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CTFC MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS
Latest News From California Tribal Families Coalition
| | AB 1824 was Signed Into Law! | | |
AB 1824 (Ramos) Indian Children-Guardianship or Conservatorship Proceedings was signed into law by Governor Newsom, along with 9 other bills strengthening California law on tribal issues on September 25, 2026. AB 1824 was authored by Assemblymember Ramos and co-sponsored by the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California Indian Legal Services, and California Tribal Families Coalition. This new law will improve ICWA protections for Tribes and families when Indian children are the subject of a probate guardianship or conservatorship. We are grateful for the support of Assemblymember Ramos, co-sponsors, and all who advocated for the legislation. Read Assemblymember Ramos’ news release HERE.
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Priority Deadlines Approaching for CTFC Summer Associate Positions & Post-Law School Fellowships | |
CTFC is now accepting applications for the 2027-28 San Manuel Tribal Advocacy Legal Fellowship! This is a one-year post-law school graduation position for law students who have lived experience in tribal communities or a demonstrated interest in federal Indian law, tribal law and/or child welfare law. Fellows are mentored by several senior attorneys and get hands-on litigation experience while working on projects and trainings to advance the organization’s mission. The priority deadline is 11:59 PM Pacific on November 20, 2026. Students attending a law school in California may find the position on your law school’s job portals and all others may find more information HERE.
CTFC also accepts applications for shorter semester or summer-law clerks for current law students on a rolling basis. Priority deadlines for 2027 Summer Associate positions and semester clerkships are also fast approaching – read more HERE.
| | San Diego Area Youth Justice Gathering | | Made possible by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians and the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR), CTFC held its sixth Youth Justice Gathering on September 24, 2026 in Valley Center, CA. Attendees heard from Dr. Hernandez Friedman from San Diego State University’s Project Rebound, as well as Dr. Kenney and alumnus Jeremy from Palomar College’s Rising Scholars program. Guests, who included tribal representatives, leaders, probation officers, court officers, and more, learned about local success stories from the Intertribal Court of Southern California’s Youth Tribal Court where trainers described working with youth to successfully complete tribal court case plans and community service! The work ICSC did with youth provided culturally driven alternatives from state court-ordered probation programs. [MC1 | | |
The day concluded with a terrific presentation from Ashley Parker of Riverside County Probation and Alicia Bennett of San Diego County Probation about cultural competency in juvenile probation, required training of probation officers as it relates to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and ICWA application in juvenile delinquency cases. CTFC expresses sincere gratitude to Ed McEnespy for opening the Gathering with such special intention, as well as William Feather for leading the Youth Justice Gathering series and making it possible to bring champions of ICWA and youth justice together throughout the state.
You can find more resources on Native youth in the juvenile justice system HERE.
| | Government-to-Government Discussions Move Tribal Priorities on Housing, Child Welfare, and Social Services Funding Forward | |
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The CDSS Annual Tribal Consultation Summit was held in Sacramento on September 23-24, 2026. CTFC Board Members Dorothy Wait and Christina Albitre alongside Co-Executive Directors Michelle Castagne and Blair Kreuzer provided oral comments in Sacramento on a variety of important policy issues. Some important updates from this consultation include:
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Housing grant programs (Bringing Families Home, Home Safe and Housing and Disability Advocacy) have been funded for additional allocations for 2026-2027 and CDSS is accepting new grantees through November 13, 2026. Funding is proposed to be equally divided among Tribes opting in. For previous grantees from 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, CDSS is proposing extending expenditure deadlines for these funds to January 31, 2030. (Written Comments on this topic are due on October 7, 2026).
- Tribal Dependency Representation Program funding opt-in deadlines were discussed. CDSS is requesting Tribes to support changing the opt-in deadline for this program funding from June 30 to May 1st to align with the opt-in deadline for the Tribally Approved Homes Program and the new Prevention Services Initiative.
- Tribal Dependency Representation Program redistribution funding methodology was discussed at length. CDSS proposed four different options for redistribution of funding that may be relinquished each year by Tribes. The options included, Option 1: equal distribution, Option 2: equal distribution but only for those Tribes that had already invoiced 50% of their allocation, Option 3a: first come, first serve and Option 3b: first come, first serve with a capped amount for each Tribe.
- CTFC, Pechanga Band of Indians and the Yurok Tribe Co-Sponsored new funding program, the Tribal Prevention Services Initiative was discussed, and Tribes can anticipate more information to be shared at the December 3rd Tribal Advisory Committee Meeting on how to opt-in to the Program by May 1, 2027.
