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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs Briefing for Mary Smith How the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) FY 2001 budget bequest for child protection complements Indian Health Service (IHS) Programs: The FY 2001 requested increase of $20.0 million will allow the BIA to help all Tribes begin to meet their basic child protection/domestic violence program needs. Funds will be used by the Tribes for start-up or continuing costs associated with projects/programs already established or to be implemented under the Act. Funds can also be used by Tribes to match and leverage other funding sources so that when the funds are combined, they would allow for expanded project services and thus further implement the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, as published in 25 CFR, part 63, on June 21, 1996. The IHS does not have a specific Child Protection program. However, IHS is involved in the identification of physical child abuse when medical attention is required. By law, the IHS is required to notify law enforcement and child welfare authorities when child abuse is suspected. The child welfare authorities, in most instances, are BIA staff or Tribal Contractors. The BIA Child Abuse and Family Violence Prevention Program concentrates on the prevention of child abuse and family violence in Indian country, while the IHS provides medical treatment after abuse occurs. The BIA and Tribal programs will be actively involved in the Indian communities by providing education, information, and referral services. The IHS program is hospital or clinic based and treatment oriented. This increase will allow BIA and Tribes to develop reporting and data gathering mechanisms to enable the BIA to report on child abuse and neglect, as required by law. These reports will identify those locations with the highest rates of incidents of abuse so thatfuture funding can be directed to address the needs.