OpportunityTitle: Office of Tribal Self-Governance Negotiation Cooperative Agreement
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: To be eligible for this opportunity, applicants must be:&#8226; An &#8220;Indian Tribe&#8221; as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304(e); a &#8220;Tribal Organization&#8221; as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304(l); or an &#8220;Inter-Tribal Consortium: as defined at 42 CFR 137.10.  Please note that Tribes prohibited under the Alaska Moratorium from receiving funds pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Ac (ISDEAA) are not eligible.  See Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, Pub. L. No. 113-76, as amended by Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-141, and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Pub. L. No. 116-94.&#8226; Applicant must submit from the appropriate governing body of each Tribe to be served a resolution or other official action authorizing the submission of the Planning Cooperative Agreement.  Please see Section IV. Application and Submission Information, 2. Content and Form Application Submission, Additional Required Documentation, Tribal Resolution(s) for details.&#8226; Demonstrate, for three fiscal years, financial stability and financial management capability.  The Indian Tribe must provide evidence that, for the three fiscal years prior to requesting participation in the Tribal Self-Governance Program (TSGP), the Indian Tribe has had no uncorrected significant and material audit exceptions in the required annual audit of the Indian Tribe&#8217;s Self-Determination Contracts or Self-Governance Funding Agreements (FAs) with any Federal agency.  See 25 U.S.C. 5383; 42 CFR 137.15-23.For Tribes or Tribal organizations (T/TO) that expended $750,000 or more ($500,000 for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003) in Federal awards, the Office of Tribal Self-Governance shall retrieve the audits directly from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.For T/TO that expended less than $750,000 ($500,000 for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003) in Federal awards, the T/TO must provide evidence of the program review correspondence from IHS or Bureau of Indian Affairs officials.  See 42 CFR 137.21-23.
Description: The purpose of this Negotiation Cooperative Agreement is to provide Tribes with resources to help defray the costs associated with preparing for and engaging in Tribal Self-Governance Program (TSGP) negotiations. TSGP negotiations are a dynamic, evolving, and Tribally-driven process that requires careful planning, preparation and sharing of precise, up-to-date information by both Tribal and Federal parties. Because each Tribal situation is unique, a Tribe&#8217;s successful transition into the TSGP, or expansion of their current program, requires focused discussions between the Federal and Tribal negotiation teams about the Tribe&#8217;s specific health care concerns and plans. One of the hallmarks of the TSGP is the collaborative nature of the negotiations process, which is designed to: 1) enable a Tribe to set its own priorities when assuming responsibility for Indian Health Service (IHS) Programs, Services Functions, and Activities (PSFAs); 2) observe and respect the government-to-government relationship between the U.S. and each Tribe; and 3) involve the active participation of both Tribal and IHS representatives, including the Office of Tribal Self-Governance (OTSG). Negotiations are a method of determining and agreeing upon the terms and provisions of a Tribe&#8217;s Compact and FA, the implementation documents required for the Tribe to enter into the TSGP. The Compact sets forth the general terms of the government-to-government relationship between the Tribe and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The FA: 1) describes the length of the agreement (whether it will be annual or multi-year); 2) identifies the PSFAs, or portions thereof, the Tribe will assume; 3) specifies the amount of funding associated with the Tribal assumption; and 4) includes terms required by Federal statutes and other terms agreed to by the parties. Both documents are required to participate in the TSGP and they are mutually negotiated agreements that become legally binding and mutually enforceable after both parties sign the documents. Either document can be renegotiated at the request of the Tribe.The negotiation process has four major stages, including: 1) planning; 2) pre-negotiations; 3) negotiations; and 4) post-negotiations. Title V of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) requires that a Tribe or Tribal organization complete a planning phase to the satisfaction of the Tribe. The planning phase must include legal and budgetary research and internal Tribal government planning and organizational preparation relating to the administration of health care programs. See 25 U.S.C. 5383(d). The planning phase is critical to the negotiation process and assists Tribes with making informed decisions about which PSFAs to assume and what organizational changes or modifications are necessary to support those PSFAs. 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.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Division of Grants Management
GrantorContactText: Paul E. Gettys, III &lt;br/&gt;Acting Director &lt;br/&gt;Phone 301-443-2114