HHS Announces 2010 Tribal Consultation Blueprint

WASHINGTON-- HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the Department’s compliance with President Barack Obama’s memorandum on Tribal consultation and Executive Order 13175. HHS submitted its detailed tribal consultation plan within the 90 day time frame set by the President and is committed to continually work to improve services, outreach, and consultation efforts to Indian Country.

Secretary Sebelius will convene a Tribal-Federal Work Group whose task it will be to review tribal comments, regional consultation reports and develop recommendations to improving the HHS Tribal consultation policy. Secretary Sebelius will also create a Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee, the first of its kind and the first to be established by any Cabinet official in the Administration.

“I take the Department’s responsibility with respect to Tribal consultation very seriously and look forward to working with you as we continue to improve our relationship and build healthier communities in this Administration,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Our Agencies at HHS have benefited from the establishment of Tribal Advisory Committees, which serve to advise HHS leadership on how best to work with Indian Country.”

There are primarily five ways in which HHS consults with Tribes:

• Budget Consultation
• Regional Consultation
• Tribal Delegation Meetings
• Individual Agency Consultations and Consultation Policies
• Consultation Report

Paul Dioguardi, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Stacey Ecoffey, Principal Advisor for Tribal Affairs, are the primary contacts for tribal consultation at HHS and will lead its efforts.

“We have been working together with Tribal leaders to improve the accountability of our consultation policy across the Department and to ensure all agencies are participating appropriately,” said Paul Dioguardi, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Annual Tribal Budget Consultation Session will be held on March 4-5, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Upcoming Regional Consultation Sessions:

For more information on this, please visit: www.hhs.gov or http://www.hhs.gov/intergovernmental/tribal/index.html

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.