Historical Trauma Impacts Native American Mental Health: Resources and Solutions

Record Description

This article lists symptoms of historical trauma and cites the negative impact of historical trauma as part of the explanation behind Native American mental health issues. Further, the article identifies examples of trauma recovery programs that are found to be successful for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. These programs include: Beyond Trauma, a culturally specific recovery group created by South Dakota Urban Indian Health; the Tanana Chiefs Conference Old Minto Family Recovery Camp, an Athabascan alternative to substance abuse treatment; the Red Road to Wellbriety, a culturally appropriate mutual help approach based on Lakota/Nakota/Dakota world views; wellness courts; and Drum-Assisted Recovery Therapy for Native Americans.

Record Type
Combined Date
2022-07-26T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2022-07-27
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Tribal Solutions: Subsidized Employment Programs Serving American Indians and Alaska Natives

Record Description
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.
Record Type
Combined Date
2018-09-24T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2018-09-25
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

OFA Regions IX and X 2016 Tribal TANF Meeting

Record Description
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.

2015 Tribal TANF Summit

Record Description
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Division of Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Management hosted the Tribal TANF Summit (Summit) on August 31-September 1, 2015 at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown Hotel. The Summit brought together Tribal TANF program administrators and tribal leaders to dialogue about key issues facing Tribal TANF programs. The Summit provided attendees with opportunities to engage with their peers and experts from the field, to discuss best practices and the latest research, as well as to plan ways to improve TANF programming for low-income families in their communities.
Innovative Programs

Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance

Mission/Goal of Program

The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Tribal TANF program is known as the Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance Partnership (ASAP) and is part of the TCC's P.L. 102-477 program. The Tribal TANF service area is the largest in the country and the program faces particular challenges because it includes 37 Tribes, many remote areas, as well as a large urban population in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is located in Fairbanks, Alaska and 37 federally recognized Interior Alaska Tribes, covering a total of 235,000 square miles of Alaska. To meet the urban needs, TCC has developed a "one-stop" where participants can access most social services in one building. The center operates under a "front office/back office" model in which families are helped directly in the front office and Tribal staff manage the administrative issues and combined funding streams to meet customer's needs in the back office. TCC has arranged staff according to function, not program, and has created open air work environments, which display the collaboration between programs. In each of the 37 remote villages, TCC has created a half-time position called a Tribal Workforce Development Specialist (TWDS). The TWDS represents the single point of contact for all social service programs provided by TCC and the State (TANF, SNAP, General Assistance, Energy Assistance, etc.). TWDS are trained through on-site, intensive internships at the TCC central office in Fairbanks upon employment.

Programs/Services Offered

This program provides a variety of financial assistance, including:

  • General Assistance: The program provides some financial assistance to help pay for shelter, utilities, food and clothing costs during the months when there are few employment opportunities. 
  • Burial Assistance: Burial assistance provides financial assistance to help with funeral costs up to $2,500.00 which $400 can be used for potlatch supplies.
  • Emergency Assistance: Emergency assistance provides $1000 per household in the event that someone’s home has been damaged by flood or fire.

Each year, TCC organizes a region-wide event that TCC calls GILA "(Let's GO!)," which brings all of TCC's TANF participants together to one location in Fairbanks for employment workshops and resume updates, and to participate in a job fair in a motivational and exciting atmosphere. Though this is expensive, most participants leave the "GILA" with subsidized employment. The "GILA" is financed by program cost savings throughout the year. Additionally, TCC maintains a good working relationship with the State. The programs work together to co-train staff from each organization. Additional support for TANF participants who earn subsidized employment occurs through deployment of contracted Job Coaches who motivate and mentor participants.

TCC helps many participants find employment, some full-time and some seasonal. Even if a participant is employed seasonally, TCC creates a financial boost for their family. If TCC helps participants find seasonal employment for three months, the program saves money by not spending it on cash assistance for those three months. The cost savings are used to provide an expanded level of supportive services and to finance the subsidized employment aspect of the program.

