"On March 29, officials from the Administration for Children and Family and the Department of Health and Human Services convened with me and other leaders from the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe to celebrate a momentous achievement.

PGST has become the first Tribe in the nation to receive federal approval to run its own Title IV-E program governing guardianship assistance, foster care, and adoption assistance. PGST now manages all social services under Title IV of the Social Security Act, including Child Welfare, Child Support, Child Care, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

It’s been a long road: federal legislation that allowed tribes to run their own Title IV-E programs was passed in 2008. Our Child & Family Services Department jumped on the opportunity the new legislation provided and began to move forward toward approval."

Get the Story:
Jeromy Sullivan: Keeping adoptions and foster care close to home (Kinston Community News 3/30)

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Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe takes on child welfare program (3/29)