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BACKGROUND & POLICY:
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The Tribal TANF regulations, closely following the language of the statute
at section 412 of the Social Security Act, provide that the annual amount of
a Tribal Family Assistance Grant (TFAG) will be determined using 1994 caseload
and expenditure data reported by the State (or States, if the service area is
located in more than one State), under the former Aid to Families With
Dependent Children, Emergency Assistance and Job Opportunities and Basic
Skills Training Programs, attributable to Indian Families residing in the
proposed service area(s) in which the Tribe(s) intends to operate a TANF
program. They further provide that should there be any disagreement by the
Tribe(s) with the state-provided data, the Tribe(s) may submit for
consideration any information they believe relevant to support different
data.
The federal regulations at section 45 CFR 286.20(a) provide that in order
to determine the amount of a TFAG "…[w]e will
request and use data submitted by a State to determine the amount of a TFAG.
The State data that we will request and use are the total Federal payments
attributable to State expenditures, including administrative costs (which
includes systems costs) for fiscal year 1994 under the former Aid to Families
with Dependent Children, Emergency Assistance and Job Opportunities and Basic
Skills Training programs, for all Indian families residing in the geographic
service area or areas identified in the Tribe’s letter of intent or Tribal
Family Assistance Plan." The remainder of 45 CFR
286.20 along with 45 CFR 286.25 address the steps which must be taken
in order to determine the amount of the TFAG.
In order to implement these regulatory provisions in an orderly, expeditious
and equitable manner, the following process is established.
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PROCESS:
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The Caseload and Expenditure Determination Process
I. State-provided Data:
- The Office of Family
Assistance (OFA) will request the caseload and expenditure data from the
State within 10 days of receipt of an acceptable letter of intent that
clearly identifies a proposed service area from a Tribe or tribal
organization. The State will be asked to submit the data directly to the
Tribe and OFA (i.e. Division of Tribal TANF Management, and the
appropriate OFA Regional Office).
- Upon
receipt of the State-provided caseload and expenditure data, OFA will
verify that the data has been provided to the Tribe(s). As stated in the
regulations at 45 CFR 286.20(a)(2)(i) and (ii),
the State has 30 days from the date of the request (from OFA) to submit
the necessary data. OFA encourages States to also include information
explaining how the data was developed.
If the State fails to submit
the data by the end of the 30-day period, we will notify the Tribe, and the
Tribe will have 45 days from the date of notification to submit relevant data
and, if the Tribe chooses and as OFA encourages, submit information
explaining how they developed their data. In such situations, OFA will use
the data submitted by the Tribe to assist in determining the amount of the
TFAG.
- OFA
will compare the State-provided data with any appropriate historical
information. If this comparison identifies any issues, OFA will convey
these issues to both the State and Tribe.
- OFA must receive a
notice in writing from the Tribe declaring its agreement or disagreement
with the State submitted data, no later than 45 days after the date of
OFA’s notice transmitting the data from the State. Should the Tribe have
questions about the State-submitted data during this 45-day period, OFA
will work to resolve those questions.
- If the Tribe agrees
with the data, the Tribe must notify OFA in writing and the process will
be deemed complete. Subject to approval of a Tribal Family Assistance
Plan, the data agreed upon by the State and the Tribe will be used as
the basis for determining the annual amount of the TFAG.
II. Notification of Disagreement and Negotiation Process:
- OFA will encourage the
Tribe and the State to engage in negotiations. If they agree to do so, OFA,
while not a direct party to the negotiations, will work with the State
and Tribe to assist in their negotiations. OFA may be called upon by
either party to the negotiations to facilitate, observe and provide
technical assistance or information as necessary. The State and Tribe
may share any information they believe relevant to establishing or
justifying their data. They may agree to any formula or estimating
procedure that is mutually acceptable for establishing caseload and/or
expenditure data that will be used for determining the grant
amount.
- If the Tribe and State
do engage in negotiations, the time limits on further notifications or
submission of information will be suspended pending the outcome of the
negotiation process.
- If, at any time during
the negotiation process, both parties reach agreement, the process may
be concluded, and the agreed-upon data, together with written evidence
of concurrence by both parties, will be provided to OFA. Both parties
must notify OFA in writing of their agreement, and OFA will accept the
mutually agreed-upon data.
- If the parties fail to
reach an agreement on the data and find themselves at an impasse, the
Tribe must notify OFA in writing within 15 days of the determination
that further negotiations would be fruitless.
- In the case where the
Tribe and the State fail to reach a negotiated agreement (and the Tribe
has informed OFA in writing of the impasse), the Tribe will have an
additional 45 days from the date of notification to OFA to submit additional
documentation for consideration. Additional documentation may include,
but is not limited to, Census Bureau data, Bureau of Indian Affairs
data, and data from other Federal programs and Tribal records. As
provided at 45 CFR 286.20(b), our objective is to evaluate all relevant
data and determine the amount of the TFAG at the earliest possible date.
III. Data Determination by OFA:
- The OFA Director will
use the respective data and support documentation provided by the State
and the Tribe in determining the amount of a Tribe’s TFAG. If data or
information submitted by either party is unclear, inconsistent, inadequate or needs clarification or additional
support, the OFA Director may require that the State and/or Tribe submit
additional documentation or justification. Any data received or
developed will be shared with both parties for review. Additional
information or supporting evidence provided for the purposes of
clarification must be provided in writing to the Director.
- OFA will provide both
parties with a copy of its determination. If either party disagrees with
the finding, it may request that the Director reconsider the decision.
The request for reconsideration must be submitted in writing (fax or
electronic mail will suffice) within 15 days of receipt of the decision.
In the event of such a request, all parties will be given an opportunity
to provide additional information and/or clarification, or supporting
evidence in writing and, if applicable, through oral presentation.
- The OFA Director will review
the request for reconsideration in addition to any new information or
supporting evidence submitted for the purposes of clarification, and
will notify the State and Tribe of the final determination in writing as
soon as possible.
- In the case where
neither the State nor the Tribe requests reconsideration of the
determination, the determination will become final.
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