Generations United produced a set of three tip sheets as quick reference tools for practitioners and advocates who are working with grandfamilies and kinship families from traditionally underserved groups. Based on toolkits, these tip sheets are tailored for addressing the needs of children from American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN), Latino, and African American populations. They help practitioners provide services in a way that is culturally sensitive and effective and also serve as guides for staff orientation/training to work in these communities.

The Child Welfare Information Gateway created a five-part podcast series that illustrated ways that states and tribal jurisdictions have supported kinship caregivers. Part 3 of this series focuses on the unique successes experienced within the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. The Tribe’s flexible use of funding and their prevention-focused approach have resulted in a near 70 percent reduction in the number of children in care. Their success is built upon strong, trusting relationships forged between tribal members. Topics discussed included:

• How Port Gamble S’Klallam’s Children and Family Services differs from other State and Tribal child welfare agencies,
• How the trusting relationships Children and Family Services shares with the community enable proactive engagement with families before they encounter the child welfare system,
• Tailoring services and assessments to address a community’s specific needs, and
• Guidance for child welfare professionals who may work with Tribal families and communities.

Both inside and outside the foster care system, American Indian and Alaska Native children are more likely to live in grandfamilies—families in which grandparents, other adult family members, or close family friends are raising children with no parents in the home—than any other racial or ethnic group. This toolkit is designed to give resources and tips to child welfare agencies, other government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, so they can better serve all American Indian and Alaska Native grandfamilies regardless of child welfare involvement. It also explores some unique strengths and challenges of these grandfamilies, which agencies and organizations need to recognize to provide culturally appropriate supportive services.

American Indian and Alaska Native children are more likely to live in grandfamilies than children in any other racial or ethnic group. While American Indian and Alaska Native children make up one percent of all children in the United States, they comprise over eight percent of all children in grandfamilies and two percent of all children in state foster care systems. This tip sheet is designed as a quick reference tool for practitioners and advocates working with grandfamilies and kinship families who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. It is meant to help them provide services in a way that is culturally sensitive and effective and also serves as a reference guide for staff orientation/training to work in these communities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance hosted the 2022 Regions IX and X Virtual Tribal TANF and NEW Technical Assistance Meeting on August 23-25, 2022. The Strengthening Partnerships Between Tribal TANF and Child Welfare session was targeted to Tribal TANF programs interested in coordinating programming with Child Welfare, specifically for tribes that did not have a Tribal TANF-Child Welfare (TTCW) grant. It was also applicable for participants that were considering applying for a TTCW grant in the future. Participants learned about resources available for increasing coordination, including the Resource Toolbox for Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination Projects, the Continuous Quality Improvement framework, and the Collaboration Assessment Tool.

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.

Child welfare practitioners require effective tools to gauge children’s immediate safety and risk of future maltreatment. This brief from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation provides information about child safety and risk assessments in AI/AN communities. It also explores the importance of cultural competency in assessments and provides examples of tribes’ adaptations of assessments to fit their communities.

Many members of Tribal communities feel impacted by intergenerational trauma, resulting from the experiences of prior generations who had been exposed to adverse conditions. Additionally, some Tribal communities have endured negative experiences that may have caused a distrust of research and evaluation. Some previous research has been invasive or perceived as offering little to no benefits for communities; therefore, evaluation efforts on Tribal lands are often faced with reluctance or refusal. The Children’s Bureau developed this guide to improve evaluation efforts among Tribal child welfare programs. It was informed by a workgroup of representatives from Tribal child welfare programs, evaluators, researchers, technical assistance providers, and Federal partners.

The Attorney General’s Advisory Committee convened four public hearings and multiple listening sessions across the country to examine the impacts of violence facing American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children in schools, communities, and homes. This report includes blueprints of recommendations to prevent AI/AN children’s exposure to violence and mitigate the negative effects experienced by these children exposed to violence.

In 2011, fourteen tribes and tribal organizations received grants from the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) for Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services to Tribal Families. These grants were designed to provide innovative and relevant approaches to coordinating services between TANF and child welfare systems. This report from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation summarizes the grantees’ experiences with direct services and interagency coordination thus far. One key finding was that most grantees reported challenges in staffing, engaging project partners, and retaining the highest-risk families. However, all of the grantees reported progress toward their goals.