Attachment D_Grantee Engagement Process

Attachment D: Grantee Engagement Process

1. OFA Letter to Tribal Leaders and Primary Grantee Contacts (DRAFT)
2. Study Team’s Email to Grantee Contact Persons
3. Email to Confirm Calls with the Tribal TANF-CW Grantees

Grantee Engagement Process
1. OFA Letter to Tribal Leaders and Primary Grantee Contacts (DRAFT)
[name and address of grantee’s chairperson/c.e.o.]
Dear ____________________:
The [name of grantee] is one of fourteen Indian tribes and tribal organizations currently implementing grant
projects to demonstrate models of effective coordination of Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) and child welfare services provided to tribal families at risk of child abuse or neglect. The anticipated
project period for these grants is September 30, 2011 – September 29, 2014.
The funding opportunity announcement for these grants said that the Department of Health and Human
Services/Administration for Children and Families will sponsor a study (and/or evaluation) of these Tribal
TANF – Child Welfare Coordination projects. This letter provides information on this important descriptive
study, which will document the approaches and strategies used by the fourteen grantees, and the outcomes of
these projects. A copy of this letter is being sent to [name of project director], the coordinator/director for the
[name of grantee and/or name of project] project.
The Administration for Children and Families/Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation has awarded a
contract to James Bell Associates (JBA) to conduct this descriptive study of the Tribal TANF – Child Welfare
Coordination projects. The focus of this multi-year study is to describe and document models of effective
service coordination and provision to promote the social and economic well-being of tribal children, families,
and communities. By documenting the processes and outcomes of Tribal TANF – child welfare coordination,
the study will provide information on these projects that will be useful for tribes, so that successful approaches
and activities can be sustained and replicated.
In addition, the JBA team will offer technical assistance to project staff on collecting data and measuring results,
and may help facilitate opportunities for peer-to-peer sharing among grantees.
While recognizing that each grantee and its project are unique, the study also will look at project activities and
results from a cross-site perspective. We anticipate that JBA staff will conduct annual site visits to each grantee
(in 2012, 2013, and 2014) to learn firsthand how each project is being implemented and how others could learn
from the grantees’ experiences. We anticipate that during these visits, JBA staff will meet with Tribal TANF,
child welfare, and other tribal staff who work with the project, families affected by the project, and (if you wish)
tribal officials, to obtain their perspectives on project coordination, benefits to children and families from the
project, and facilitators and challenges to program implementation.
Administration for Children and Families/Office of Family Assistance staff will contact tribal project staff
within the next week about these visits. Then JBA staff will contact designated tribal project staff to arrange
dates that will work for each grantee for an on-site JBA visit during the summer or fall of 2012, consistent with
tribal protocol and schedules, and to arrange for update calls.
We hope you will welcome this effort. We look forward to your participation, and to continuing to work
together to increase knowledge about improving coordination of Tribal TANF and child welfare services.
Sincerely,
Earl S. Johnson
Director
Office of Family Assistance
Cc: [project coordinator, etc.]

2. Study Team’s Email to Grantee Contact Persons
Within three weeks from the OFA communication to the tribal leader and the primary grantee contact, the study
team’s grantee liaisons send an email to the grantee’s identified point of contact.
To:
Grantee contact person
Subject: Descriptive Study of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services Coordination Projects
Dear [Name]:
We are contacting you regarding the notification sent on [date of OFA email/letter] by the Office of Family
Assistance about the descriptive study of the Tribal TANF – Child Welfare Coordination projects.
As noted in the letter, we would like to schedule a call with you to further introduce our study team, review the
purpose and details of the study, discuss a schedule for regular update calls with you, discuss a timeframe for an
on-site visit, and to address any questions or concerns that you may have.
Please let me know when would be a convenient time for us to speak. We will provide you a call-in number and
a passcode for the call. You are welcome to invite others to this call, as needed.
We look forward to speaking with you.
Thank you.

3. Email to Confirm Calls with the Tribal TANF-CW Grantees
To:
Primary Grantee Contact and others as appropriate
Subject: Scheduled Call – Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services Coordination Projects
Hello [name]:
This is to confirm that a call has been scheduled for [date, day, time] with [name of tribal grantee] to discuss the
descriptive study of the Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services Coordination projects as . The call-in number
is xxx-xxx-xxxx and the passcode is xxxxxx.
We look forward to our discussion.
Thank you.