Tribal Assistance to Needy Families

On September 13, 2004 signed an intergovernmental agreement to transfer the administration of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services to three participating tribes within the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA). The Tribal TANF program will have a Pierce County Office, a Kitsap County Office, a SPIPA Office that will serve Mason County residents, as well as offices at the Nisqually, Skokomish, and Squaxin Island Tribes.

SPIPA Board Chairman Dan Gleason (Chehalis), Skokomish Chairman Gordon James, Governor Gary Locke, Nisqually Chairman Dorian Sanchez, and Squaxin Island Chairman David Lopeman sign SPIPA Tribal Assistance for Needy Families Memorandum of Agreement in 2004.

The Nisqually, Skokomish and Squaxin Island tribes will participate in the TANF program to be administered by SPIPA. The agreement transfers state funds to the SPIPA TANF program and outlines the commitment to government-to-government cooperation and state-tribal coordination of services delivery. While the Nisqually, Skokomish and Squaxin Island Tribes will participate, the Shoalwater Bay and Chehalis Tribes, will not.

Governor Locke, the SPIPA Chairman of the Board Dan Gleason, Skokomish Chairman Gordon James, Squaxin Island Chairman David Lopeman and Nisqually Chairman Dorian Sanchez signed the MOA. The MOA commits the state to actively support the tribes' efforts to design and implement a culturally appropriate TANF program.

In a DSHS news release Governor Locke said, "Today's agreement means families in need within the Nisqually, Skokomish and Squaxin Island tribes will have access to TNAF programs that best meet their unique and culturally diverse needs."

The three tribes and SPIPA presented Governor Locke with a Chief's Pendleton Robe.