Title page
Contents
Highlights 2
Letter 6
Background 13
Native American Population and Indian Land Areas 13
Federal Financial Assistance That Could Help Prevent or Address Juvenile Delinquency in Tribal Communities 14
Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Federal Grant Programs 16
Agencies Provided at Least 38 Grant Programs Targeted to Tribes That Could Help Prevent or Address Delinquency among Native American Youth 17
HHS, DOJ, Education, and Interior Administered at Least 38 Relevant Discretionary and Formula Grant Programs 18
Interior and HHS Administered Self-Determination Contracts and Self-Governance Compacts That Provide Financial Assistance to Tribes 23
When Assessing Selected Grant Programs, Agencies Incorporated Almost All Leading Practices for Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation 25
All Agencies in Our Review Assessed the Performance of Grant Programs through Performance Measurement, and HHS, DOJ, and Education Used Program Evaluations 25
HHS, DOJ, Education, and Interior Incorporated Almost All Leading Practices We Identified for Performance Measurement or Program Evaluation 30
Tribal Officials Cited Certain Risk Factors and Difficulties Implementing Programs among Challenges to Preventing or Addressing Juvenile Delinquency 39
Tribal Officials Cited Substance Misuse and Educational Challenges among the Risk Factors That Contribute to Juvenile Delinquency in Their Communities 39
Tribal Officials Cited Conditions or Restrictions on Program Funding and Difficulties Communicating with Agencies among the Barriers to Implementing Federal Programs 41
Tribal Officials Cited Justice System-Related Challenges as Barriers to Preventing or Addressing Juvenile Delinquency 44
Tribal Officials Most Often Cited Ability to Implement Culturally Relevant Programs as a Promising Practice for Preventing or Addressing Juvenile Delinquency 47
Conclusions 48
Recommendations for Executive Action 49
Agency Comment and Our Evaluation 49
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 54
Appendix II: Sources Analyzed to Identify Leading Practices for Performance Measurement and Program Evaluation Used in Report 65
Appendix III: Selected Grant Programs Targeted to Tribes That Could Help Prevent or Address Delinquency among Native American Youth 67
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services 71
Appendix V: Comments from the Department of the Interior 74
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department of Education 75
Appendix VII: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 77
Table 1. Department of Justice (DOJ)-Awarded Program Evaluation Reports That Focused on Native American Youth Published between Fiscal Years 2015 and 2018 28
Table 2. Assessment of Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Incorporation of GAO-Identified Leading Practices for Performance Measurement 31
Table 3. Assessment of the Department of Justice National Institute of Justice's Incorporation of GAO-Identified Leading Practices for Program Evaluation 34
Table 4. Assessment of the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Education's Incorporation of GAO-Identified Leading Practices for Performance Measurement 36
Table 5. List of Selected Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Education, and the Interior Grant Programs for Assessment against Leading Practices 59
Table 6. List of GAO-Identified Leading Practices for Performance Measurement 61
Table 7. List of GAO-Identified Leading Practices for Program Evaluation 61
Table 8. Selected Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Education, and the Interior Grant Programs That Grantees Could Have Used to Help Prevent or Address Tribal Juvenile... 67
Figure 1. Map of Native Americans in the United States as a Percentage of County Population, according to the 2010 Census 14
Figure 2. Number and Value of Selected Grant Programs That Grantees Could Have Used to Help Prevent or Address Tribal Juvenile Delinquency, Fiscal Years 2015-2018 19
Figure 3. Number and Value of Department of Health and Human Services Grant Programs That Could Help Prevent or Address Tribal Juvenile Delinquency by Component Office, Fiscal Years... 20
Figure 4. Value of Selected Department of Justice (DOJ) Grant Programs That Could Help Prevent or Address Tribal Juvenile Delinquency, Fiscal Years 2015-2018 21
Figure 5. Value of Selected Department of Education Grant Programs That Could Help Prevent or Address Tribal Juvenile Delinquency, Fiscal Years 2015-2018 23
Figure 6. Number of Interviews in Which Officials from Selected Tribes or Tribal Consortia Cited Various Risk Factors That Contribute to Juvenile Delinquency 40
Figure 7. Number of Interviews in Which Officials from Selected Tribes or Tribal Consortia Cited Various Challenges Implementing Federal Programs 42
Figure 8. Number of Interviews in Which Officials from Selected Tribes or Tribal Consortia Cited Various Justice System-Related Challenges to Preventing or Addressing Juvenile Delinquency 45