Support to Acquire Fellows for the American Indian Programs Branch of the Head Start Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

WHEREAS, the American Indian Programs Branch within the Head Start Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) funds over 20,000 American Indian and Alaska Native children, families, and communities through over 150 tribal and American Indian grantees, and

WHEREAS, recent budget cuts and downsizing has negatively impacted the administrative services to those 150 Indian Head Start Programs, and

WHEREAS, the current American Indian Programs Branch staff are under-staffed, underbudgeted, and restricted from participating in their employee selection.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION does hereby support efforts to acquire funding to place Head Start-experienced Fellows into the American Indian Programs Branch to provide administrative support to current program specialists, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION acknowledges the importance of Early Childhood Education to Indian and Alaska Native children and that administrative overburdens can negatively effect those services.

SUBMITTED BY: Marian D. Holstein (Winnebago-Chippewa)

CERTIFICATION

I do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly considered and passed by the NIEA membership assembled at its annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee, at which a quorum was present during the meeting held October 11-14, 1998.