"My mother, a social worker, was director of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's Social Services Department in North Dakota when she died in a car accident July 14, 2003. Shortly before her death, she sought a grant writer to work on a project aimed at helping Native children in crisis.

Her colleagues submitted the grant after her death, naming the project the Medicine Moon Initiative in her honor.

Ultimately, it was one of seven national proposals, and the only Native program, to receive funding from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Children, Youth and Families. The department awarded money to programs that sought to improve collaborative efforts taking place in the child welfare system.

Today, the Native American Training Institute in Bismarck, N.D., administers the Medicine Moon Initiative. The project operates with the $2.5 million grant, which allows for staff training, parent and community involvement, and a management information system for third-party Medicaid billings and improved state-tribal communications."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Mother's love,effort to build Native people not forgotten (The Missoulian 5/8)

Relevant Links:
Jodi Rave Lee - http://www.missoulian.com/jodirave

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