The American Indian Task Force of the Small Community and Rural Development Policy (SCRD) has focused its activity on four high priority concerns of American Indians, according to an updated report from Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Fredericks. As task force co-chairman, he identified the four concerns as 1) tribal consultation, 2) information systems, 3) Federal assistance management systems (FAMS), and 4) housing.
The Administration established the Indian Task Force last August to improve coordination and delivery of Federal services to American Indians.
In the area of tribal consultation, the task force is developing two plans. One will outline consultation practices for actions of the task force itself; the other will be an ongoing guideline for all Federal agencies that provide resources to American Indians.
Second, the task force is planning to develop an information system to improve tribal access to data that will help tribes plan, budget, and operate programs more effectively.
The third priority of the task force is implementing FAMS, a system for simplifying disbursing and accounting procedures of Federal funds delivered from a variety of Federal programs to one organization. The Bureau has been a partner of the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of the Treasury, and the General Accounting Office in developing FAMS. The Bureau will be the management agency for the four tribes and one inter-tribal organization participating in the pilot FAMS program, which is being tested during fiscal year 1981.
Fourth, the task force is initiating actions in the area of Indian housing. It is reviewing the 1976 intergovernmental agreement among Housing and Urban Development, Indian Health Service, and the BIA, as well as exploring the feasibility of interagency effort to survey housing conditions with regard to energy consumption on reservations.
