A provision in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) required the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop minimum standards for tribal child care programs. In May 2000, at the Sixth National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference, these standards were introduced and issued as guidance for an interim period prior to the development of regulations. In June 2000, letters were mailed to all Tribal and State CCDF Lead Agencies conveying the minimum standards materials that were distributed at the conference.

In April 2005, the minimum standards were updated and reissued as a "Health and Safety Guide" (HTML | PDF | Word) for CCDF Tribal Lead Agencies in conjunction with the 2005 Tribal Cluster Trainings, "Supporting the Physical, Social, and Emotional Wellness of Our Tribal Children." This Guide combines the recommended minimum standards for child care centers and child care homes and revises the standards to reflect the current best practices advised by child care and health care experts. As noted in the Guide, "[t]hese voluntary guidelines represent the baseline from which all programs should operate to ensure that children are cared for in healthy and safe environments and that their basic needs are being met." Tribal grantees should develop their own health and safety regulations that meet or exceed both these minimum guidelines and all applicable federal, state, local, and tribal laws.

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