The Indian Health Service (IHS) Office of Tribal Self-Governance (OTSG), is accepting applications for Planning Cooperative Agreements for the Tribal Self-Governance Program (TSGP). This program is authorized under: Title V of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), 25 U.S.C. 5383(e). This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) under 93.444.

Background
The TSGP is more than an IHS program; it is an expression of the Government-to-Government relationship between the United States (U.S.) and Indian Tribes. Through the TSGP, Tribes negotiate with the IHS to assume Programs, Services, Functions, and Activities (PSFAs), or portions thereof, which gives Tribes the authority to manage and tailor health care programs in a manner that best fits the needs of their communities.

Participation in the TSGP affords Tribes the most flexibility to tailor health care PSFAs and is one of three ways that Tribes can choose to obtain health care from the Federal Government for their citizens. Specifically, Tribes can choose to: (1) Receive health care services directly from the IHS, (2) contract with the IHS to administer individual programs and services the IHS would otherwise provide (referred to as Title I Self-Determination Contracting, and (3) compact with the IHS to assume control over health care programs the IHS would otherwise provide (referred to as Title V Self-Governance Compacting or the TSGP). These options are not exclusive and Tribes may choose to combine options based on their individual needs and circumstances.