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.

States and jurisdictions work with Tribes on child welfare issues in many different ways. In some cases, Tribes run their own child welfare systems; in other instances, Tribes receive different degrees of funding and services from the State or counties. In all cases, workers from non-Tribal cultural backgrounds will benefit from learning about Indian history, relevant Federal laws, and cultural considerations. This resource page from the Child Welfare Information Gateway is designed to help non-Indian child welfare workers and agencies find resources on issues relevant to working with American Indian and Alaska Native children and families.

Squaxin Island Tribe of Washington State requested wraparound case management and process training provided by the Native American Training Institute (NATI) through the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network (Welfare Peer TA), a technical assistance initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA). The training, Wraparound in Indian Country: The Ways of the People are Who We Are, was provided in a two-part training. Squaxin Island Tribe sought technical assistance to establish a wraparound case management and intervention process to foster collaborations across various social service agencies to better serve clients in a holistic and culturally appropriate manner. In this training, participants learned of the many steps involved in wraparound case management services and learned how to develop their own wraparound case management plan for their Tribe.

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.

This practice brief is the first in a series of practice briefs being developed by the Tribal HPOG evaluation team, comprised of NORC at the University of Chicago, Red Star Innovations, and the National Indian Health Board. The briefs will be used to disseminate important lessons learned and findings from the Evaluation of the Tribal Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program , which is being funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families. The Tribal HPOG program is funded by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to support 32 demonstration projects, including 5 Tribal Organizations and Colleges, to train Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals as health care professionals. The purpose of this first practice brief is to: (1) describe the unique aspects of the Tribal HPOG grantee organizations and the target populations they serve; (2) introduce the program frameworks of the Tribal HPOG grantees; and (3) provide an overview of the Federally-sponsored evaluation of the Tribal HPOG grantees. (author abstract)

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.

The Office of Community Services (OCS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, administers the Assets for Independence (AFI) Program. AFI funds community-based, faith-based, and other organizations, such as State, local and tribal government agencies that assist low-income people to become economically self-sufficient. The Assets for Independence Resource Center takes an asset-based approach to self-sufficiency and offers users many resources specific to program and agency needs, as well as resources specific to certain populations. Visit the Resource Center to learn more about IDAs, read success stories, locate a project near you, or apply for an AFI grant.

The Region IX Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance convened a meeting for the Region IX Tribal TANF grantees in California and Nevada from September 26-27, 2011. The meeting, the second of two, provided TANF directors and administrators with an open forum for discussing critical issues impacting their TANF participants and an opportunity to network both amongst themselves and with Region IX leadership. The meeting brought together TANF programs to discuss and share information on a number of topics. Region IX Tribal TANF grantees shared lessons learned and gathered strategies that can improve their own programs’ ability to identify and address multiple barriers, develop career pathways, create subsidized employment and asset building opportunities for participants, and effectively manage fiscal requirements. Region IX Tribal TANF programs had the opportunity to discuss relevant topics with experts in the field that provided insight, ideas, and strategies for enhancing their own programs. In addition, the meeting gave Tribal TANF participants an opportunity to meet with Region IX staff to discuss ongoing questions regarding Tribal TANF in California and Nevada.

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance Region X Office held the Alaska Tribal TANF Case Managers Training to address Alaska Tribal TANF organizations’ request for case management training. The meeting was held in Anchorage, Alaska, on May 3-5, 2011.

The National Resource Center for Tribes (NRC4Tribes), a member of the Children’s Bureau, Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance Network, recently conducted a needs assessment of practices within Tribal child welfare among federally recognized American Indian and Alaskan Native Tribes. The report summarizes the need for specific technical assistance in five main areas within Tribal child welfare programs: (1) Tribal child welfare practice, (2) foster care and adoption, (3) the Indian Child Welfare Act, (4) legal and judicial, and (5) Tribal child welfare operations. Overall, the report recognized the need for a strengthened culturally-based Tribal Child Welfare infrastructure that provided increased communication between Tribes in order to share practices and knowledge as well as effective staff recruitment and training. The report also provides an overview of Tribal child welfare programs and a summary of the methods exercised in conducting the needs assessment.