Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
On May 21, 2024, the Indian Health Service (IHS) published a Dear Tribal Leader Letter initiating Tribal consultation on funding methodologies for behavioral health initiatives, focusing on funds that are currently distributed through grants.
Executive Order 14112, Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations To Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination, directs federal agencies to review and implement reforms to federal funding for Tribal Nations to make them more accessible, flexible, and equitable. In accordance with Executive Order 14112, the IHS Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) is evaluating agency-wide processes for distributing appropriated funding for behavioral health initiatives and seeking input from Tribal Nations on this topic.
The IHS currently administers more than $59 million in behavioral health funding, and the Dear Tribal Leader Letter outlines seven of the grant programs through which IHS distributes this funding. USET SPF has long advocated for behavioral health funding, and all other federal funding provided to Tribal Nations, to be distributed through self-governance contracts and compacts rather than through grant mechanisms, as competitive grants do not fulfill the federal government's trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.
IHS will hold Tribal consultation on this topic on June 18, 2024 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm ET. Interested participants may register for the consultation here. IHS will also accept written comments emailed to consultation@ihs.gov until July 22, 2024.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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