OpportunityTitle: Tribal Self-Governance Program Negotiation Cooperative Agreement
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: To be eligible for this Limited Competition Negotiation Cooperative Agreement under this announcement, an applicant must:  A. Be an &quot;Indian Tribe&quot; as defined in 25 U.S.C. &#167; 450b(e); a &quot;Tribal Organization&quot; as defined in 25 U.S.C. &#167; 450b(l); or an &quot;Inter-Tribal Consortium&quot; as defined at 42 C.F.R. &#167; 137.10.  Entities must be eligible to receive IHS funds for the provision of health care services pursuant to the ISDEAA in order to be eligible for this award.  Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, Pub. L. No. 112-74, &quot;the Indian Health Service may not disburse funds for the provision of health care services pursuant to [the ISDEAA] to any Alaska Native village or Alaska Native village corporation that is located within the area served by an Alaska Native regional health entity.&quot;    B. Submit a Tribal resolution from the appropriate governing body of each Indian Tribe to be served under the ISDEAA compact and authorizing the submission of the Negotiation Cooperative Agreement application.  Tribal consortia applying for a TSGP Negotiation Cooperative Agreement shall submit Tribal Council resolutions from each Tribe in the consortium.  Tribal resolutions can be attached to the electronic online application.  Draft resolutions can be submitted with the application in lieu of an official signed resolution; however an official signed Tribal resolution must be received by the Division of Grants Management (DGM), prior to the Objective Review on September 12, 2012.  Official signed resolutions can be mailed to the DGM, Attn:  John Hoffman, 801 Thompson Avenue, TMP, Suite 360, Rockville, MD 20852.  Please contact John Hoffman by telephone at (301) 443-5204 prior to September 12, 2012 regarding submission questions.  If the DGM does not receive an official signed resolution by September 11, 2012, then the application will be considered incomplete and ineligible for review or further consideration.   C. Demonstrate, for three fiscal years, financial stability and financial management capability.  Applicants are required to submit complete annual audit report for the three fiscal years prior to the year the applicant is applying for the Negotiation Cooperative Agreement.  The Indian Tribe must provide evidence that for the three years prior to applying for the Negotiation Cooperative Agreement; the Tribe has had no uncorrected significant and material audit exceptions in the required annual audit of the Indian Tribe&#146;s Self-Determination contracts or Self-Governance Funding Agreements with any Federal agency.  See 42 CFR &#167;&#167;137.21-23.  Scanned electronic copies of the documents can be attached to the electronic online application.  If the applicant determines that the audit reports are too lengthy, then the applicants may submit them separately via regular mail by the due date, September 9, 2012.  Applicants sending audits via regular mail must submit two copies of the complete audits for the three previous fiscal years under separate cover directly to the DGM, Attn: John Hoffman, 801 Thompson Avenue, TMP Suite 360, Rockville, MD 20852.  Applicants must reference the following information in their cover letter transmitting the required complete audits:  1) the Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2012-IHS-TSGN-0001, 2) the grant tracking number assigned to their electronic submission from http://www.Grants.gov, and 3) the date submitted via http://www.Grants.gov.  If the DGM does not receive this documentation by September 9, 2012, then the application will be considered incomplete and ineligible for review or further consideration.
Description: The purpose of this Negotiation Cooperative Agreement is to provide resources to Tribes to help defray the costs involved in and preparing for the Tribal Self-Governance Program (TSGP) negotiations process. Title V of the ISDEAA requires that a Tribe or Tribal Organization complete a planning phase to the satisfaction of the Tribe. Negotiations are a dynamic, evolving, and tribally driven process that requires careful planning and preparation by both parties, including the sharing of precise, up-to-date information. Because each Tribal situation is unique, a Tribe&apos;s successful transition into the TSGP requires focused discussions between the Federal and Tribal negotiation team about the Tribe&apos;s specific health care concerns and plans. The design of the negotiation process: 1) enables a Tribe to set its own priorities when assuming responsibility for IHS PSFAs, 2) observes the government-to-government relationship between the United States and each Tribe, and 3) involves the active participation of both Tribal and Indian Health Service (IHS) representatives, including the IHS Office of Tribal Self-Governance (OTSG). The process for entering the TSGP has four major stages: planning, pre-negotiations, negotiations, and post-negotiations. During pre-negotiations, the Tribal and Federal negotiation teams review and discuss issues identified during the planning phase. A draft Compact, Funding Agreement, and funding table are developed, typically by the Tribe, and distributed to both the Tribal and Federal negotiation teams. These draft documents are used as the basis for pre and final negotiations. Pre-negotiations provide an opportunity for the Tribe and the IHS to identify and discuss issues directly related to the Tribe&apos;s Compact, Funding Agreement and Tribal shares. At final negotiations, Tribal and Federal negotiations teams come together to determine and agree upon the terms and provisions of the Tribes Compact and Funding Agreement. The Tribal negotiation team may include a Tribal leader from the governing body (or a designee), the Tribal Health Director, technical and program staff, legal counsel and other consultants. The Federal negotiation team is led by the Area Lead Negotiator (ALN) and generally includes an OTSG Program Analyst, a member of the Office of General Counsel, and may also include other IHS staff and subject matter experts as needed. The ALN is the only member of the Federal negotiation team with delegated authority to negotiate on behalf of the IHS Director. These negotiations provide the opportunity for both sides to work together in good faith to enhance each Self-Governance agreement. Negotiations are not an allocation process; they provide an opportunity to mutually review and discuss budget and program issues. As issues arise, both negotiation teams work through the issues to reach agreement on the final documents. After negotiations are complete, the Compact and Funding Agreement are signed by the authorizing Tribal official and submitted to the ALN, who then reviews the final package to ensure each document accurately reflects what was agreed to during negotiations. Once the ALN completes this review, the final package is submitted to the OTSG to be prepared for the IHS Director&apos;s signature. Once the Compact and Funding Agreement have been signed by both parties, they become legally binding and enforceable agreements and the negotiating Tribe becomes a &quot;Self-Governance Tribe,&quot; and a participant in the TSGP.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Grants Policy Office
GrantorContactText: Paul Gettys &lt;br/&gt;Grant Systems Coordinator &lt;br/&gt;Phone 301-443-2114