Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 4, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke and two tribes sign intergovernmental agreement

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke, along with the leaders of the Quinault Nation and the Quileute Tribe signed agreements today for the cooperative administration of welfare reform programs.

"It gives me great pleasure to sign these historic government-to-government agreements with these two sovereign nations. This is a great step in achieving the goals of WorkFirst: A job, a better job, a better life," Locke said when he signed the memoranda along with Quinault Nation President Pearl Capoeman-Baller and Quileute Tribe Vice-Chairman Tony Foster.

This agreement means the two coastal tribes will begin providing the state's WorkFirst programs to their tribal members under a plan called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).

"This agreement proves that when we both commit to making the government-to-government relationship work, success is the only possible result," said Capoeman-Baller.

"The TANF program will be an independent part of improving our economy by providing training, education and job opportunities for eligible participants," said Foster.

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, federally recognized Indian tribes can enter into compacts with the state to provide TANF to members. Tribes can also elect to operate their own tribal TANF programs, as well as allow for the transfer of State Maintenance Effort dollars to support the tribal programs.

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