BACKGROUND:

PRWORA eliminated the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Emergency Assistance (EA) and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) Programs. It also authorized funding, to the Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Organizations that conducted a Tribal JOBS Program in fiscal year (FY) 1995, to operate a tribal work activities program to be known as the Native Employment Works (NEW) Program. These programs are intended to provide work activities and services to populations and service areas as the Tribe specifies. NEW Programs will be funded at the Tribal JOBS FY 1994 level for FY 1997 through FY 2002. The NEW Program began July 1, 1997. A program year begins July 1and ends June 30 of the following year.

In an effort to reduce the reporting burden of grantees, the NEW plans are now three-year plans. The plans that were approved for NEW program year beginning July 1, 1998 are in effect until June 30, 2001. The reporting requirements that have been instituted are annual compared to quarterly reporting for the predecessor Tribal JOBS Program. Consequently it is more important to receive accurate and timely data as this is the only data collection to obtain program information.

INSTRUCTION:

Attached is a copy of the reporting form, which consists of two parts – a statistical report and a narrative report. Each report is only one page.

Instructions for completing the statistical report are also included. DTS revised the report to ensure accurate submittal of statistical data. Equally important is the narrative report documenting program operations. Grantees should not neglect to submit this report, also. Questions on the narrative report are self-explanatory.

Every grantee must submit the reports within ninety days after the end of the program. That is by September 28, which is ninety days after June 30. If the reports are not submitted, there is a possibility that this will affect your ability to draw down your funding for the following program year.

Completed reports should be submitted to: Division of Tribal Services, Office of Community Services, Administration for Children and Families, 370 L'Enfant Promenade S.W., 5th Floor West, Washington, D.C. 20447 Attention: NEW Team. Completed reports may be faxed. The fax number for DTS is (202) 401-5718.

Grantees participating in the P.L. 102-477 Demonstration should adhere to the reporting requirements of the P.L. 102-477 Program as issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

In the 1998-2001 NEW Plans, each grantee had to identify at least two program outcomes. The first question on the narrative report addresses whether or not these outcomes were achieved. Consequently, it is important that the program manager be aware of the proposed outcomes listed in the plan and report on the progress toward those outcomes.

Information included in a plan regarding proposed outcomes may need to be modified for several reasons: to change the proposed program outcomes in response to grantee review of past program operations; to update proposed outcomes where there is a change to the program; to include more program outcomes to demonstrate program successes; etc. Other examples of cases where a program amendment is warranted are: changes in the population to be served or service area; change of the agency administering the program; change of Tribal names; break-up of a consortium; change in work activities or services to be provided, etc. It is important to keep the plan current through submission of amendments and reflective of actual program operations as the plans are only due once every three years. Instituting program changes without submitting a program amendment can cause problems later with reporting, program reviews or audits.

The new welfare reform law provides more flexibility for the Tribes to design their NEW programs to meet the needs of their service populations. As a result some grantees may want to consider implementing creative strategies to provide work activities, such as job creation or economic development initiatives. Such changes should be submitted in a plan amendment. These innovations would also be reported on the narrative report.

Plan amendments should be submitted to the appropriate ACF Regional Office for review and approval, with a copy to DTS at the address listed above. A list of ACF Regional Offices is attached. If program changes are proposed, the plan amendment must be submitted to ACF no later than 45 days prior to implementation of the change. ACF will complete the review of the amended plan within 45 days of receipt.

The P.L. 102-477 plan amendments should be submitted to the BIA in accordance with their instructions.

Within the next thirty days, grantees should receive a report from DTS that provides a summary review of program operations for the first year’s operation of the NEW Program. This report will provide both statistical data and identify highlights of program operations. The report will provide feedback from the first year of program operations and serve as baseline data to assist program managers with program oversite and gauge future program performance.

INQUIRIES:

Donald Sykes
Director
Office of Community Services

ATTACHMENT:

Native Employment Works (NEW) Report Instructions, Statistical and Narrative Report Forms

Regional Office NEW Contact Listing