Appendix B

SAMHSA's CAPT and NACE Support for Tribes Pursuing Tribal Action Plans under the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA)

September 2011

This version of the TAP Guidelines only contains pages 27-31 of the full document. If you require a copy of the full guide you may request it from Angela D. Richardson at angela.richardson@samhsa.hhs.gov.

TLOA Context

The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 stipulates that the governing body of any Federally Recognized Tribe may, at its discretion, adopt a resolution for the establishment of a Tribal Action Plan to coordinate available resources and programs in an effort to combat alcohol and drug abuse among its members. If a Federally Recognized Tribe does not adopt such a resolution within 90 days after publication of the Memorandum of Agreement in the Federal Registry, the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall require the Bureau of Indian Affairs agency and education superintendents, where appropriate, and the Indian Health Services service unit director serving such tribe(s) to enter into an agreement to identify and coordinate available programs and resources to carry out the purposes of the law for such tribes.

The Tribal Action Plan provides an opportunity for Federally Recognized Tribes to take a proactive role in the fight against alcohol and drug abuse in their communities by: assessing their needs and resources relative to alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment activities; identifying gaps in services; working with the community to identify urgent or emerging addiction issues; and assisting in the development of a comprehensive a strategy to prevent and reduce alcohol and substance abuse in the community.

Relevant SAMHSA/CSAP Resources

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has existing contract programs that produce resources Tribes can use in developing and implementing their TAPs. These contract programs include:

  • Native American Center for Excellence (NACE)
  • SAMHSA's Collaborative for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT)
  • State Epidemiologic Outcomes Workgroups (SEOW)
  • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Center for Excellence (FASD)

These programs develop resources that provide technical assistance in establishing the strategy specified by the TLOA, which follows the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) approach very closely. These resources are appropriate for a wide range of TAP planning activities, such as identifying data sources; analyzing the data; using and/or presenting the findings to conduct a needs and resources assessment; identifying appropriate and effective programs; implementing the programs in efficient, culturally appropriate, and sustainable ways; and evaluating tribal programs based on the improvement demonstrated by each tribe measured from their specific starting point.

Requirements for the Tribes Specified in the TLOA

Tribes are encouraged to develop their own Tribal Action Plans that outline the major alcohol and other substance abuse problems in their communities. The following is taken directly from the TLOA Memorandum of Agreement.

“A Tribal Action Plan (TAP) Workgroup will establish the operating framework of the TAP, develop an inventory of current proven strategies to recommend tribes utilizing practice based evidence models, manage the overall coordination of Tribal requests for assistance in the development of a TAP, coordinate assistance and support to Tribes as deemed feasible, and collaborate with the Inventory Workgroup in developing an appropriate response back to the Tribal entity seeking assistance.

  • 25 U.S.C. § 2412(e): If the governing body of any Indian tribe does not adopt a resolution, as provided in the Act, within 90 days after the publication of this MOA in the Federal Register, appropriate officials from BIA, where appropriate, and HIS who serve such tribe, shall enter into an agreement to identify and coordinate available alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs and resources to for such tribe. After such an agreement has been entered into for a tribe for the identification and coordination of these resources, such tribe may adopt a resolution for the establishment of the tribe's TAP.
  • 25 U.S.C. § 2412 (c)(3): TAPs are to be updated every 2 years.
  • 25 U.S.C. § 2412 (c)(1)(A): TAPs will establish a Tribal Coordinating Committee which shall–
    1. Consist, at minimum, of a tribal representative who shall serve as Chairman and the BIA superintendents and education line officers, where appropriate, the OJP, SAMHSA, and the IHS CEO, or their representatives;
    2. Have primary responsibility for TAP implementation;
    3. Provide for on-going review and evaluation of the TAP;
    4. Make recommendations to the Tribe relating to the TAP; and
    5. Schedule Federal, Tribal or other personnel for training in the prevention and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives, as appropriate.”

Some of the things that the TAP can provide for include:

  1. An assessment of the scope of the problem of alcohol and substance abuse for the Indian tribe which adopted the resolution for the TAP,
  2. the identification and coordination of available resources and programs relevant to a program of alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment,
  3. the establishment and prioritization of goals and the efforts needed to meet those goals,
  4. the identification of the community and family roles in any of the efforts undertaken as part of the TAP,
  5. the establishment of procedures for amendment and revision of the plan as may be determined necessary by the Tribal Coordinating Committee, and
  6. an evaluation component to measure the success of efforts made.

These TAP activities are supported by the same Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) procedure employed by the SPF Tribal Incentive Grant (SPF-TIG) grantees served by SAMHSA's CAPT and many of SAMHSA's NACE clients as well. In addition, SAMHSA's CAPT and SEOW contracts have developed resources that relate to suggestions “a” and “f” above, which include analysis and evaluation components.

