OWENS VALLEY CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER 2019/2020 ANNUAL REPORT An Intertribal Family Services Organization TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 PAGE OVCDC 4 Mission Statement & PAGE Core Values Message from OVBT Chairman 5 PAGE Tilford Denver OVBT Chairman Owens Valley Board of Trustees & TANF 6 Advisory Committee PAGE Representatives OVCDC Organization Structure 7 PAGE Message from OVCDC 8 Executive Director PAGE Ryan Howard “WHERE WE WORK” Executive Director 9-15 OVCDC Service Area PAGES Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy 16-17 Families (TANF) PAGES Family Literacy Program 18-19 PAGES Early Head Start Program 20-21 PAGES Career Education Program 22-23 PAGES Nüümü Yadoha Language Program 24-25 PAGES OVCDC Financials 2 OVCDC MISSION STATEMENT The Owens Valley Career Development Center is a dedicated American Indian organization operating under a consortium of Sovereign Nations. Whereby, providing the opportunity for improvement in the quality of life by focusing on education and self-sufficiency while protecting, preserving and promoting our cultures in the spirit of positive nation building for Native people of today and generations of tomorrow. COMPASSION – We will deal with each individual and the communities OVCDC that we serve with compassion. CORE VALUES SELF-SUFFICIENCY – We will promote and encourage self-sufficiency through education and increased opportunities for Native Americans and above all, do no harm. RESPECT – We will deal with every client, community member, tribe, Board member and employee with respect at all times. NATIVE CULTURE – We will strive to preserve, enhance and promote indigenous Native American culture and traditions. INTEGRITY – We will operate in an ethical manner with integrity and honesty at all times. SOVEREIGNTY – We will respect tribal sovereignty. GENEROSITY - With our clients and tribal communities we will give back and share, practicing the principle of reciprocity. 3 OVBT CHAIRMAN’S LETTER The 2019-2020 fiscal year was another successful year for the Owens Valley Career Development Center (OVCDC). We are blessed and honored to provide programs and services that directly benefit not only the twelve tribal communities that designate OVCDC as the lead administrator for several of our grants, but also for countless other American Indian/Alaska Native families within our seven county service area who benefit from the quality programs and services we offer. In this report, we highlight the successes of our OVCDC programs as well as the achievements of our program participants. From a governance perspective, the Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Board of Trustees remains committed to tribal engagement from all Tribes that have designated OVCDC as the lead agency for administering our grants and respective services. In recognition of this commitment, the Board of Trustees reinstituted our annual Tribal Consultation meeting in order to receive feedback through a meaningful government-to-government consultation process. Under this new initiative, the Board of Trustees hosted its second Annual Tribal Consultation meeting on September 24, 2019 in Stateline, NV. The tribal leaders in attendance provided testimony on a range of issues including program outcomes, services, communication and transparency. The Board of Trustees remains committed to providing updates to our tribal partners as our organization builds on its strengths to address program concerns. I have served as a Tribal leader on a number of national, state and local advisory committees, always advocating for our organization and tribal communities. These include the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) – Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) where I serve as Chairman, the State of California Department of Social Services (CDSS) TAC, the California Tribal Families Coalition (CTFC) Board of Directors, and the California Tribal TANF Coalition (CATTC), which I facilitate. I will continue to advocate for all federal, state and tribal funds that support OVCDC initiatives and program services to benefit our communities. In closing, I would like to thank all of the OVCDC staff that help make our success possible. Again, thank you to all the tribal leadership of our twelve tribal partners who put their trust and confidence in OVCDC to provide needed and essential services to your tribal communities and tribal families. From OVCDC’s inception over 40 years ago, our strength has always been in our numbers and we truly value and appreciate all of our partners in helping support OVCDC as a catalyst of change in your tribal communities. In Partnership, Tilford P. Denver (Bishop Paiute) Chairman, Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Board of Trustees 4 Owens Valley Board of Trustees OVCDC is governed by the seven member Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Board