Our new agency’s work with the federally recognized tribes in Washington is some of the most important we do. Our relationship has both legal and moral structure and is based on the sovereignty of the tribal nations and our formal government to government relationship with each. Reducing disproportionality in outcomes for children with tribal backgrounds is a key part of the mission of the agency.
In short, we can do better.
We’ve been working with the tribes to get our organization structure right to make sure we’re connected in powerful ways. At DCYF our Government and Tribal Relations group will coordinate our work across all our lines of business with our tribal and recognized American Indian organization partners, including support in the field for tribes interacting with us. In the past our field liaisons were only responsible for child welfare issues; they will now add early learning and issues affecting adolescents to their portfolio and the plans we develop jointly with our tribal partners will be able to include additional services.
To accomplish this, we will have a tribal liaison working in and representing each of the six regional offices, ensuring that on-the-ground listening, coordination and action can be accomplished effectively. DCYF will also have a centralized team of four tribal affairs staff, including our director of government and tribal relations. This team will create, maintain and monitor our memorandums of understanding and contracts with each of the tribes, as well as develop statewide policy and programs to support the work unique to each region. The director of this team will report directly to me.
I’m very hopeful about this structure and the additional resources we’ll have. Stationing staff within regions provides opportunity for regular collaboration with tribal representatives. This is critical to building our government-to-government relationship with the individual tribes. Likewise, we need to have a strong team at our main office who collaborates with tribes from a broader perspective, noting trends, similarities and differences and helping partner in policy development. A direct line of communication and work between regional and leadership staff are key.
We are excited to be accepting applications for the director of government and tribal relations position. We look forward to collaborating with tribes in the hiring process. Regular updates, including information about DCYF-tribal monthly calls and tribal consultation policy development, can be found on our Tribal Resources webpage.
Ross Hunter
Secretary, Department of Children, Youth, and Families