Indian Tribes and Welfare Reform
Released: 2004-09-28T00:00:00

97-86 -- Indian Tribes and Welfare Reform

Updated September 28, 2004

Background

Before enactment of TANF, American Indians or Alaska Natives (Indians, Inuit [Eskimos], or Aleuts) received family cash welfare on the same terms as other families in their state, with benefits and income eligibility rules ofthe program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) set by the state and costs shared by the state. The law had no provision for administration of cash aid by tribes. However, some Wisconsin tribessubcontracted with the state to provide AFDC independently on their reservations. In FY1994, 1.3% of thenational AFDC caseload (about 68,000 families) were American Indians and Alaska Natives. In addition, morethan 65,000 needy Indians who were not in categories eligible for AFDC received cash aid based on their state'sAFDC benefit standards, but paid by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Under pre-TANF law, more than 80tribes and tribal organizations exercised an option to run their own work and training programs, called JobOpportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) programs, with 100% federal funds.

Under TANF, which provides fixed annual state grants through FY2002, numerous Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages in 16 states (see Table 1) are operating their own tribal family assistanceprograms. Tribes thatoperated their own JOBS program also receive annual appropriations under TANF law of $7.6 million (theirFY1984 funding for JOBS) for work and training activities (renamed Native Employment Works -- NEW). Finally, $28.6 million in Welfare-to-Work (WtW) grants was awarded for FY1998 and 1999 by the LaborDepartment to Indian and Native American tribal governments (86 grantees in FY1998, 91 in FY1999). Standard TANF work participation rates and time limit rules do not apply to tribal assistance programs. Theirrules are set by the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary with tribal participation.

Tribal Assistance Programs

Eligible for tribal assistance grants are the more than 330 federally recognized tribes in the contiguous 48 states and 13 Alaska entities. As of September 15, 2004, 45 tribal TANF grants were approved for 230 tribes plussome non-reservation Indians in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Annual federalfunding, deducted from the basic TANF grant of their state(s), totals $134.2 million (for funding by tribal plan,see Table 1 ). Grantees estimated their monthly caseload at 33,510 families. According to thefifth annual TANFreport, the average number of Indian families served by state governments under regular TANF programs wasabout 35,000 in FY2000, down 50% from the corresponding FY1996 figure (a part of the decline representedpersons who moved from the regular state program to a tribal program). Some features of tribal programsfollow.

Recognized tribes and tribal organizations may operate family assistance programs in their service areas. A tribe's TANF grant equals federal AFDC payments to the state for FY1994 attributable toIndians in its service area; the tribal grant is subtracted from the state's TANF grant.

Tribal TANF plans are for three years (rather than 2, as for states) and contain many fewerrequired elements than state plans. However, regular TANF data collection and reporting rules apply to tribalplans.

The HHS Secretary, with participation of the tribe, establishes work participation rules,time limits for benefits, and penalties for each tribal family assistance program. In general, Indian tribes inAlaska must operate plans in accordance with rules adopted by the state for TANF. (The National Congress ofAmerican Indians has asked for removal of this provision, and for the restrictive definition immediately below,saying that it wants Alaskan tribes to be treated like other tribes.)

TANF law generally defines an Indian tribe as in Section 4 of the IndianSelf-Determination and Education Assistance Act, but it specifies that an "eligible Indian tribe" in Alaska means one of 12 specified regional nonprofit corporations plus a reservation.

Tribal TANF regulations permit 35% of a tribal grant to be used for administrative costs inthe first year, 30% in the second year, and 25% thereafter. State TANF programs, however, generally may spentno more than 15% of their grants on administration.

The state governor must certify equitable access from the TANF program to Indians noteligible for help from a tribal family assistance plan.

The law gives explicit permission for state TANF programs to use money from the TANFloan fund for aid to Indian families that have moved out of the service area of a tribe with a tribal familyassistance plan.

A special rule exempts from the 60-month TANF benefit time limit any month in which therecipient lives in Indian country or an Alaskan native village with an adult unemployment rate of at least50%.

The law makes tribes eligible for TANF loans, but not for bonuses offered to states for highperformance or for cutting non-marital births.

