2012 Tribal Consultation Sessions


Tribal Leaders Invitation Letters

Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families

June 12, 2012

 

Dear Tribal Leader:

I invite you to join a discussion on the ways in which the Office of Head Start (OHS) can better meet the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families. As outlined in the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, annual Tribal Consultation sessions inform the Office of Head Start’s plans for funding allocations, distribution formulas, and other decisions affecting the delivery of Head Start services. We welcome your participation and the participation of your Head Start director.

In recent years, I have had the honor of meeting many of you and hearing your ideas and concerns for providing the best possible services to children and families in Head Start. I look forward to continuing this dialog with you in 2012.

OHS is holding 2012 Tribal Consultations with leaders of Tribal Governments operating Head Start (including Early Head Start) programs for each of the nine geographic regions of Head Start where AI/AN programs are located. We have scheduled two sessions in October for tribal programs in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska:

October 15 – Portland, Oregon (Region X)

October 17 – Anchorage, Alaska (Region X)


As much as possible, the OHS Tribal Consultations are being scheduled in conjunction with other Tribal events. The session in Anchorage is being held in conjunction with the annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, October 18–20, 2012. Such scheduling is an effort to minimize the burden of travel for the tribal participants.

 

You may register for the OHS Tribal Consultation session most convenient for you; registration and logistical information is attached. This information is also available online at http://www.headstartresourcecenter.org. 

 

OHS encourages you to help plan the Tribal Consultation agendas, provide written testimony, and invite observers to the meetings. If you have questions about Tribal Consultation planning, please contact Ann Linehan, Deputy Director, Office of Head Start, at 202-205-8579 or Ann.Linehan@acf.hhs.gov.

 

These Tribal Consultations promise to be highly informative and useful in shaping the future of Head Start services for AI/AN children and their families. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful participation.

Best regards,

 

/Yvette Sanchez Fuentes/

 

Yvette Sanchez Fuentes

Director

Office of Head Start 

 

 

cc: AI/AN Head Start Directors