Smoke signals., April 15, 2003, Page 3, Image 3

Smoke Signals 3
Tribe's Social Service Program Presents at April General Council Meeting
APRIL 15, 2003
By Ron Karten
The April General Council meeting
was held on Sunday, April 6th, at the
Tribal Community Center in Grand
Ronde. Here are the highlights:
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle
Kennedy called the meeting to order.
Tribal Council member Val Grout of
fered the invocation.
Tim Holmes, Tribal member and
Board President of the Grand Ronde
Community Resource Center, recog
nized Verna Larsen "for all of her many
contributions." Larsen is "one of our
Elders that lives in this community
who has been a constant supporter of
our food bank," said Holmes. "This
Elder exemplifies the meaning of 'El
der status' to me."
David Fullerton, Program Director
of the Social Services Department, de
scribed the
ckpartmenfs
vision and
mission.
"The
Tribe's vi
sion is to be
a Tribal
c o m m u -nity
known
as a caring
people ..."
Fullerton reported. "The mission ...
is to provide culturally sensitive social
services that promote family unity with
an overall goal of attaining individual
and family self-sufficiency and safety."
Among Social Services programs,
"The mission of the Indian Child Wel
fare (ICW) program is to assure that
every Tribal child grows up in a safe,
healthy and permanent family
through honoring and respecting our
culture and community," said ICW
Supervisor and Tribal member Dana
Ainam.
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David Fullerton
The job is "to investigate all reports
of abuse and neglect of our Tribal chil
dren," she said.
Programs include Intake and Inves
tigation, Child Abuse and Neglect Pre
vention, Case Management and Fos
ter Care programs.
Success of the program can be seen
most clearly in the 12 Tribal youths
who have been reunited with their
families under ICW supervision. Sec
ond best to sending a child back to their
homes are placements in the homes of
relatives and next best are placements
in an unrelated Tribal home. At the
time of the April meeting, 32 Tribal
children were placed in the homes of
relatives or the homes of other Tribal
members.
The ICW program currently has 41
active cases. Twenty three are in state
court, 18 in Tribal court. Those cases
represent 72 Tribal children, 38 in
state care and 34 in Tribal care.
Ainam said that the choice of state or
Tribal care for children depend on a
number of factors, but sometimes, it
is a benefit for the child to take advan
tage of state facilities or options. The
close relationship between Tribe and
state offices allows for Tribal input
even when Tribal children are under
state care, said Ainam.
Recognized as one of the top Tribal
social services agencies, the CTGR pro
gram is one of five in the nation to par
ticipate in a 'Child Abuse and Neglect'
data project designed to come up with
more consistent statistics, said Ainam.
On a state level, CTGR is a member
of the Indian Advisory Board for the
Department of Human Services.
The program has developed a guide
for parents to help them know what to
expect from the program and to make
the most of it.
The department also has developed
many community partnerships "to
provide better services to our families,"
said Ainam.
The Employment and Training Pro
gram aims "to strengthen our Tribal
community by providing employment,
training and work-based opportunities
for Tribal members in order to promote
self-sufficiency," said Fullerton.
The focus is to "break down the bar
riers that exist, whether it's lack of
education, lack of training or lack of
work experience," said Fullerton.
The program also provides Tribal
assistance, work experience and on-the-job
training, said Fullerton.
Last year, the program served 139
Tribal members. Of that, 17 entered
unsubsidized employment. 17 com
pleted education and training require
ments. 26 completed an additional
objective. 24 were terminated for non
compliance. Presently, the program
serves 55 active clients; 8 in work ex
perience, 24 in the Tribal assistance
component, 21 are searching for jobs,
and two are doing on-the-job training.
The Emergency Assistance and Be
nevolence program provides shelter
and utilities assistance, according to
Program Coordinator and Tribal mem
ber Ron Hudson. The benevolence part
of the program serves Tribal members
across the country.
The Domestic Violence program of
fers victim support, offender re-education,
emergency shelter and advocacy
services.
The Youth Prevention program, the
newest Social Services program, is
funded by one federal and two state
grants. While the program is still in
development, the department is mov
ing forward quickly with this program
with Tribal member Lisa Leno as su
pervisor, according to Fullerton.
Mentoring, wellness activities, inter
vention for court involved youth,
parenting classes and drug & alcohol
education are among the activities of
this program. "We feel very fortunate
to have this funding to put toward our
youth and really invest in them," said
Fullerton.
Congratulations to $50 door prize
winners: Tribal members Susie
Gilliam, Carol Larsen and Kevin
McKnight; and to $100 winner: Cliff
Adams who donated his prize to the
Veterans' Memorial Committee.
Tribal member Sheena Johnson drew
Royalty Committee raffle winners.
Portland Trail Blazer vs Sun tickets
went to Douglas Steere. The one-night
stay at the Hotel Lodge went to Tribal
Elder Arlene Beck. The concert tick
ets went to Tribal member Luisant
LaBonte. Dinner at Legends went to
Tribal member Rick McKnight. And
Tribal Council member Val Grout won
a painting.
The next General Council meeting
was set for May 4, 2003, when Tribal
Council nominations will be made.
The CTGR flags will be flown at half
staff in honor of the first Native Ameri
can woman, Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa,
a Hopi, killed in the Iraq conflict.
Ron Hudson suggested that CTGR
send female Veterans to the funeral.
Tribal Council Secretary June Sell
Sherer said that she would be "hon
ored" to represent the Tribe at the fu
neral. Betty Bly thanked Smoke Signals
for the article about community mem
bers serving in the armed forces. "I
thought it was a wonderful article and
just a really nice thing to do," she said.
Her son, Archie Bly, has served in the
Navy for more than 20 years.
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