HHS has ruled that state funds contributed to an approved tribal assistance plan may becounted toward the spending level (maintenance-of-effort) that a state must achieve to qualify for a full TANFgrant.

A 1999 amendment permits tribes, like states, to reserve TANF grants for assistance(ongoing needs and supportive services for the unemployed) in any future year. Since July 1, 2001, tribes alsohave been allowed to reserve unobligated NEW funds for assistance in any future year.

Pending Legislation

The House-passed TANF reauthorization bill ( H.R. 4 ) and the Senate Finance Committee substitute version of H.R. 4 (PRIDE) renew tribal grants at their current level and make Indian tribalorganizations eligible for proposed marriage promotion grants and the proposed employment achievementbonus. Both bills require tribal family assistance plans to provide assurance that tribes have consulted with theirstate(s) regarding the plan's design. The Senate Committee bill also authorizes appropriation of $100 millionannually for five years for a tribal TANF improvement fund, which could be used to provide technical assistanceto tribes, fund competitive grants, and conduct research. The American Indian Welfare Reform Act( S. 751 / H.R. 2770 ) proposes many changes. They include federal payments to statesthat contribute (with TANF MOE funds) to costs of Indian tribal assistance programs, increased tribal fundingfrom the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), authority for tribes to receive federal funds forfoster care and adoption assistance, and (on a demonstration basis) to determine eligibility for food stamps,Medicaid, and SCHIP.

Child Care and Child Support

The 1996 law reserves between 1% and 2% of its child care funds for payments to Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to be subtracted from national totals. Previously no AFDC-related child care funds wereearmarked for Indians. In FY2002, $96 million was allocated to tribes, 2% each of mandatory and discretionaryfunds. (Discretionary funds are provided under the Child Care and Development Block Grant [CCDBG].) Thelaw also allows Indian tribes, subject to HHS approval, to use CCDBG funds for construction. The 1996 welfarelaw authorizes direct federal funding for child support operations to Indian tribes (and, again, Alaska Nativeorganizations) with approved child support plans. By regulation, tribes receive 90% federal funding for the firstthree years, 80% for later years. As of March, 2004, 9 tribes received direct federal funding and handled morethan 21,000 cases. Final regulations replaced interim rules in March.

Characteristics of Tribal TANF Plans

Data compiled by the Division of Tribal Services show that most tribal TANF plans have adopted the 60-month lifetime time limit for federally funded TANF to an adult. The two Oregon tribes (Klamath tribes andConfederated Tribes of Siletz Indians) adopted a limit of 24 months within an 84-month period (similar toOregon state plan limit). Work activities shown in most tribal plans are the same as those specified in TANFlaw, but several tribes make additions. Thus, two Washington tribes list as additional work activities: "teachingcultural activities" and "barrier removal, including counseling, and chemical dependency treatment." TheTanana Chiefs Conference, in Alaska, includes as work activities "approved subsistence hunting, fishing,gathering." Most two tribal plans limit the "service population" to Indians. However, the Red Cliff Band ofLake Superior Chippewa Indians in Wisconsin says it will serve all families, including non-Indians, on thereservation (and tribal member families in Bayfield County); and the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizonaalso says it will serve all families on the reservation. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe serves only one-parentfamilies with its tribal plan; its 2-parent families are aided by BIA's General Assistance program.

Table 1 shows that most of the tribal TANF plans have set work participation rates below the all-family rate of50% and the 2-parent family rate of 90% specified for state TANF programs in FY2002. The table also showsthat 36 of the 45 tribal grantees (including the Navajo Nation in Arizona and Utah) receive state funds --claimed as TANF MOE amounts -- to help pay for their programs. The tribes that do not receive state fundingare located in Wisconsin (8 tribes), South Dakota (1 tribe) and New Mexico (part of the Navajo Nation).

Table 1. TANF Grants for Tribal Family Assistance Programs (as of September 15, 2004) and Their Work Rules

a. These tribes also receive federal funds for the Native Employment Works (NEW) employment and training program.

b. For FY2000

c. For FY2001

d. Increased progressively over the three years 2005-07.