INDIANA AMERICAN INDIAN MANPOWER COUNCIL, INC
January 17, 2012
Senator Richard Lugar
Senator Dan Coats
Congressman Todd Rokita
Gentlemen;
I am the Executive Director of the American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. and am writing to express my concerns of H.R. 3610 Streamlining Workforce Development Programs Act of 2011.
I sit on the State Workforce Investment Council (SWIC), Balance of State Workforce Invest Board (BOS WIB), Employ Indy and 5 of the Regional Workforce Boards. All of these appointments are required under the State of Indiana WIA funding as well as my requirements of being funded thru the WIA 166 Indian and Native American Program. I have firsthand knowledge of how little the State knows about the Native American population in Indiana. I would further note that during most of the meetings I am required to attend, there has been little to no discussion on this population base because the population is small. There is very little if any effort put forth at a State level or local level to identify Native Americans, even when I have offered to “share” my funding with the local WorkOnes to assist funding with training and educational costs of Native Americans identified around the State.
My concerns are even greater with the WIA 166 funds that have traditionally been given to Native American organizations to be rolled into the State funding and controlled by the Governor in light of the fact that the Native American Indian Affairs Commission in Indiana has gone unstaffed since April of 2008 under the current administration. The Native American Indian Affairs Commission was created under P.L. 283-2003 and codified at IC 4-4-31.4. Not only has there been no Commission, the State is still selling and collecting funds for a Native American license plate. These funds are not going to any Native American organization, nor have they ever. I believe that the Native plate funds are the only specialty license plate fund that does not go to the intended organization they represent. With these historical facts, it makes it makes it pretty clear that the political attitude in Indiana towards Native Americans would make the likely hood of a consorted effort of spending funds that would be ear marked for the Targeted Populations under H.R. 3610 would ever reach the Native population.
Congressman Rokita, I see that you are a co-sponsor of H.R. 3610. I am curious if you know that there are over 55,000 people in Indiana that identified themselves as Native American on the 2010 census. I recently completed a health needs survey in Indiana for Native Americans and the results showed that we have representation of 115 of the 565 federally recognized tribes living in Indiana. Contrary to popular belief, there are Indians in Indiana.
The American Indian Center of Indiana, Inc. is the only group in Indiana that serves in any capacity to meet the employment, health issues and cultural awareness of the Native population at a State level. We service the entire State with our WIA funds with the exception of six counties in Northern Indiana that are serviced thru the Pokagon Band of Potawatomie that are located out of Dowagiac, Michigan. We receive funding from the WIA program as well as the Indian Minority Health Coalition to do free health screenings around the state and do cultural competency training to various colleges, health providers and the manufacturing sector.
If H.R. 3610 is passed, it will not only mean the end of the sole organization that was designed to serve the Native population in Indian, but I fear the end of any effort to reach this diverse population thru the WIA programs that will be offered from the State. I feel that Indiana will just roll these funds into the general account and if a Native American happens to walk into a WorkOne office they will receive services. If the track record of Indiana is used as a gauge, the State will not go looking or advertise they have these funds for the Targeted Population.
I implore you to vote NO on H.R. 3610, it not only will have a bearing on services provided in Indiana, but across the country as this bill will also affect Tribes that receive WIA funding on their reservations.
Sincerely,
Doug Poe Executive Director
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