NCAI
Executive Memorandum

To: All Tribal Leaders in Washington and Wisconsin

From: W. Ron Allen, President

Date: December 3, 1998

Re: Staff Contact Information for Devolution Grant

Due to the recent award of a three-year, 1 million dollar Devolution Initiative grant from the Kellogg Foundation, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) would like to invite your participation in a new component of our welfare reform program. Under the Kellogg grant, NCAI will examine the process of devolution- the way federal responsibilities and resources are being passed down to state and local governments. NCAI is concerned with the process of devolution, how it affects tribal governments and communities, and how tribal communities can use currently devolved programs and services to their benefit. In accordance with the main goals outlined by the Kellogg Foundation, NCAI will work with other Kellogg grantees to (1) create an objective information base which is relevant and usable by tribes and (2) to engage tribes in public policy processes and decision-making.

In short, the Kellogg Foundation and NCAI are charged with building the capacity of Indian tribes to utilize the current devolutionary trend to become more involved in local public policy processes and decision-making. The grant will also allow NCAI to take a more in-depth, comprehensive approach to welfare reform, the most recently devolved federal program. NCAI will look at the intersection of many auxiliary programs and services, such as Food Stamps, Medicaid/Medicare/managed health care, child care, transportation, employment and training, and housing. In conjunction with the Kellogg grant, (NCAI) proposes to work directly with tribes in the states of Washington and Wisconsin, two of the five states that Kellogg selected as focus states under this grant.

NCAI is requesting that each tribe in Washington and Wisconsin identify a contact person with whom NCAI can work. Please consider that the focus of this grant is on devolution and welfare reform, the most recently devolved program that will dramatically affect Indian communities. Please identify a tribal staff member who can participate in conference calls and occasional local meetings with other tribes, NCAI staff, and state social service program staff. A tribal social service director, welfare reform program director, or tribal planner may make an appropriate contact person, as a variety of programs and services on the periphery of welfare reform will be addressed.

Once NCAI receives a contact name from your tribe, we will immediately begin communicating directly with that tribal staff member. We look forward to working with your tribe and to assisting your tribe in identifying strategies to work within the current devolutionary trend to benefit your tribal members. Please submit the name, title, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address of your selected staff member to Leland McGee, Welfare Reform Program Director, or Sarah Hicks, Welfare Reform Program Manager by January 4,1999. Furthermore, if you wish to receive copies of all of the materials that will be forwarded to your identified staff member, please indicate that on your submission. Submissions can be faxed to (202) 466-7797 or emailed to leland_mcgee@ncai.org or sarah_hicks@ncai.org. Thank you for your support and assistance in this matter.