Tribal Nation Program and Fiscal Resources The following resources and information has been compilated to aid program and fiscal staff from Tribal Nations. General Resources DCF Allowable Cost Guide Manual SPARC Cost Reporting Code Definitions Tribal Reporting Calendar SPARC website links IT Systems For questions regarding a specific contract or grant, please see the sections below or find contact information in the Tribal Reporting Calendar. Programs Brighter Futures Initiative The Brighter Futures Initiative (BFI) promotes: Healthy families and youth School success for youth Youth safety in their families and communities Successful navigation from adolescence to adulthood Child Care Certification & Subsidy This contract is a subaward of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a part of the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) program, which provides grants to states, territories, tribes and tribal organizations for child care assistance for low-income families. Wisconsin State Statutes §49.155(1m) and (3) require that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) contract for Wisconsin Shares child care eligibility and authorization with a county, tribe or other agency in each geographical region or tribal unit to determine eligibility and administer the program. Child Care Certification: DCF 202 establishes standards for the certification of persons who provide child care for 1 to 3 children under age 7 unrelated to the provider, or who are not otherwise required to be licensed as a child care center under s. 48.65, Stats. DCF contracts certification functions to local counties and tribes. For more information about child care certification visit the DCF Wisconsin Child Care Certification webpage. The Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program invests in eligible working families to help make quality child care more accessible and affordable. How? By covering a portion of their monthly child care costs. Why? Because when families get a little help — more is possible! Knowing their child is safe and well cared for, parents and caregivers can take advantage of opportunities that create strength, growth, and success. Domestic Violence Program The Department of Children and Families contracts with local Tribal Nation agencies to provide a variety of supportive services to victims and their children who are living with domestic abuse. Some programs also provide safe shelter. All services are free and confidential. The DCF Domestic Violence Program webpage has further resources. FFTA Family First Funds Across the state, local and tribal child welfare agencies are innovating to safely keep families together. Agencies are thinking creatively about how to use their funding, working closely with their community partners and shifting their practice and mindsets. For more information, visit the Putting Families First webpage. Family Foundations Home Visiting The Family Foundations Home Visiting Program is for pregnant women and families with a child under age 5. Generally, home visitors are nurses, social workers, or other professionals. The family and home visitor build a strong working relationship and work together to meet the family’s goals related to child and family well-being. A trained home visitor comes to the home or another place that the families chooses at a time that works well for the family. At the visits, families learn about: Keeping themselves and their children healthy Helping their children grow and develop Other help available to them in the community Home visiting programs are voluntary, and the goal is to offer help to women as early as possible during pregnancy and throughout their child's first few years. Family Service Program The Family Services Program (FSP) allocation to tribes is for a broad range of social services to children and families served by tribes. The FSP allocation consists of funds from several state and federal sources that are blended to give tribes a flexible source of funds for social services, to the extent allowed for each of the funding sources. The FSP allocation can be used for a wide range of social services, including domestic abuse, child welfare, self-sufficiency, youth services, and child care. For more information about program requirements and guidelines, visit the Tribal Family Services Program webpage. Head Start State Supplement Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded programs offered to all states. In Wisconsin, DCF administers the Head Start and Early Head Start programs for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The program and its partners work to serve eligible children and families. Head Start prepares children ages 3-5 to succeed in school and in life. It provides early learning, health, and family well-being services—all in a safe nurturing environment. Early Head Start supports children up to age 3 by promoting healthy development and early learning. Many Early Head Start programs also offer services for expecting parents, caregivers, and their families. For more information on Head Start grants, visit the DPI Head Start State Supplement Grants webpage. Independent Living If a child is placed in foster care, independent living services are required once they reach a certain age. All children and youth need to learn basic life skills in order for them to become successful adults. The state recognizes this and requires certain things from those serving youth. Independent Living Funds These additional funds may be used by the tribe only for the following purposes and under the following service conditions: For expenses incurred in the establishing and carrying out Independent Living (IL) Programs for eligible youth placed