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Executive Branch First Quarterly Report 2021

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Executive Branch First Quarterly Report 2021 OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT JONATHAN NEZ | PRESIDENT MYRON LIZER |VICE PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE BRANCH FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT WINTER COUNCIL SESSION JANUARY 2021 NAVAJO NATION OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT WINTER COUNCIL SESSION 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO. I. Department of Diné Education 2 II. Department of Human Resources 42 III. Diné Uranium Remediation Advisory Commission 47 IV. Division of Community Development 50 V. Division of Economic Development 62 VI. Division of General Services 77 VII. Division of Public Safety 82 VIII. NavaJo Department of Health 92 IX. NavaJo Division of Social Services 100 X. NavaJo Division of Transportation 110 XI. NavaJo Gaming Regulatory Office 116 XII. NavaJo Nation Department of Justice 119 XIII. NavaJo Nation Division of Natural Resources 126 XIV. NavaJo Nation Environmental Protection Agency 158 XV. NavaJo Nation Telecommunications Regulatory Commission 163 XVI. NavaJo Nation Veterans Administration 165 XVII. NavaJo Nation Washington Office 167 XVIII. NavaJo-Hopi Land Commission Office 171 XIX. Office of Hearing and Appeals 177 XX. Office of Management and Budget 179 XXI. Office of Miss NavaJo Nation 184 XXII. Office of NavaJo Public Defender 188 XXIII. Office of NavaJo Tax Commission 191 XXIV. Office of The Controller 194 1 Department of Diné Education WINTER COUNCIL SESSION 2021 I. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS II. CHALLENGES III. OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION 2 DODE programs continue to work with HCOC and OPVP on matters related to school reopening plans; mental health initiatives; and COVID-19 incidents relative to DODE. During weekly school leadership meetings, updates and remarks are provided by Acting Superintendent of Schools Patricia Gonnie about the ongoing impact the pandemic has had on schools across the NavaJo Nation. Staff from OPVP and DODE programs give remarks as needed, and the CDC and NavaJo Nation Epidemiology Center also provide updates on COVID-19 statistics. With the approval and subsequent arrival of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19 on the NavaJo Nation, education workers and other essential staff have been designated for phase 1B of the scheduled rollout. No date has yet been set for DODE staff to enroll. The NavaJo Nation Council approved legislation 0316-20, appropriating $2.5 million from the Unreserved, Undesignated Fund for scholarships and financial assistance. The Higher Education Grant Program, which provides federal funding for scholarships to tribes, is administered by the Department of Interior. Through a P.L. 93-638 contract between the Dept. of Interior and the NavaJo Nation, the BIA forwards funds to the Office of NavaJo Nation Scholarship and Financial Assistance (ONNSFA) to provide financial aid and scholarships to NavaJo college students. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance/Higher Education Grant Program Office of NavaJo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance (ONNSFA) continues to operate as essential personnel in the offices despite NavaJo Nation closures. All offices have operated at 50% so more personnel are teleworking. ONNSFA received laptops from Department of Information Technology; therefore, more personnel were able to work from home. They also took turns getting into the office because there are many tasks that have to be done in the office such as downloading documents, printing and placing them in files as well as the weekly check-run. 1. Having a student pursuing post-secondary education involves the entire family, which also impacts family finances. Office of NavaJo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance funded 3,711 students with $9,944,877.00 thus far. Most of students and their families were able to continue their college and vocational education regardless of the challenges of the pandemic. Below are the numbers of students assisted by ONNSFA Agency. 3 B. Behavioral and Mental Health Office of NavaJo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance remained in business except for a few days during this quarterly. ONNSFA staff being here for students and processing their applications, answering their questions created a little solace for students and their families because emotional health has been a challenge for many people during this pandemic. There were many hours that we were on the phone answering questions and concerns of students and families. Students and families were very grateful that we were answering their calls. The maJor challenge is that telephones problems are not being addressed in a timely manner. The Fort Defiance Agency ONNSFA toll free line 800-243-2956 works some days and other days it does not. We reported this to the Communication and Utilities, sent a follow up to Frontier Communications. Technicians call the number; it works fine and they deem it to be working. The next week we get calls from frustrated