ACYF-CB-PI-08-06

ACF Administration for Children and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration on Children, Youth and Families
	1. Log No.: ACYF-CB-PI-08-06	2. Issuance Date: December 5, 2008
	3. Originating Office: Children's Bureau
	4. Key Words: Title IV-E Plans, Indian Tribes, Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

Program Instruction

To: Indian Tribes, Tribal Organizations and Tribal Consortia

Subject: Letter of Intent for Indian Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and Tribal Consortia to Directly Operate a Title IV-E Program

Legal and Related References: Title IV-E of the Social Security Act; Public Law 110-351, Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this Program Instruction is to request that Federally-recognized Tribes, Tribal organizations and Tribal consortia (hereafter Tribes) submit letters of intent indicating at the current time, if they (1) plan to directly operate a title IV-E program as authorized by the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and (2) plan to apply for a title IV-E development grant.

Information: The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 added a new section 479B to the Social Security Act (the Act) which allows Tribes the option to apply to the Secretary to receive direct Federal funding to support the administration of their own foster care, adoption assistance and guardianship assistance programs under title IV-E of the Act. The law amended the Act at section 476(c) to provide the Secretary the authority to award one-time grants of up to $300,000 to Tribes to support development of a title IV-E plan to carry out the requirements of new section 479B of the Act. The law also requires the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to provide technical assistance and implementation services to Tribes regarding title IV-B and IV-E programs.

In order to plan for the review of Tribal title IV-E plans and technical assistance needs, ACF is requesting that all Tribes that plan to directly operate a title IV-E program send a letter of intent to their Children’s Bureau Regional Program Manager by January 30, 2009. We would like to know how many Tribes plan to apply and for which Federal fiscal year (FFY) the Tribe plans to apply. These letters are solely for ACF planning purposes and are to reflect the Tribe’s plans at this time. This is not a formal commitment and the FFY for which the Tribe plans to apply can be adjusted later as necessary. Please note also, that if a Tribe chooses not to submit a letter of intent, it does not prevent the Tribe from directly operating a title IV-E program or from applying for a title IV-E development grant.

Therefore, a Tribe should include in the letter of intent the following information:

The FFY in which the Tribe plans to begin operation of a title IV-E program. Under section 479B of the Act, the earliest possible implementation period is FFY 2010 (which begins October 1, 2009).
A description of the intended service area and population for the Tribal title IV-E program.
Whether, and if so, in what FFY, the Tribe plans to submit an application for a development grant (section 476(c)(2)(A)(iii) of the Act).
Contact information for the Tribe.

We have not finalized the procedures for distribution of the development grants. However, it is likely to be a competitive process. Once we formally announce our plans for the distribution of these development grants, we will send that information to all Tribes so that any Tribe who would like to may apply.

Again, we wish to reinforce that these letters are for ACF planning purposes and are not to be construed by Tribes as a formal commitment to directly operate a title IV-E program or an application to receive a title IV-E development grant. We are including, at Attachment A, a template for the letter of intent Tribes may use if they choose.

Paperwork Reduction Act

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-13), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number is 0970-0359, approved through February 28, 2009. Reporting burden for the letter of intent is estimated to average 1 hour per response.

Inquiries To: Children’s Bureau Regional Program Managers

/s/
Joan E. Ohl
Commissioner

Attachment A – Suggested template for Letter of Intent
HTML or Writeable PDF (18 KB)

Attachment B – Children’s Bureau Regional Program Managers
HTML or PDF (15 KB)