in court ordered (not voluntary) out-of-home care. The use of these funds must be consistent with the restrictions and requirements as described in the federal John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (formerly known as the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program) and set forth in Public Law 106-169 and in the Ongoing Standards. Tribes designate what portion of the IL-eligible youth population ages 14-23 they will serve in their IL program. Youth are eligible for IL and Educational Training Voucher (ETV) services if they meet one of the following criteria: Youth between the ages of 14 and 17 ½ are eligible for services after they have attained a total of six months in a court-ordered OHC placement, for as long as they are in a court-ordered OHC placement. Youth adopted after their 16th birthday or older from a court-ordered OHC placement are eligible for some services (excluding room and board) up to the age of 23. Youth who enter court-ordered guardianship or long-term kinship care on or after their 16th birthday from a court-ordered OHC placement are eligible for services up to the age of 23. Youth that age out of a court-ordered OHC placement on or after their 18th birthday are eligible for services up to the age of 23. The tribe must complete the following for the eligible youth they intend to serve: Assess all eligible youth for life skills strengths and needs. Develop a plan with the youth that will address the youth’s acquisition of life skills commensurate with developmental level. This plan should include information specific to the youth obtaining: High school diploma and postsecondary education enrollment; Career exploration, volunteering, and shadowing; Safe and stable housing skills; Home management skills; Transportation; Health and medical knowledge; Healthy relationships ; Connection to ethnic culture; Money management and financial self-sufficiency skills; Identification/use of community resources and support systems; Identified life-long connections to supportive caring adults (permanency); Documents including but not limited to birth certificate, social security card, State ID, immigration papers, school records, medical records, etc., and Youth’s individual goals. Identify and apply life-skill development goals and activities that are experiential-based and allow for measurable outcomes. Starting at age 17½, collaborate with the youth and their supportive adults to complete the youth’s Independent Living Transition to Discharge (ILTD) plan. This should be a youth-driven process and the plan must be implemented in the 90-days prior to them leaving care. Required areas include: Obtaining and securing housing; Managing health care; Completing of high school and having a plan for postsecondary education/training; Accessing mentoring services or continued service provisions; Connecting with supportive adults; Obtaining employment/workforce support or other source of income; and Addressing youth’s self-identified goals. A tribe serving eligible youth ages 18-23 must also provide resources and supportive services through the youth’s transition from care toward successful self-sufficiency. Document youth service information in a complete and accurate way to provide a comprehensive overview of the youth’s engagement in the program. Include stakeholder, including youth, involvement in IL service development and program evaluation processes. Track and report outcomes and participate in the required program evaluation process for the duration of the contract. Initial data collection will establish a baseline for the independent living needs, service uptake, and successes of the eligible population in the region. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) expects to see increasing performance on outcomes over the life of the contract, as the service network expands and partnerships lead to greater opportunities for youth. Up to 30% of funds may be used to finance youth’s room and board needs. For auditing purposes, expenditures in this service area, and others, should be clearly tracked and claimed to line 5120A. The tribe is required to provide matching funds of at least 20 percent of IL funds expended. The total allocation and tribes match requirement are identified in the State/CW Agency Allocation schedule. The matching contribution may be cash or in-kind but may not include other federal funds. The tribe may be asked to complete a deobligation/reobligation form if it is projected to under- or overspend funds during the contract term. The completed form with authorized representative signature will be used as documentation to deobligate and/or reobligate funds through the unilateral contract process. The tribe will receive a notification of the amount and date of the contract change. Kinship Care Kinship Care Program Funding 2026 The funding for Kinship Care Benefits and Kinship Assessments is from federal TANF funds. The funding allocations and expenditures are subject to the allocation limits under s.49.175, Wis. Stats. Each annual award amount under this contract is set considering SPARC payment timing and the limitations under s.49.175, Wis. Stats. Funding is divided into separate allocations for expenses reported during October through May and June to September. Expenses are to occur and be reported during corresponding contract periods. Funding does not carry over from the October through May allocation to the June to September period. Kinship Care Benefits SPARC Line 5377 funds are for monthly Kinship Care Benefit payments to eligible caregivers as set forth in s. 48.57(3m) Wis. Stats and Administrative Rule DCF 58. The funds may only be used to make benefit payments. To the extent that funds are