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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Contact: ACF Press Office
(202) 401-9215
New Reports Reveal Promising Strategies to Strengthen Tribal Families
HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) today released a series of reports on the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program. The reports reveal ways that greater state flexibility in federal funding could strengthen the abilities of tribal families to care for their children.
The reports also highlight promising practices tribes have adopted to meet unique challenges they face in managing services to strengthen tribal families, children and youth. A major finding is that state flexibility in funding is critical for tribes to implement the best programs according to their unique history and circumstances.
Promising strategies to strengthen tribal families include:
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Developing collaborative teams to coordinate services across systems such as courts, police, education, Head Start and child protective services;
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Developing collaborative relationships among tribes to pool resources and expertise;
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Focusing on ways to promote positive youth activities within tribal families and communities; and
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Expanding service delivery to tribal families in remote regions.
“These new reports underscore the importance of flexible funding,” said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., HHS assistant secretary for children and families. “President George W. Bush believes that greater flexibility in funding can help tribes better serve children. His child welfare proposal would grant tribes direct access to federal foster care funding for the first time in history, and would provide tribes with greater access to funding streams to strengthen their families and communities.”
President Bush's child welfare proposal would allow states to choose to opt out of the traditional categorical funding stream, and would set aside $30 million annually for tribes to operate child welfare services. In addition, a tribe’s decision to access funding would not be contingent upon a state exercising the flexible funding option, but on the tribe’s own interest in pursuing direct funding.
These reports can be viewed online at the following links:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/imp_of_pro/imp_of_pro_title.html
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/imp_of_pro2/imp_of_pro2_title.html
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/coor_ait/coor_ait_title.html
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/fund_res/fund_res_title.html
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news