Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) staff attended the 2008 National Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Institute that took place July 21-24, 2008. Sponsored by the University of California, Center for Human Services, U.C. Davis Extension, the Institute consisted of a three day training course designed to promote the development of culturally sensitive case management practices and delivery of services to Tribal TANF participants in a culturally appropriate way. The Institute was designed to offer solutions to Tribal TANF programs and to offer skill building and networking opportunities for participants.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network (Welfare Peer TA) sponsored the Navajo Nation follow-up site visit conducted on December 8-12, 2008 in six locations over the course of five days. Staff from the Navajo Nation’s Native Employment Works (NEW) program requested Dr. Geni Cowan and Julie Gondry from the University of California - Davis Extension to assist them in improving services in various programmatic areas including case management, linkages and coordination with related programs and other resource groups, outreach, recruitment, and other areas essential to customer services. Welfare Peer TA staff accompanied Dr. Cowan and Ms. Gondry on the site visit. The Native Employment Works program operates within the Navajo Nation’s Department of Workforce Development (NDWD). The site visit was structured to include interviews with program directors, staff, and program participants. From the visit, the team identified areas where the NDWD could improve their services. The Navajo Nation Administrative Offices will be reviewing the team’s recommendations and seek to implement changes within the Department throughout the year.

Welfare Peer TA conducted a Site Visit to the Mille-Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribal TANF Program based on their request for TA. Welfare Peer TA 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, Mille-Lacs 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.

Staff from the Healthy Family/Healthy Child Project in Siletz, Oregon, submitted a technical assistance (TA) request to the Welfare Peer TA Network in hopes of increasing their knowledge around collaborating among their tribal service agencies to better serve their TANF and Child Welfare participants. The Healthy Family/Healthy Child Project operates through a Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination Grant from the U.S. Department of Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance. In response to the request, an event was held on December 3-5, 2008 that focused on wraparound case management practices and the Systems of Care (SOC) framework from the perspective of the Medicine Moon Initiative through the Native American Training Institute. Deb Painte, Director of the Medicine Moon Initiative, Jan Birkland, Sacred Child Project Coordinator for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and Claresa Blacksmith, Parent Coordinator for the St. Mary’s Parent Support Group of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, facilitated the meeting.

This resource, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, provides answers to common questions on the Tribal TANF Final Rule. There are answers to questions on TANF assistance, funding, uses of Tribal TANF grants, work activities, and data reporting.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 gave tribal governments’ new authority to structure and administer their own cash assistance, employment and training, child care, and child support enforcement programs. This report describes some current characteristics of tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and emerging challenges in serving tribal members through tribal and state TANF programs. It also presents findings from recent studies on welfare reform's impact on tribal members and explores tribal issues likely to be raised during TANF reauthorization in 2002.

Federal law permits American Indian tribes to operate the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for their members. That option entails benefits and advantages, but also risks and costs for tribes. This report discusses the benefits of tribal TANF operation, the challenges and problems tribes have encountered, and lessons from tribal experience. This report describes the experiences of 10 tribal grantees in planning, implementing, and operating TANF programs. It was prepared for the use of tribal, federal, and state officials, and other stakeholders in welfare reform in Indian country. The report is based on data collected between August 2001 and July 2002 through telephone interviews with all 10 tribal grantees, and subsequent in-depth site visits to three of them.

The Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families has released critical documents to inform State, Tribal and Territorial Title IV-B and IV-E agencies and Indian Tribes and Indian Tribal Organizations of the enactment of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and to provide basic information about the provisions of this law.

Welfare Peer TA conducted a site visit to the Chippewa Cree Tribal TANF program in Box Elder, Montana based on the Tribe's Request for TA. Welfare Peer TA staff joined 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, partnered to provide the Tribe with Tribal TANF subject matter expertise with program based skills in training, case management and data reporting. Based upon the assessment results, the Chippewa Cree 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.

This paper, from the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Utah, provides an overview of the Navajo culture and their Tribal TANF program. The paper also discusses barriers that the Navajo Nation faces in effectively engaging their Tribal TANF clients and promoting self sufficiency. Barriers include support costs and lack of jobs among others.