HHS Awards $5M to Native American and Hawaiian Organizations
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced on Sept. 25 the award of approximately $5 million in grants to 119 Native American and Native Hawaiian organizations. Grants were awarded to 110 tribal organizations to provide families of elderly tribe members with access to information, respite care, counseling, training and "supplemental services" to aid in "caregiving challenges." In addition, nine other Native American organizations each received $100,000 "demonstration grants" in these categories:
- "Starting at the Beginning" grants were awarded to Central Council, Tlingit and Haida tribes in Alaska, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Center in Washington and the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana to "identify and prioritize the most critical needs" of caregivers.
- "Coordination and Leverage" grants were awarded to four groups -- the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana, the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency for Chehalis and Nisqually in Washington and the Hana Community Health Center in Hawaii -- to demonstrate the benefits of coordinating family caregiver support programs in those areas.
- "Quality Standards and Mechanisms of Accountability" grants were awarded to Alu Like Inc. in Hawaii and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota to design and test quality standards for support services.
The grants, to be administered by the Administration on Aging, constitute the new Native American Caregiver Support Program component of the National Family Caregiver Support Program. A full list of the 110 tribes receiving grants can be viewed online (HHS release 9/25).
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