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Notice of Funding Opportunity for Tribal Self-Governance Planning and Negotiation Activities

by Jennifer Cooper, Director, Office of Tribal Self-Governance

The funding opportunity for the Fiscal Year 2021 Tribal Self-Governance Planning Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  and Negotiation Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  Cooperative Agreements, administered by the Office of Tribal Self-Governance , is now available and published in the federal register. The deadline to apply is October 28, 2020.

These annual IHS cooperative agreement awards support tribes and tribal organizations with the planning and preparation necessary to assume responsibility for providing health care to their tribal members through the Tribal Self-Governance Program .

This program is an expression of the nation-to-nation relationship between the United States and tribes. Strong federal-tribal partnerships are critical to the program’s success. Through the program, tribes have the option to assume IHS program funds and manage them to best fit the needs of their tribal communities.

Planning Cooperative Agreement Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

The Planning Cooperative Agreement assists tribes with the planning phase of the self-governance program, which includes legal and budgetary research, internal tribal government planning, and organization preparation relating to the administration of health care programs. The Planning Cooperative Agreements are for a one-year period and individual award amounts are anticipated to be $120,000, with approximately five awards issued.

The planning phase is critical to negotiations and helps tribes make informed decisions about which programs, services, functions, and activities (PSFAs) to assume and what organizational changes or modifications are necessary to successfully support them. A thorough planning phase improves timeliness and efficient negotiations and ensures that the tribe is fully prepared to assume the transfer of IHS PSFAs to the tribal health program.

Negotiation Cooperative Agreement Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 

The Negotiation Cooperative Agreement assists tribes to defray the costs related to preparing for and conducting self-governance program negotiations. Negotiations provide an opportunity for the tribal and federal negotiation teams to work together in good faith to enhance each self-governance agreement. The Negotiation Cooperative Agreements are for a one-year period and individual award amounts are anticipated to be $48,000, with approximately five awards issued.

A list of award recipients from the Fiscal Year 2020 Tribal Self-Governance Planning and Negotiation Cooperative Agreements is available here .

For more information regarding the Fiscal Year 2021 cooperative agreements, please contact Roxanne Houston at 301-443-7821 or Roxanne.houston@ihs.gov.

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Jennifer Cooper, Director, Office of Tribal Self-Governance
Jennifer Cooper, an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation of Indians, is the director of the IHS Office of Tribal Self-Governance. Ms. Cooper joined the OTSG in January 2014 as the deputy director. Prior to federal service, she served as the director of Federal Relations and legislative director at the National Indian Health Board, where she worked closely with tribal leaders and advocated on various Indian health policy issues.