DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447

Dear Tribal Colleague:

On behalf of the Child Care Bureau (CCB), in the Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), I am pleased to invite you to the 14^th National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference "Strengthening the Future of Tribal Children, Families, and Communities through Effective Partnerships." The conference will be held on May 13-15, 2008 at the Red Lion Hotel on the River in Portland, Oregon.

This year's Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal grantee conference will build on the success of the 2007 conference and incorporates many of the informative comments provided by tribal administrators about their specific training needs.  Because the CCDF program often serves families with multiple barriers to self-sufficiency, CCB will again partner with the TANF Bureau and have extended our partnership to include ACF's Children's Bureau, which administers child welfare programs.  

Several skill-building sessions will be offered throughout the conference in an effort to promote dialogue between these ACF programs and assist participants in building and sustaining new and existing partnerships. These interactive sessions will provide participants with information that cuts across programs and identifies areas of collaboration in support of children and families.    

The conference will also feature the following tracks that are designed to assist grantees with the successful implementation of their CCDF programs: Program Administration (includes data reporting and subsidy administration); Collaborations/Partnerships; Health and Safety; and Quality Activities.   

In addition to our Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center, many of the other members of the Child Care Bureaus Child Care Technical Assistance Network will conduct workshop sessions and also will be available to provide one-on-one technical assistance in the Resource Area throughout the conference.

We are excited about the training agenda that is being designed for this year's conference because it provides a valuable opportunity to bring tribal CCDF and TANF grantees together to develop and sustain effective partnerships that can help maximize available resources to meet the needs of children and families in tribal communities.

We hope that you will join us in Portland for this important opportunity to learn and share together. 

                                                Sincerely,

                                                Moniquin Huggins

                                                Acting Associate Director

                                                Child Care Bureau

                                                Office of Family Assistance