Title 25

SECTION 23.22

23.22 Purpose of tribal government grants.

§ 23.22 Purpose of tribal government grants.

(a) Grants awarded under this subpart are for the establishment and operation of tribally designed Indian child and family service programs. The objective of every Indian child and family service program shall be to prevent the breakup of Indian families and to ensure that the permanent removal of an Indian child from the custody of his or her Indian parent or Indian custodian shall be a last resort. Such child and family service programs may include, but need not be limited to:

(1) A system for licensing or otherwise regulating Indian foster and adoptive homes, such as establishing tribal standards for approval of on-reservation foster or adoptive homes;

(2) The operation and maintenance of facilities for counseling and treatment of Indian families and for the temporary custody of Indian children with the goal of strengthening Indian families and preventing parent-child separations;

(3) Family assistance, including homemaker and home counselors, protective day care and afterschool care, recreational activities, respite care, and employment support services with the goal of strengthening Indian families and contributing to family stability;

(4) Home improvement programs with the primary emphasis on preventing the removal of children due to unsafe home environments by making homes safer, but not to make extensive structural home improvements;

(5) The employment of professional and other trained personnel to assist the tribal court in the disposition of domestic relations and child welfare matters, but not to establish tribal court systems;

(6) Education and training of Indians, including tribal court judges and staff, in skills relating to child and family assistance and service programs;

(7) A subsidy program under which Indian adoptive children not eligible for state or BIA subsidy programs may be provided support comparable to that for which they could be eligible as foster children, taking into account the appropriate state standards of support for maintenance and medical needs;

(8) Guidance, legal representation and advice to Indian families involved in tribal, state, or Federal child custody proceedings; and

(9) Other programs designed to meet the intent and purposes of the Act.

(b) Grants may be provided to tribes in the preparation and implementation of child welfare codes within their jurisdiction or pursuant to a tribal-state agreement.

(c) Grantees under this subpart may enhance their capabilities by utilizing ICWA funds as non-Federal matching shares in connection with funds provided under titles IV-B, IV-E and XX of the Social Security Act or other Federal programs which contribute to and promote the intent and purposes of the Act through the provision of comprehensive child and family services in coordination with other tribal, Federal, state, and local resources available for the same purpose.

(d) Program income resulting from the operation of programs under this subpart, such as day care operations, may be retained and used for purposes similar to those for which the grant was awarded.

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