Start Date
Thursday, October 1, 1998
Type of Agency/Organization
Other
City
Fairbanks
State
Alaska
Geographic Reach
Multisite
Clientele/Population Served
Tribal TANF participants (Income eligible families in which the head of household is a member of, or eligible for membership in a federally recognized Tribe and resides in the service area).
Topics/Subtopics
TANF Program Administration
Tribal TANF
Employment

Region X Tribal TANF Institute

Record Description

On June 27-28, 2012 the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Region X hosted a Tribal TANF Institute in Seattle, Washington bringing together Tribal TANF stakeholders throughout the Region to engage in dialogue and action planning on a variety of topics. The Institute featured presenters from the Tanana Chiefs Conference and their coaches from the Promising Pathways Initiative who led Institute attendees in sessions on data collection and TANF staff collaboration, developing process maps and logic models, and connecting Information Systems/Information Technology and TANF. Other sessions included: a facilitated conversation with the Tribes on work participation in rural areas; a panel on Child Welfare and Tribal TANF collaboration that included representatives from the Region X Child Welfare office, Mark Kimball from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and Don Shircel from the Tanana Chiefs Conference; Pamela Panther from the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency and Ilene Stohl from the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence who presented on the Family Violence Option and how to successfully develop and implement a comprehensive response to domestic violence; and Christy Finsel, a consultant, and Karen "Jack" Granberg who led a session on creating an Individual Development Account (IDA) program within Tribal TANF programs.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2012-05-31T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2012-06-01

2013 Tribal TANF – Child Welfare Coordination Projects Annual Grantee Meeting

Record Description

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the 2013 Tribal TANF--Child Welfare Coordination Projects Annual Grantee Meeting on August 14-15, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. The meeting provided Tribal TANF--Child Welfare Coordination Project grantees with the opportunity to share information with their peers regarding their program structure and performance. The meeting also addressed grant requirements for Year Two of the projects, strategies for building coalitions in Native American communities, home visiting programs, program sustainability, and approaches for documenting cross-agency coordination and collaboration.

Tanana Chiefs Conference: Data Collection and TANF Staff Collaboration

Record Description

In June 2012, the PeerTA Network collaborated with Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) to learn about their subsidized employment program and their efforts around data collection. The Tanana Chiefs Conference Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is called the Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance Partnership (ASAP), which provides services to the Tribal members of 37 federally recognized Tribes in Alaska. These Tribal members face several challenges living primarily in very isolated rural communities with limited roads, infrastructure, and jobs.
 
Data Collection and TANF Staff Collaboration: This two-part podcast focuses on TCC's use of data to inform program practice and the development of TCC's logic model, a tool that allows staff to see the costs and benefits of their efforts. The logic model reflects the cultural values of the Tribe, such as self-sufficiency, hard work, respect, and care and provision for the family. TCC's goal is to take the data, convert it into useful and culturally sensitive information, and use it to keep their Tribal members informed.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2012-07-01T10:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2013-09-01

Tanana Chiefs Conference: Operating a Tribal TANF Subsidized Employment Program

Record Description

In June 2012, the PeerTA Network collaborated with Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) to learn about their subsidized employment program and their efforts around data collection. The Tanana Chiefs Conference Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is called the Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance Partnership (ASAP), which provides services to the Tribal members of 37 federally recognized Tribes in Alaska. These Tribal members face several challenges living primarily in very isolated rural communities with limited roads, infrastructure, and jobs.
 

Operating a Tribal TANF Subsidized Employment Program: This podcast features Tanana Chiefs' subsidized employment program, which was initially started with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding and brought more than 160 people on the welfare rolls and gave them the opportunity to attain employment. TCC's success convinced the State of Alaska to expand its use of State funds and invest them to continue the program.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2013-08-31T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2013-09-01

Promising Pathways All-Site Orientation Meeting

Record Description

On October 18, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) convened an orientation meeting in Washington, D.C. for the Promising Pathways Initiative. The three primary meeting goals of the Promising Pathways All-Site Orientation Meeting were to orient site representatives to the Promising Pathways Initiative, provide hands-on, interactive training for site coordinators on how to define and document their practice using logic models, and plan the first intensive full team site visit. Participants included one or two representatives from each of the ten selected Promising Pathways sites, OFA staff, and ICF International site coaches and team staff. This executive summary describes the proceedings of the All-Site Orientation Meeting and includes the meeting agenda, participant list, and materials as appendices.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2011-09-30T20:00:00
Source
City/County
Publication Date
2011-10-01