists, lower-level managers, and others who may provide direct services or have direct engagement with participants. The bootcamp also created a small community of learning for participants.

 Webinar Series Details

Overarching Goals for Tribal TANF Programs:

• Enhance the case management skills of Tribal TANF staff to improve employment outcomes;
• Reduce the number of sanctions while improving work participation;
• Develop applicable products and tools to improve case management performance and employment outcomes; and
• Generate continuous dialogue across Tribal TANF programs resulting in long-term peer support and the sharing of best practices that improve employment outcomes

Webinar Topics/Dates: (Note - all times listed are Eastern Time)

• Improving Participant Engagement, Motivation and Participation – February 8, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Using Motivational Interviewing Techniques in Assessment – March 8, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Writing Effective, Efficient Case Notes that Support the Plan – May 3, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Improving Employment Outcomes – June 7, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

The Office of Family Assistance held a webinar on “Creating Tribal TANF and WIOA Partnerships to Connect Tribal Families to Employment” on July 20, 2016, from 2:00-3:15 p.m. ET. This webinar provided an opportunity to hear about partnerships between Tribal TANF agencies and local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) providers. Tribal employment and training agencies often face job placement challenges common to many remote and rural areas – namely, a small pool of employers, few job openings, and limited education and training opportunities in high demand labor areas. For these reasons, it is critical that Tribal TANF participants have the skills necessary to compete for jobs that already exist or are growing within the region. Local WIOA providers can help build the skills of Tribal TANF participants by providing job training and adult education services targeted to in-demand jobs in the region. Speakers from four organizations—Department of Labor, California Indian Manpower Consortium, Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Association, and Cankdeska Cikana Community College—discussed the innovative partnerships they have formed between Tribal TANF and WIOA to help move families toward self-sufficiency.

Speakers included:

• Athena Brown, Division Chief, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Division of Indian and Native American Programs
• Yvette Yazzie, Pala Site Manager, Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association
• Christina Arzate, CIMC Workforce Development Coordinator III, California Indian Manpower Consortium
• Larry D. Anderson, Job Development Specialist, Cankdeska Cikana Community College

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 Casey Family Programs report outlines strategies for keeping American Indian and Alaska Native children in tribal foster homes and approaches to find tribal parents for an “Indian child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act. The report emphasizes the importance for Native children to have connections with families sharing their same culture, especially in cases where the children are not in safe or healthy home environments.

This journal article presents data to illustrate how the death rate from opioids among Native Americans has risen significantly over the last 17 years. The authors also discuss tribal medical and legal responses to the opioid epidemic, including tribally-operated medication assisted therapies and drug diversion courts.

This program instruction revises and replaces NEW-ACF-PI 2011-01. It provides guidance on submission of program, financial, and audit reports covering the NEW program, replacing outdated directions from Program Instruction NEW-ACF-PI-2011-01. Native Employment Works (NEW) grantees are required to submit annual program and financial reports to the HHS and ACF. In addition, guidance is added regarding electronic filing of reports as directed by OGM-AT-13-01.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held the 2017 National Tribal Summit at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia on August 16-18, 2017. Sponsored by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), the 2017 National Tribal TANF Summit brought together program administrators, stakeholders, and leaders. The event provided attendees with opportunities to interact with peers, hear from experts in the field, and share best practices and the latest self-sufficiency research, with the common goal of improving Tribal TANF programming to benefit families in need.