students because the toll-free line is not working. C. Housing Many colleges and universities will continue the Fall term online and some in-person instruction. Student housing will be empty except for a few students who are not able to get home. Funding provided by ONNSFA includes payment for housing. The biggest challenge is closure of college campuses creating a lack of housing for students. Many of students went home but the NavaJo Nation has a serious lack of reliable Internet. D. Budget and Finance 4 The goal of the program is to having the federal funds be Forward Funded so the budget will be in place for two years beginning in July and well before the Fall term begins. We currently have a declination letter from the BIA because they have not received the higher education funds. The budget for the NavaJo Nation Scholarship Office needs to be stable. Evidently, BIA funding is not stable even though Congress has authorized the funding in the Continuing Resolution. Effective advocacy is a maJor challenge because I cannot use federal funds to advocate for funding and I cannot talk to the BIA directly. The greatest challenge is that it requires Congressional action to make the changes in the Federal budget. We will continue to advocate for Forward Funding. E. Education & Cultural Language Preservation 120 students took the NavaJo language and government to qualify for the Chief Manuelito Scholarship every year. Students aspire to earn the scholarship at an early age. The NavaJo language and culture preservation is important to the NavaJo people. The NavaJo Nation Scholarship office supports the preservation of the NavaJo language and culture by offering the Chief Maneulito Scholarship. The students are required to take two units of NavaJo language to qualify for this funding. In addition to NavaJo courses, it is important for students to have and aspire for high academic achievement, which is indicative through ACT scores above 21; however, the greatest challenge right now is the NavaJo Board of Education trying to change the criteria of scholarship mid-year by waiving the ACT requirement. Instead, the board wants to lower the high academic achievement bar. F. Government Affairs and Policy The ONNSFA policies are in draft. The Scholarship policies need to be updated. We also need to get the federal funds as Forward Funding, so we can receive the funds in July, instead of January. We are going through the Federal legislative process to get the BIA Higher Education Grant forward funded. It’s a maJor accomplishment to get this far with support from the Governors of Arizona, Colorado and Utah and state legislatures, many tribes and national organizations including Diné College and NavaJo Technical University and the Arizona Board of Regents. The challenge has to been to gather support and educate everyone about the issue but now that all that is done, we are waiting for the introduction of the bill. G. Public Safety System Not that ONNSFA had anything to do with it, but there is less traffic on our streets, because people are home and not driving around. 5 Our biggest challenge is the pandemic affecting our lives and businesses. H. Infrastructure There are no accomplishments in infrastructure. We remain in need of additional office space. The NavaJo Educating Center is an old building because it wasn’t taken care of properly. There is a constant bad odor in the north entrance. The building is either too hot or too cold. It needs a lot of repairs and cleaning. Plexiglass sneeze guards are supposed to be installed; they are not all installed in all spaces yet. Education & Cultural Language Preservation 1. More than 150 students take NavaJo language and government to qualify for the Chief Manuelito Scholarship every year as shown by the chart below. Students aspire to earn the scholarship at an early age. 2. NavaJo Nation and culture preservation are important to the NavaJo people. The NavaJo Nation Scholarship office supports the preservation of the NavaJo language and culture by offering the Chief Maneulito Scholarship. The students are required to take two units of NavaJo language to qualify for this funding. CHALLENGES 1. There are no rules on how to deal with higher education in the event of a pandemic. Therefore, we will forward some recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education. 6 Office of Standards, Assessment, and Curriculum Development Establishing rapport with schools across the NavaJo Nation and border town schools. OSCAD is continuing to provide support schools with available resources focusing on language learning. Assessments data are made available for their planning purposes and make improvements in their Dine Language and Culture Programs. Support is provided to teachers who are in the process of renewing their teaching certificates and/or those who are pursuing certificates. These technical supports are available virtually. Professional development offered virtually provides teachers with tools and resources to help them deliver effective instructional delivery through remote learning. OSCAD held it second professional development virtually this month for all Tribally Controlled schools, MOA public schools and BIE schools.
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