(a) The regulations in this part prescribe the rules for implementing section 412(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as amended by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) (Pub. L. 104-193) and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-33).

(b) Section 412(a)(2) of the Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary to issue grants to eligible Indian tribes to operate a program that makes work activities available to “such population and such service area or areas as the tribe specifies.”

(c) We call this Tribal work activities program the Native Employment Works (NEW) program.

(d) These regulations specify the Tribes who are eligible to receive NEW Program funding. They also prescribe requirements for: funding; program plan development and approval; program design and operation; and data collection and reporting.

The purpose of the NEW Program is to provide eligible Indian tribes, including Alaska Native organizations, the opportunity to provide work activities and services to their needy clients.

The following definitions apply to this part:

ACF means the Administration for Children and Families;

Act means the Social Security Act, unless we specify otherwise;

Alaska Native organization means an Alaska Native village, or regional or village corporation, as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that is eligible to operate a Federal program under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450);

Consortium means a group of Tribes working together for the same identified purpose and receiving combined NEW funding for that purpose.

Department means the Department of Health and Human Services;

Division of Tribal Services (DTS) means the unit in the Office of Community Services within the Department's Administration for Children and Families that has as its primary responsibility the administration of the Tribal family assistance program, called the Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and the Tribal work program, called the Native Employment Works (NEW) program, as authorized by section 412(a);

Eligible Indian tribe means an Indian tribe, a consortium of Indian tribes, or an Alaska Native organization that operated a Tribal Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program in fiscal year 1995 under section 482(i) of the Act, as in effect during that fiscal year;

Fiscal year means the 12-month period beginning on October 1 of the preceding calendar year and ending on September 30;

FY means fiscal year;

Indian, Indian tribe, and Tribal organization—The terms Indian, Indian tribe, and Tribal organization have the meaning given such terms by section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b);

Native Employment Works Program means the Tribal work program under section 412(a)(2) of the Act;

NEW means the Native Employment Works Program;

Program Year means, for the NEW Program, the 12-month period beginning on July 1 of the calendar year and ending on June 30;

PRWORA means the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193;

Public Law 102-477 refers to the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992, whose purpose is to provide for the integration of employment, training and related services to improve the effectiveness of those services;

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services;

State means, except as otherwise specifically provided, the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa;

TANF means the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program;

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program means a family assistance grant program operated either by a Tribe under section 412(a)(1) of the Act or by a State under section 403 of the Act;

Tribal TANF program means a Tribal program subject to the requirements of section 412 of the Act which is funded by TANF funds on behalf of eligible families;

We (and any other first person plural pronouns) refers to The Secretary of Health and Human Services, or any of the following individuals or organizations acting in an official capacity on the Secretary's behalf: The Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, the Regional Administrators for Children and Families, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Administration for Children and Families.