Title IV-E Tribal-State Agreement Evaluation

OMB #: 0970-0531

Expiration Date: 9/30/2025

Title IV-E Tribal State IV-E Survey

Start of Block: Introduction Block

Tribal/State Title IV-E Agreement Survey

Project and Evaluation Information 

The Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver is working with the Capacity Building Center for Tribes (Center for Tribes) to gather information on the status of current Tribal/State IV-E agreements nationwide. The Center for Tribes is funded by the Children’s Bureau, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

We would like to invite you to complete this survey about your Tribe’s IV-E agreement with your state. You are receiving this survey invitation because your Tribe has been identified as having a Tribal/state IV-E agreement. The survey is expected to take about 10 minutes to complete and you will receive a $30 e-gift card in appreciation of your participation. The purpose of this research is to understand unique factors within agreements, the ways in which Tribal/state IV-E agreements are supporting Tribal child welfare, and recommendations for Tribes who may wish to negotiate an agreement with their state. The Center for Tribes values your feedback, which will be used to continue to highlight the needs of and best practices for Tribes in accessing Title IV-E funds. Results will be used by the Children’s Bureau to inform ACF technical assistance to Tribes.

We understand that there are often many moving parts to working within a Tribal-state agreement. If you would prefer that we reach out to an additional contact in your Tribal Child Welfare program, please indicate that within the survey on question 3.

Voluntary and Private Participation

Your participation is completely voluntary, and you may refuse to answer any question or stop participating at any time. Your responses will be kept completely private (only trained members of the evaluation team will have access to the secure data file) and reported in aggregate. In other words, data from all participants will be combined, and no individual response will ever be shared with personally identifying information.

Contact Information 

This evaluation is being conducted by the Capacity Building Center for Tribes at the Butler Institute for Families, University of Denver. The lead evaluators are Dr. Suzanne Delap and Dr. Robin Leake. If at any time you have questions, please contact Dr. Suzanne Delap, at [email protected]. If you have any questions regarding how to access this survey or technology-related concerns, please contact Sophia Warren at Sophia.Warr[email protected].

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: The purpose of this information collection is to inform TA for the Children’s Bureau as part of the Capacity Building Center for Tribes. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10 minutes per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0531 and the expiration date is 9/30/2025. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Dr. Suzanne Delap at [email protected].

Q1 Please indicate your current role within your Tribe or agency (select all that apply).

▢ Director (Please indicate your department) (1)

▢ Legal staff (2)

▢ Tribal Child Welfare workforce/staff (3)

▢ Tribal leader/ council member/ elder (4)

▢ Other (Please specify) (5)

Q2 Do you currently have a Tribal-state IV-E agreement in place?

o Yes. (1)

o Yes, but it is dormant. (2)

o Yes, but it is being re-negotiated. (3)

o Don't know. If known, please provide the name and email address of a Tribal contact who may be able to provide information on your Tribal/state IV-E agreement: (5)

Q3 How long has your tribe operated a Tribal-state IV-E agreement?

o Less that 1 year (1)

o Between 2-5 years (2)

o Between 5-10 years (3)

o More than 10 years (4)

Q4 Please describe your role in facilitating the Tribal-state IV-E Agreement (e.g., negotiation and reauthorization, legal analysis, and/or daily implementation, other):

Q5 What is your Tribe's primary reason for seeking funding and operating a Tribal-state IV-E agreement?

Q6 Which of the following were available to your Tribe when seeking a Tribal/state IV-E agreement? (select all that apply)

▢ Willingness of the state to negotiate (1)

▢ General information that your Tribe gained from self-study, to initiate and design an agreement (2)

▢ General information that was provided to you by Children's Bureau (3)

▢ General Information that was provided to you by external agencies (4)

▢ Information from other Tribes who had experience with Tribal-state agreements (5)

▢ Legal advice available, either internal to the Tribe or external (6)

▢ Other (Please specify) (7)

Q7 Do you have other staff dedicated to supporting the agreement?

o Yes (1)

o No (2)

Q8 What additional community partners (internal or external) have helped either develop, negotiate, or implement your Tribal/state IV-E agreement (select all that apply)?

