Opinion ID: 1670253
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Minnesota Family Investment Program

Text: In 1997, Minnesota enacted legislation to implement the requirements of TANF. Act of Apr. 30, 1997, ch. 85, art. 1, 1997 Minn. Laws 499, 499-587 (codified at Minn. Stat. ch. 256J (1998)). One provision requires county governments to cooperate with tribal governments in the implementation of MFIP. Minn.Stat. § 256J.315. This cooperation includes the sharing of MFIP duties, such as initial screening, orientation, assessments, and provision of employment and training services. Id. The statute further provides that county agencies shall encourage tribal governments to assume duties related to MFIP and shall work cooperatively with tribes that have assumed responsibility for a portion of the MFIP program to expand tribal responsibilities, if that expansion is requested by the tribe. Id. To facilitate tribal involvement in MFIP, the Commissioner is expressly authorized to enter into agreements with federally recognized Indian tribes or a consortium of tribes to provide employment services to their members. Minn.Stat. § 256J.645, subd. 1. [3] Under these agreements, the tribes assume the responsibility for providing employment services to their eligible members. See id., subd. 2. To effectuate these agreements, MFIP provides that Indian tribal members receiving MFIP benefits and residing in the service area of an Indian tribe operating employment services under an agreement with the commissioner must be referred by county agencies in the service area to the Indian tribe for employment services. Id., subd. 4 (emphasis added). The interpretation and effect of this referral language is at the center of the dispute in this case. Agreements to provide employment services to tribal members benefit the Indian tribes, as well as their members. The tribes benefit by receiving funds to develop and provide MFIP services to their members when there are insufficient resources to develop and administer tribal TANF programs. Indian tribes that enter into agreements with the state receive funding at the same levels and under the same conditions as counties that provide these services. See Minn.Stat. § 256J.645, subd. 3; Minn.Stat. § 256J.62. Tribal members also benefit by receiving culturally appropriate services. It is clear that tribal implementation of the employment services programs and other aspects of MFIP are intended to provide flexibility so that tribes can address the specific cultural needs of their members; the stated purpose of encouraging tribal involvement in the implementation of MFIP is to ensure that the program meets the special needs of persons living on Indian reservations. Minn.Stat. § 256J.315. MFIP generally gives the tribes discretion to use the funds for any allowable expenditures. Minn.Stat. § 256J.626, subd. 1. Therefore, tribes have access to state and federal funds to provide services that are tailored to the unique conditions in their tribal communities. Pursuant to section 256J.645, the State of Minnesota and the Tribe entered into a Reservation Grant Contract. Under the contract, the Tribe agreed to provide an employment services program for members in the Tribe's service area. The contract provides that the Tribe shall provide Tribal program services to persons who are eligible for such services.