of Trustees (OVBT) which consists of the five member Bishop Paiute Tribal Council and one elected Trustee representing the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley and one elected Trustee representing the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe. TILFORD P. DENVER VIRGIL MOOSE EARLEEN WILLIAMS LORETTA L. HOWARD Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Trustee Bishop Paiute Tribe Big Pine Paiute Tribe of Bishop Paiute Tribe Lone Pine Paiute- the Owens Valley Shoshone Tribe BRIAN PONCHO ALLEN SUMMERS, SR. JEFF ROMERO Trustee Trustee Trustee Bishop Paiute Tribe Bishop Paiute Tribe Bishop Paiute Tribe OVCDC TANF Advisory Committee Representatives The TANF Advisory Committee (TAC) provides advocacy for Native Americans within the OVCDC TANF service area and provides valuable feedback from their communities on the effectiveness of the OVCDC TANF program. Misty Ortega Cold Springs Rancheria Carlos Hernandez Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley Gertrude Brown Bishop Paiute Tribe Janice Mendez Bridgeport Indian Colony Candida Cuara Santa Rosa Rancheria Elizabeth Kipp Big Sandy Rancheria Carl Dahlberg Ft. Independence Reservation Jefferson Yonge Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe Shane Saulque Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe Margaret Cortez Timbisha Shoshone Tribe William Carrillo Sr. Tule River Indian Tribe 5 OVCDC STRUCTURE OVBT OWENS VALLEY BOARD OF TRUSTEES BERKEY WILLIAMS, LLC OVBT COMMITTEES LEGAL COUNSEL OVCDC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BOARD LIAISON - Budget & Finance Lisa Keller Ryan Howard - Audit - Policy - Cultural FACILITIES FINANCE HUMAN RESOURCES INFORMATION DEPUTY DIRECTOR INTERNAL AUDITOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR Kellie Carrillo Violet Mallory Mark Manuelito Shelley Mayhugh Kody Jaeger Simon Barlow BENEFITS MAINT ASSIST III CONTRACTS ADMINISTRATOR DATABASE Eric Stone ADMINISTRATOR Jo Barlow ADMINISTRATOR Philip Ashworth Callum Tucker MAINT ASSIST II Chris Charley HR GENERALISTS IT TECH II Gary Clark Talaya Allen BOOKKEEPERS Tammy Arnold Dondero Meryl Picard Jocelyn Mallory Spoonhunter Terry Rodriguez Desiree Torres Ryan George Miguel Martinez Noel Marcinko ADMIN ASST 50% Lauren Mallory IT TECH I JANITOR Shane Moore Adrian Smith Ann Harrison ADMIN ASST 50% Lauren Mallory PROGRAMS FAMILY CAREER TANF LANGUAGE & EARLY HEAD LITERACY EDUCATION CULTURE START DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR Dolly Manuelito Gina Jones Selamawit Habtom Vacant Alma Lopez ASSISTANT EHS Site Supervisor EHS Site Supervisor DIRECTOR Big Sandy/Cold Springs Bishop/Big Pine Alisia Davila Brenda Franks Monique TeSam OVCDC SERVICE CENTER SITES FRESNO COUNTY INYO COUNTY KINGS COUNTY KERN COUNTY MONO COUNTY TULARE COUNTY VENTURA COUNTY * Big Sandy * Big Pine Hanford Bakersfield Coleville Porterville Ventura * Cold Springs * Bishop Lake Isabella Visalia Fresno * Lone Pine * Tule River * Denotes Sites On Reservations 6 OVCDC LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR On behalf of our team at the Owens Valley Career Development Center, welcome to our 2019-2020 Annual Report. This annual publication provides us the opportunity to summarize some of our key accomplishments in addition to highlighting the success of our program participants through their own journeys of education, job training and career advancement. During our 2019-2020 year, we had several new developments in two important areas. This included a new sub-contract to conduct 2020 Census outreach to Native American households within our TANF service delivery area and the awarding of another five year Early Head Start grant. 2020 Census Outreach Through a sub-grant from the California Indian Manpower Consortium, OVCDC is providing Census outreach to Native American households within our seven county TANF service delivery area. This includes promoting the 2020 Census at local community events and gatherings and developing Native American specific content for distribution, all aimed at motivating our communities to respond to the Census. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused us to pivot several of our approaches to Census outreach. We are now focusing more on social media outreach and other similar approaches that support the social distancing necessary to do this work safely. Early Head Start Since 2014, OVCDC has developed and implemented a center-based Early Head Start program serving the communities of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe, Big Sandy Rancheria, Bishop Paiute Tribe and Cold Springs Rancheria through three center locations in Auberry, Big Pine and Bishop. The program is funded for an enrollment of 48 children, ages 0-3 years and provides a structured, early childhood education experience for children and families. I am proud to report that the Office of Head Start awarded OVCDC