▢ State partner (including liaisons or contacts at the state level) (1)

▢ Federal partner (including Children's Bureau regional officers and other federal officials) (2)

▢ Internal Tribal agency (including other Tribal departments or Tribal employees in other divisions) (3)

▢ County partner (including county DHS or associated staff) (6)

▢ External Nonprofit (4)

▢ Other (Please specify) (5)

Q9 Do you feel that you and/or your Tribal Child Welfare Department have a strong working knowledge of your Tribal-state IV-E agreement?

o Yes (1)

o No (2)

Q10 Are there any areas in which you would like to receive additional education or training? (Select all that apply)

▢ Eligible reimbursement types (maintenance, administration, and/or training costs) (1)

▢ Requirements to access funding (2)

▢ ICWA determination (3)

▢ State contacts (4)

▢ Tribal sovereignty -- waiving or acknowledgement (5)

▢ Other (Please specify) (6)

Q11 Which of the following categories are included in your Tribal-state IV-E agreement (Select all that apply)

▢ Language that acknowledges Tribal sovereignty (8)

▢ Waiver of Tribal sovereignty (1)

▢ Meeting Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) requirements (2)

▢ Language that details amount or payment of administrative costs (3)

▢ Providing matching funds from the state (4)

▢ Language that details guardian/kinship and adoption care policies (5)

▢ Providing training for families and Tribal child welfare program (6)

▢ Other (Please specify) (7)

Q12 Is there anything that you feel could be better addressed within your current IV-E agreement? (Select all that apply)

▢ Language that acknowledges Tribal sovereignty (4)

▢ Waiver of Tribal sovereignty (5)

▢ Meeting Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) requirements (6)

▢ Language that details amount or payment of administrative costs (7)

▢ Providing matching funds from the state (8)

▢ Language that details guardian/kinship and adoption care policies (9)

▢ Providing training for families and Tribal child welfare programs (10)

▢ Other (Please specify) (11)

Q13 Which parts of your Tribal-state IV-E agreement increase your Tribe’s ability to provide services to children and families (i.e., Meeting ICWA requirements, Tribal sovereignty, training, etc.)?

Q14 Which parts of your Tribal-state IV-E agreement can make it difficult to implement, manage or provide services to families (i.e., Meeting ICWA requirements, Tribal sovereignty, training,

etc.)?

Q15 What tools and resources would you like to have more of to successfully maintain the Tribal-state IV-E Agreement? Please select all that apply.

▢ Additional time in your workday (5)

▢ Additional staff in your department (6)

▢ Additional staff in other Tribal departments that you work with (7)

▢ Increased partnership with other Tribal departments that you work with (9)

▢ External agencies to help support implementation (8)

▢ Additional funding for Tribal Child Welfare (11)

▢ Increased infrastructure within your Tribal department (12)

▢ Tribal policies and procedures that recognize the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (13)

▢ Other (please describe) (10)

Q16 Are there any changes that you plan to negotiate for future versions of the agreement?

o Yes (Please specify) (4)

o No (5)

o Other (please describe) (6)

Q17 How do you maintain your working relationship with your state, in relation to your Tribal- state IV-E agreement? Please select all that apply.

▢ Scheduling regular meetings (7)

▢ Increased communication (in-person or virtual) (8)

▢ Relationship building activities (9)

▢ Having a dedicated staff member to work with the state (10)

▢ Inviting state or local representatives to join in Tribal ceremony or practices (13)

▢ No active efforts (11)

▢ Other (please describe) (12)

Q18 How has the IV-E agreement influenced your working relationship with your state?

o The Tribal/state agreement has had a positive impact on our working relationship with our state. (Please describe) (1)

o The Tribal/state agreement has had a negative impact on our working relationship with our state. (Please describe) (2)

o Other (please describe) (5)

o Prefer not to answer (4)

Q19 How satisfied are you with your state partnership in maintaining and meeting the requirements of the Tribal-state IV-E agreement?

o Very satisfied (1)

o Somewhat satisfied (2)

o Neutral (3)

o Somewhat dissatisfied (4)

o Very dissatisfied (5)

o Prefer not to answer (6)

Q20 How often do you renegotiate terms with your state?

o Annually (1)

o Every 2 years (2)

o Every 3-5 years (3)

o More than 5 years between negotiations (4)

o Don't Know (5)

o Other (Please Specify) (6)

Q21 Please select the communities that have been positively impacted by your IV-E agreement: (Please select all that apply)

▢ Biological parent(s) and extended families (1)

▢ Foster/resource families (2)

▢ Adoptive families (3)

▢ Children in care (4)

▢ Tribal community overall (5)

▢ Other (Please specify) (6)

Q22 What has been the most impactful piece of your Tribal-state IV-E agreement?

▢ Maintenance, Administrative and Training funding (4)

▢ Non-federal match funding (5)

▢ Tribal sovereignty (10)

▢ Waivers of sovereignty (6)

▢ Compliance with IV-E requirements (7)

▢ Reimbursement process (8)

▢ Innovative factors/practices (Please Specify) (9)

▢ Other (Please Specify) (11)

Q23 Are there factors that are unique to your Tribe (culture, traditions, or history) that may impact your ability to implement the IV-E agreement?

Q24 What advice would you give to Tribes who are considering seeking out a IV-E agreement with their state? For example, what innovations has your Tribe implemented that have supported your Tribal-state IV-E agreement?

Q25 In appreciation of your participation in this survey, you are eligible to receive a $30 e-gift card. Please enter your email address below:

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