Available SAMHSA/CSAP Technical Assistance and Training (T/TA) Resources

SAMHSA/CSAP resources can provide technical expertise to Tribes at different stages of TAP development and prevention program implementation. CSAP's resources, however, do not cover the full spectrum of resources and TA that the 565 federally recognized Tribes will need to develop and implement a TAP. OIASA will be able to assist interested Tribes in identifying resources from other IASA federal agencies to supplement these SAMHSA/CSAP resources in support of Tribes developing TAPs.

SAMHSA/CSAP provides expert advice, materials, and resources as follows:

  • General substance abuse prevention and strategic planning TA resources are available to all Tribes Direct T/TA is available to Tribes that are CSAP discretionary grantees (CAPT)
  • Resources emphasize cultural appropriateness, readiness, and linkages and information sharing (e.g., Learning Communities)
  • Several substance abuse prevention and strategic planning resources are developed and disseminated free of charge through the SAMHSA store, via Webinars, and through prevention content areas on the SAMHSA website
  • All prevention resources emphasize a science-based, data-driven strategic approach (SPF)
  • SAMHSA/CSAP is not able to provide individualized assistance or site visits

In addition, some of these SAMHSA/CSAP contracts may provide selected face-to-face large- scale trainings or technical assistance events, such as webinars, or offer a limited number of T/TA workshops at large meetings. These events could promote the acquisition of skills and knowledge required to implement the TAP successfully.

Some of the SAMHSA/CSAP contracts develop and provide more specific resources. These include:

  • SAMHSA's CAPT can provide access to relevant prevention materials and tools (i.e., all components of the SPF approach, including needs assessment and evaluation tools) through a dedicated web portal on the Prevention T/TA section of SAMHSA's website.
  • SAMHSA's NACE uses a Learning Community model to facilitate the transmission of learning from one member and community to another. The experiences of learning community members are typically invaluable to others, which, over time, become a mentoring process within the group and permit their knowledge to extend well beyond the limits of T/TA support.
  • NACE also provides technical assistance on the Community Readiness Model (CRM). The CRM is a proven method for assessing the level of readiness of a community to develop and implement a wide variety of programs and initiatives. It can be used in conjunction with SPF and as a tool to assess levels of TLOA readiness across a group of communities or as a tool to guide efforts at the individual community level.
  • SAMHSA's FASD Center for Excellence develops materials and resources describing FASD risk factors and prevention steps to take before and during pregnancy. The FASD Center has a collection of resources developed for the AI/AN community, which may be appropriate for inclusion in some TAPs.
  • The SEOW contract develops materials and resources describing how to use epidemiologic data to shape strategic plans and make program decisions. These materials are consistent with SPF and other strategic planning approaches.

Approach

SAMHSA will explore several means to coordinate SAMHSA's TA and Training resources with those of the other IASA partners in ways that are most accessible and effective for tribes. First, SAMHSA will explore coordinating with other IASA partners to offer training sessions at existing meetings of various tribal groups. These sessions will focus on the SPF process in the context of the TLOA requirements, and will include an introduction of the SPF (TAP) concepts to the many tribes and tribal groups that have not received a SPF TIG grant. Finally, because TLOA requires that there be a combination of prevention and treatment, these training sessions will address coordination between prevention and treatment providers.

Second, SAMHSA will investigate ways to capitalize on the existing TA and Training activities and tools already in use by the SPF TIG grantees and drawing on the successes of the 20 tribal grantees to create resources for the other 500+ tribes that are not engaged in the SPF process. The necessary adaptations might include coordination with the treatment communities as well as the mental health communities. SAMHSA's CAPT and NACE TA providers could develop instructional materials and co-facilitate webinars describing the TLOA and how it would impact their programs.

Third, SAMHSA will provide the tribes responding to the TLOA requirements access to portals and websites with a variety of materials available to assist them in developing their TAPs. Tribes could also participate in webinars and conference calls to discuss the materials provided on the portals and websites. The availability of these materials and programs would be coordinated with resources from other IASA partners and presented through a vehicle created by the OIASA director.

Topics Addressed in SAMHSA's TA and Trainings

Each tribal entity will have a unique set of skills and resources, will need different levels of T/TA support, and will need assistance at different points in the SPF (TAP) process. The following is a sample of topics that are addressed in the trainings and materials already available through SAMHSA's CAPT and NACE and which could be adapted and made available to tribes creating a TAP.

  • Overall description of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
  • Role of the Epidemiology Work Group and Tribal Advisory Group (Coordinating Committee)
  • Identifying and selecting partners and preparing them for the TLOA
  • Assessment of community needs regarding substance abuse
  • Assessing tribal capacity and resources
  • Selecting priorities for prevention programs
  • Using epidemiological data to make decisions
  • Preparing and presenting data to the community
  • The role of evaluation and making it work for the community
  • Building capacity
  • Identifying data sources

Last updated: 11/09/2011