02.18.15

Hoeven Announces $2.7 Million in Head Start Grants for Tribes in North Dakota

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded two grants totaling $2.7 million for early childhood education for two tribes in North Dakota. The first award of $1.6 million to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will provide training and technical assistance in support of part-day, full-year Head Start and Early Head Start services. The second award of $1.1 million to the Cankdeska Cikana Community College (CCCC) on the Spirit Lake Reservation is a supplemental grant in support of a five-year Head Start and Early Head Start project, which began in 2014.

“It is vitally important that we work not only to ensure the safety of children on the reservation today, but also to make investments in their futures,” said Hoeven. “These grants do just that, helping to ensure the children’s educational attainment as well as their general health and well-being.”

Hoeven has worked in partnership with tribes, the National Indian Child Welfare Association, Bureau of Indian Affairs and HHS in drafting the Native American Children’s Safety Act, legislation he authored to implement protections for Native American children placed by tribal courts into the tribal foster care system. This legislation is cosponsored by Indian Affairs Committee Vice Chairman Senator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and was approved by the committee earlier this month.

As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Hoeven also works to support programs that supplement state and local efforts to improve student achievement in primary and secondary education, especially for the disadvantaged and those in rural communities.

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