A VEHICLE FOR IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK FORCE The Task Force recommends strengthening the present Indian Desk and expanding it into a staff group on Indian Manpower, reporting directly to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Manpower. The present Indian Desk lacks line authority and staff support, is five levels removed from the Assistant Secretary, and does not have a field technical support capability. The Indian Manpower Staff Group should be a clearinghouse for all matters pertaining to Indian manpower services, with the authority to make final decisions vested in the incumbent of the Indian Desk. The Staff Group would have the following broad functions: Communication with the Indian community Research Recommendation Technical support Coordination Review Communication With The Indian Community There should be a direct line of communication between the incumbent of the Indian Desk at the Department of Labor and the Indian community on and off the reservation. This would allow for input from the field, relative to Indian needs and problems, and for dissemination to the field of information on manpower services. Research The research function of the Indian Manpower Staff Group would include the following: Review of all research (economic, demographic, social, etc.) pertaining to Indians, which has implications for manpower policy and programs Synthesis of research findings into briefing papers for policy and operations staff and the National Indian Manpower Advisory Board Suggestions for Research and Demonstration studies on Indian manpower topics Suggestions for Office of Manpower Policy Evaluation and Research studies of operating programs to determine impact on Indians Recommendations The purpose of the review function, discussed subsequemiy, would be to enable the Indian Manpower Staff Group to make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary. These recommendations would include: Changes in a State Employment Service Plan of Service to Changes in programs funded by the Department of Labor which do not give proper consideration to the manpower needs of Indians Technical Support The Indian Manpower Staff Group should provide technical assistance services to Federal, regional, state and local (urban and rural) manpower organizations involved in the implementation of manpower activities which affect American Indians. Some problem areas where services can be made available are as follows: Program planning, funding, structure, and staffing Orientation of Federal and state agencies and the private sector, regarding Indian manpower availability and characteristics Coordination The Indian Manpower Staff Group would have coordination functions: With all Department of Labor offices, both national and regional, to ensure the coordinated planning and development of manpower programs for Indians With all State Employment Security Commissions, to ensure With other governmental agencies (Health Education and Welfare, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Economic Development Association, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Economic Opportunity, etc.) to ensure the coordinated planning, development, and delivery of manpower services and other services which supplement manpower services to Indians With all other agencies and organizations involved in the Review The following functions of the Indian Manpower Staff Group are not intended to be an all-inclusive listing at this point: Review of all State Employment Service Plans of Service to Review of all Department of Labor funded programs to ensure that the mandates, specific plans, funding and implementation ensure full participation of American Indian clients Review of the Regional Manpower Offices to ensure that these offices are actively responding to the manpower needs of Indians. Further, these offices should assure Indian representation in decision-making and in professional capacities. National Indian Manpower Advisory Board The Task Force believes that a National Indian Manpower Advisory Board is needed and would benefit the Indian people. The purpose of such a Board would be to serve as a voice through which the Indian people can communicate their manpower needs to the Department of Labor. THE NEED TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION FOR IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN THIS PAPER The Task Force believes that the goals underlying its recommendations are necessary, realistic, and attainable. The implementation of these recommendations will benefit American Indians and, hence, the Nation as a whole. Task Force members are unanimous in their position that this Plan of Action should be developed by American Indians and represent the consensus of the majority of tribal groups. It is estimated that the development of this Plan of Action would require, at minimum, 120 working days and six full-time persons. These persons would be chosen by the Task Force. The Plan of Action would produce the following: A definitive and statistically based statement of the universe of manpower needs of American Indians A five-year time plan, using PERT or CPM, for implementing A quarterly budget estimate, broken down into such categories Training Indians for project management and other |