available, the Department will reimburse the Tribe for benefit costs in excess of the contract amount during the contract closeout period. Kinship Assessments SPARC Line 5380 funds are for costs including associated with conducting Kinship Care Assessments, including, but not limited to, doing program outreach, accepting applications, conducting background checks, assessing the homes of caregivers, determining initial eligibility, and doing annual eligibility redeterminations. These funds may also be used towards bassinets, cribs or playpens for Kinship Care families without safe sleeping arrangements. Kinship Care is a program to help support a child who lives outside of his or her home with the relative or like-kin. The child may be living temporarily or for the long term with a like-kin such as: An adult brother or sister A first or second cousin A nephew or niece An uncle or aunt or a grandparent Other caregivers (see administrative code for definition of relative in Wisconsin Chapter DCF 58.02(22)) Kinship care helps a family support a child in the home of a relative or like-kin when the child has experienced abuse or neglect. With this support, placing a child in a foster home or another out-of-home care setting may be avoided. For children in the child welfare system who cannot continue living at home with his or her parents, Kinship Care may be another placement option. Subsidized Guardianship Effective July 7, 2023, 2023 Wisconsin Act 19 authorizes DCF to enter into an agreement with the governing body of an Indian tribe to allow that governing body to administer subsidized guardianships ordered by a tribal court under a tribal law substantially similar to s. 48.977(2) and to be reimbursed by DCF for eligible tribal subsidized guardianship payments. Guardianship is a legal permanency option for children placed in out of home care through the child welfare system. A caregiver who is appointed guardian of a child by the court has the duty and authority to make important decisions for the child without severing the child’s legal relationship to their parents and other family members. Subsidized Guardianship supports the legal permanence option of guardianship and allows the guardian to continue receiving a monthly payment to offset the costs of caring for the child. The child welfare agency must determine if the child and prospective guardian are eligible for subsidized guardianship and enter into a subsidized guardianship agreement with the prospective guardian prior to the court’s appointment of the guardian. After the guardianship is established, the guardian will receive a monthly payment until the child and/or guardian no longer meet the eligibility criteria, or the subsidized guardianship agreement is terminated. Targeted Safety Support Funds (TSSF) Wisconsin’s Targeted Safety Support Funds Program and Fiscal Guide for Tribes Wisconsin’s Targeted Safety Support Funding (TSSF) serves families when children are unsafe and at risk of removal from their home. TSSF reduces trauma to children by keeping children safely in home with their families. It provides support and resources to build on family strengths. The primary goal of the Wisconsin Targeted Safety Support Funds (TSSF) Program is to keep families together by: Increasing parental protective capacities Decreasing out-of-home placements Helping families develop formal and informal supports Reducing maltreatment to children Supporting reunification planning to prevent re-entry The TSSF Program reduces trauma to children by: Keeping children safe with their families Providing support and resources to build on family strengths Preventing future maltreatment Title IV-E Pass-Through Agreements The Department of Children and Families (DCF) will negotiate in good faith with any Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium that requests to develop an agreement with the State to administer all or part of a Title IV-E program on behalf of Indian children under the authority of a tribe, a tribal organization, or tribal consortium. The scope of specific agreements may include claiming for administrative costs, foster care maintenance, guardianship, or adoption assistance payments on behalf of children who are placed in State or tribally licensed foster family homes. DCF will also coordinate with any Tribe interested in a direct Tribal/Federal IV-E agreement to ensure tribal access to resources for administration, training, and data collection available under title IV-E. Visit the DCF Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance webpage and scroll to the Tribal IV-E accordion to access those resources. Tribal High Cost Pool The Tribal High Cost Pool was created by 2007 Wisconsin Act 20 to provide funds to counties and tribes for unexpected or unusually high-costs for out-of-home care placements of Indian children by tribal courts. “High-cost” for out-of-home care placements is defined by statute to mean the amount by which the cost to a tribe or county of out-of-home care placements of Indian children by tribal courts exceeds $50,000 in a fiscal year. Application materials and instructions are released annually from the Division of Safety and Permanence via numbered memo. Additional Resources Sign up to receive Division of Safety and Permanence information and updates through email. Division of Safety and Permanence (DSP) Memos Sign up for Division of Early Care and Education information and updates through email. Division of Early Care and Education (DECE) Administrator’s Memos Sign up for Bureau of Working Families (BWF) Information and Updates through email notifications. Division of Families and Economic Security (DFES) Administrator’s Memos Bureau of Working Families (BWF) Operation Memos
