Tribal Courts Trust Reform Initiative

To provide grant funds to Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments that operate a judicial branch of government which has assumed the increased responsibilities required by 25 CFR Part 115--Trust Funds for Individual Indians Money accounts.

Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments that operate a judicial branch of government which has assumed the increased responsibilities required by 25 CFR Part 115.

Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments that operate a tribal judicial branch which has assumed the increased responsibilities required by 25 CFR Part 115 and its members.

Application must be accompanied by a Certification of the governing body of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Government attesting to the fact that: (1) The tribal court has adopted and made accessible the court rules setting forth the procedures to adjudicate these cases; (2) Tribal court personnel have been trained to process these cases and the court is staffed to fulfill the tribal legislative mandate, and (3) The tribal justice system is one that serves as the judicial component of a tribal government which is federally recognized by the United States Government.

Under 25 CFR Part 115, tribal courts may assume responsibility for appointing guardians, determining competency, awarding child support from Indian Individual Money (IIM) accounts, determining paternity, sanctioning adoptions, marriages and divorces, making presumptions of death. Funds under this program may be used for salaries and related expenses of tribal court judges, prosecutors, defenders, clerks of court, and other court personnel. However, funds provided are specifically made available to tribal courts that assume the additional responsibility under 25 CFR Part 115 and are not intended to be used as general operating funds for a judiciary and may not be reprogrammed for other tribal uses.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Awards are made on an annual basis and the funds remain available until expended by the grantee.

A notice of fund availability will be published in the Federal Register to announce the availability of grant funds, the amount of funding available and the requirements for eligibility including a deadline for filing applications. An application must be submitted on the form entitled " Application for Federal Assistance," (Standard Form 424). The Federally Recognized Tribal Government will be required to provide a certification as a response to Item #ll "Descriptive Title of Applicant's Project", in the SF-424, that the threshold requirements for the grant funds are met. Applications will be submitted to the Headquarters Office.

All qualified applicants will be funded. A qualified applicant is a tribal government submitting an application for funding by the deadline specified for a tribal court meeting the following threshold requirements: (1) The tribal government has enacted the codes necessary for the tribal justice system to carry out its responsibility under 25 CFR Part 115; (2) The tribal court has adopted and made accessible the court rules setting forth the procedures to adjudicate these cases; (3) Tribal court personnel have been trained to process these cases and the court is staffed to fulfill the tribal legislative mandate; and (4) The tribal justice system is one that serves as the judicial component of a tribal government which is federally recognized by the United States Government.

Funds will be distributed to tribal courts based on the cost per case as determined by the data submitted on SF 424 by all qualified applicants.

Applications will be processed within 90 days.

Grants will be awarded on an annual basis. An application will need to be submitted each year to qualify to receive grant funds, until it is determined that the fund will be awarded as a part of the permanent tribal base.

An unsuccessful applicant may appeal the decision under the regulations contained in 25 CFR Part 2.