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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2011)
........................................................... . | Scholarships and internships are | available through Udall Foundation ] e | f | | | Photos by Natasha Kavanaugh LaiLa Butler helps Grandma Bird carve a pumpkin. The Youth Services Team sponsored a Halloween Activities Day on Oct. 16 and provided families with pumpkins, crafts, games, raffle prizes and light snacks. | | | | | | e The Udall Foundation offers two amazing opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Udall Scholarship: This $5,000 scholarship is awarded to 80 under- graduate sophomores and juniors pursuing careers related to Tribal public policy, Native health care or the environment (you must be an American Indian/Alaska Native to be eligible in the first two categories). Udall scholars also get to attend the Udall Scholar Orientation and are immediately plugged into a growing and active alumni network. The deadline is March 5, 2012. Native American Congressional Internship: This 10-week sum- mer internship in Washington, D.C., is for American Indian and Alaska Native students who wish to learn more about the federal government and issues affecting Indian Country. The internship is fully funded - the foundation provides round-trip airfare, housing, per diem for food and incidentals, and a stipend at the close of the program. Undergraduate seniors and juniors, graduate students, law students and recent graduates are eligible to apply. The deadline is Jan. 31, 2012. More information is available at udall.gov. | | | | e | | 1 | | | | | | . ................................... inulin.... ....................... iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir^ Discount phone services available nationally for low-income families Two national telephone discounts - Lifeline and Link Up - are available for low-income families and individuals. Lifeline provides discounts on monthly phone service charges and Link Up provides a discount on the cost of commencing phone service for qualifying low-income households. Lifeline and Link Up are supported by the federal Universal Service Fund (USF). Lifeline provides discounts on one basic monthly phone service (wireline or wireless) for qualified subscribers. These discounts can be up to $10 per month, depending on the state. Enhanced Lifeline discounts are available for qualified low- income consumers living on Tribal lands. Federal rules prohibit qualifying low- income consumers from receiving more than one Lifeline service at the same time. That is, qualifying low-income consum ers can receive a Lifeline discount on either a home or wireless phone service, but cannot receive a Lifeline discount on both services at the same time. Lifeline also includes toll limitation service, which enables a subscriber to limit the amount of long distance calls that can be made. Link Up provides qualified subscrib ers with a one-time discount (up to a maximum of $30) off of the initial instal lation fee for one traditional, wireline phone service at the primary residence or the activation fee for one wireless phone service. Enhanced Link Up discounts are 16 • Siletz News * available for qualified low-income con sumers living on Tribal lands. Federal rules prohibit qualifying low-income consumers from receiving more than one Link Up discount. That is, qualifying low-income consumers can receive a Link Up discount on installa tion or activation charges associated with either a home or wireless phone service. Qualifying consumers can be eligible for Link Up again only after moving to a new primary residence. The Lifeline program is available to qualifying consumers in every state, territory and commonwealth and on Tribal lands. You must be eligible to enroll in the program. Eligibility criteria vary by state. For states that rely solely on the federal Lifeline and Link Up program eligibility criteria, subscribers must either have an income at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines or participate in one of the following assistance programs: • • • • • • • Medicaid Food Stamps Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8) Low-Income Home Energy Assis tance Program (LIHEAP) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) The National School Lunch Pro gram’s Free Lunch Program November 2011 For 2011, 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines is as follows: Persons in family or household 1 2 3 4 135% FPG $14,702 $19,859 $25,016 $30,173 Source: Federal Register, Vol. 76, No. 13, Jan. 20, 2011,pp. 3637-3638 Additional discounts for households on Tribal lands As mentioned above, enhanced Life line and Link Up benefits are available for low-income consumers who live on Tribal lands, which are defined as a federally recognized Indian Tribe’s reservation, pueblo or colony; on a former reservation in Oklahoma; within an Indian allot ment; or within an Alaska Native region established by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Qualified subscribers on Tribal lands can receive a Lifeline discount of up to $35 per month off of the cost of basic phone service, wireline or wireless. This discount can mean that low-income sub scribers on Tribal lands can receive basic monthly phone service for as little as $ 1 a month. Qualified subscribers on Tribal lands also can receive a one-time Link Up dis count of up to $100 on the initial instal lation of a traditional wireline phone connection or the activation of a wireless phone service. To be eligible for enhanced Lifeline and Link Up, subscribers living on Tribal lands either must have an income at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (see above) or participate in an income assistance program outlined above or one of the following programs: • • • • Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance Tribally Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF) Head Start (if income eligibility criteria are met) State assistance programs (if applicable) For more information on the Lifeline program, including eligibility require ments, visit the USAC website at usac.org or call the USAC Customer Operations Center at 888-641-8722. You also can contact your local phone service provider or state public utility commission (PUC). For your state’s PUC contact information, visit the National Association of Regulatory Utility Com missioners website at naruc.org or look in your local phone directory’s blue pages or government section. To talk to a consumer advocate in your state, visit nasuca.org/archive/about/ membdir.php.
