For many Tribal communities throughout the Pacific West the challenges of meeting the self-sufficiency needs of Tribal members have increased during the economic downturn. Improving the responsiveness and applicability of Tribal TANF programs requires strategic thinking and broad visioning and as a result the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Region IX organized a two-part training and technical assistance meeting for Tribes in California and Nevada. The meetings—hosted in San Francisco, California—were held August 16-17, 2010 and October 18-19, 2010 and were targeted to the specific program needs of Tribal TANF programs throughout the region. Specific topics included organizational assessment and strategic planning, capacity building, program assessments, data management and usage, and client assessment. As requested by the participants of the 2009 Tribal TANF meetings in ACF Region IX all care was used to develop a more interactive session between presenters and participants. As a result, the 2010 ACF Region IX Tribal TANF meetings were developed as discussion forums and there are no additional printed resources available at this time. For any additional information on these meetings, please contact ACF Region IX.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions V and VII hosted the Tribal TANF in the Heartland 2010 Meeting on August 11-12, 2010. The goal of the meeting was to help Tribal programs develop responsive and comprehensive Tribal TANF programs, especially in times of economic recession. Sessions included a variety of topics including case management, job creation, domestic violence, and fiscal management. This roundtable style event included presentations from experts in various fields and the opportunity for Tribal TANF representatives to share and network with their peers in innovative peer sharing and learning sessions.

While still facing serious fiscal and programmatic challenges, the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT) site felt strongly that their TANF program required an infusion of evidence-based practices and ideas that had successfully moved Tribal TANF participants into higher levels of self-sufficiency. WMAT identified the Navajo Nation Tribal TANF system as the case management model they hoped to replicate and a site visit was conducted in September 2009. During the site visit, five staff members from WMAT met with leadership from the Navajo Department of Workforce Development and the Program for Self Reliance to discuss Tribal TANF operations, cost efficient service delivery, serving remote Tribal TANF participants, and other case management strategies. The WMAT site visit to the Navajo Nation and the subsequent introduction of numerous promising strategies served as a valuable asset in the redesign of their Tribal Family Assistance Plan (TFAP). The principles of self-reliance and cultural values within the context of TANF, concepts they explored with the Navajo Nation, have become important components of their new TFAP.

In recognition of the many case management and economic development challenges and opportunities present on Tribal lands, the Office of Family Assistance, in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families Regions VI and VIII, convened a series of Tribal Roundtable events to help address and capitalize on some of these issues. Attended by staff from sixteen different Tribal governments, the Roundtable series took place April 12-15 in Denver, Colorado, and featured three major sessions: Identifying Opportunities for Economic Development In Indian Country Roundtable; ACF Regions VI and VIII Tribal TANF Administrators Meeting, and; Identifying and Implementing Effective Case Management Strategies Workshop. With assistance from Federal and Regional staff and nationally recognized content experts and practitioners, Roundtable participants focused on a number of issues critical to the success and continued sustainability of their TANF programs. Topics covered during the Roundtable Series included job creation, green technologies, guidance on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, and case management strategies that empower and motivate TANF participants and staff. Roundtable attendees were provided with tools, promising program models, and resources to assist in their local economic development, case management design, and program development efforts.

From the First Nations Development Institute, with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this resource was developed to help tribal leaders build EITC campaigns in their communities. Authors provide an overview of the EITC, how the EITC can help support tribal communities and families, strategies that can be implemented to promote EITC uptake for this population, a timeline for EITC campaign implementation, and additional resources to support tribal leaders.

This Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network site visit was conducted to support the Quileute Tribe Department of Human Services in developing policies and procedures regarding transporting students on educational site visits. This Welfare Peer TA Network site visit was conducted on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance. To support this goal, the Welfare Peer TA Network worked with Ms. Claude Endfield, Chair of the Early Childhood Program at Northland Pioneer College in Holbrook, Arizona. The site visit took place on February 23rd and 24th, 2009 at the Quileute Tribe Department of Human Services office in La Push, Washington. Over the course of the two day visit, Ms. Endfield worked with staff to further develop the Department’s policies and procedures for transporting students.

The Rural Communities Initiative conducted a Site Visit to the White Mountain Apache Tribal TANF Program based on their request for TA. Rural Communities Initiative staff partnered with consultants from the U.C. Davis Extension at the University of California to provide the Tribe with an in-depth needs assessment in order to strategize on developing solutions for programmatic improvement. The consultants, Julie Gondry and Dr. Geni Cowan, are Tribal TANF subject matter experts with program based skills in training, case management, and data reporting. Based upon the assessment results, the White Mountain Apache Tribal TANF Program will receive valuable recommendations to further enhance aspects of their program’s structure and administration to reach the end goal of self-sufficiency for their TANF participants.

The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation conducted this study to better understand the characteristics and participation of American Indians and Alaska Natives in State and Tribal TANF programs over time. Researchers conducted comparisons between Tribal and non-Tribal caseloads across State TANF programs.

Staff from the Montana (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes/Roosevelt County) and Hoopa Valley Tribal TANF (California) met with personnel from various social service providers on the Turtle Mountain Reservation to learn more about innovative substance abuse prevention, job development, community building, and youth development programs currently being used on the Reservation. Both sites requested this visit due to their interest in investigating community/family centered strategies that supported substance abuse prevention and empowered Tribal communities.

The Hoopa Valley Positive Indian Family Network in California requested technical assistance (TA) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance to help improve Hoopa Valley’s Positive Indian Family Network and their collaboration with other Hoopa Valley human service agencies, particularly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The Network operates through a Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination Grant. An event was held on July 8-9, 2008, that focused on wraparound case management practices and the Systems of Care framework from the perspective of the Medicine Moon Initiative through the Native American Training Institute.