- The Tribal Customary Adoptions Regulations tribal consultation will occur in January of 2027.
- CDSS is proposing new templates to be used for the Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program including an opt-in letter template, a revised annual report and a supplementary information template.
Written comments are due to CDSS November 4, 2026.
| | | | Tribal Nutrition Assistance Funding Open to New Tribes Until 10/12 | | |
The California Department of Social Services announced that it is accepting applications from Tribes to participate in the Tribal Nutrition Assistance Funding Program this year. The deadline to opt-in to this program is October 12, 2026. This funding is flexible, and Tribes can use the funding to address food insecurity in the tribal community. Many Member Tribes of CTFC have participated in this program and have shared how beneficial it has been for their community. The application for the program is a simple two-page form. You may access the instructions HERE and the Intent to Apply form HERE, or contact TNAP@dss.ca.gov.
About TNAP from CDSS:
"The TNAP team is pleased to release the Intent to Apply for the upcoming SFY 27/28 grant cycle, which will run from 7/1/27-6/30/28. If your Tribe, or Tribal Organization, is interested in participating in the 6th TNAP grant cycle, please fill out the Intent to Apply form and send it back by Monday October 12, 2026. Submission of the form is not legally binding and is solely used to generate an estimated count of participants and determination of preliminary allocations. If it’s decided after submission that the Tribe, or Tribal Organization, no longer wants to participate, you can simply let us know. Once all Intent to Apply forms have been received by CDSS, we will send out the official Grant Proposal Application.
Please send all Intent to Apply applications in an email with no other requests. The emails should only contain Intent to Apply forms. If you do not receive a confirmation and an allocation memo within 30 days of the submission deadline, please reach out to the TNAP inbox at TNAP@dss.ca.gov.
TNAP Overview
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WIC § 18936 establishes the Tribal Nutrition Assistance Program (TNAP) to be administered by CDSS, subject to an annual appropriation in the Budget Bill.
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$5 million provided annually from the State General Fund for CDSS to work in government-to-government consultation with Tribes in CA to help address food insecurity on tribal lands.
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Funding is to be passed through to Tribes via reimbursement-based grants from CDSS.
- The grant award funds must be used to address food insecurity within the Tribe.
- Methodology for these grants are determined by a base amount plus an additional amount based on the number of Tribal members who live in California."
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Membership Spotlight &
Training Portal
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Membership Spotlight
This month we want to welcome the Lytton Rancheria as CTFC's newest Member Tribe! As more members join, we strengthen our unified voice on critical issues affecting Tribal children and families.
| Has your Tribe renewed your membership recently? Reach out to us at contact@caltribalfamilies.org to find out more to ensure you continue to be unified with 50 other Tribes around the state on child welfare issues. | |  | |
CTFC Member & Training Portal
The California Tribal Families Coalition's Training and Member Portal offers a comprehensive suite of courses designed for Tribal leaders, social workers, attorneys, and community professionals. These trainings focus on Indian child welfare and its intersections with various systems.
If you are a Member Tribe and have staff, leadership, or Tribal Attorneys that would like free access to the portal, email contact@caltribalfamilies.org with the person's name and email address.
📚 Start Learning Today: https://caltribalfoundation.org/
| | Upcoming Events and Meetings | |
- 10/2 - 11:00 AM - ICWA State Plan Workgroup (includes CARES demonstration)
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10/7-9 - The 26th California Indian Law Conference: Keynote Address on Trends in ICWA Cases – Rancho Mirage, CA
- 10/9 - 10:00 AM - FFPS Community Pathway Advisory Committee Meeting
- 10/9 - 12:00 PM - FFPS/FFPSA Cross System Collaborative
- 10/12 - Opt-in Deadline for Tribal Nutrition Assistance Program
- 10/12 - Happy Indigenous People's Day!
- 10/16 - 1:00 PM - CDSS Tribal Funding Programs Combined Office Hours
- 10/20 - 9:30 AM - CFT CANS Statewide Forum
- 10/21 - 1:00 PM - CDSS Tribal Funding Programs Combined Office Hours
- 10/23 - 12:00 PM - FFPS Advisory Support Forum
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10/28 - 2:00-4:00 PM Tribal In-House Counsel Association Annual Conference: Pre-Conference Training on ICWA – Temecula, CA
- 11/4 - Written comments due to CDSS from 9/24/26 Tribal Consultation
- 11/13 - Deadline to opt into CDSS Housing Programs
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