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White Earth Nation

The White Earth Nation (WEN) uses WECARE (White Earth Coordination, Assessment, Resource and Education), a care coordination database system that provides an efficient and effective way to link families living on the White Earth Reservation to needed services. Key employees of the Tribal programs, including Human Service programs, The Bureau of Indian Education and Indian Health Service have access to the WECARE information technology system. The comprehensive WECARE assessment tool can be used to assess a family’s broad needs and automatically send referrals to relevant publicly funded programs. The tool assesses child-focused needs such as childcare funding and immunizations, and the needs of parents, such as transportation, training support and financial assistance.

Prototypes

Local community organization grantees work with families to create innovative program designs called “prototypes”, which address racial disparities in human services and outcomes facing the families in their community.

WECARE Assessment Expansion

With funding from the Minnesota 2-Gen Network, new Kinship Life Path Navigators provided intensive care coordination to White Earth families using the Tribal Nation’s growing integrated data system. WECARE navigators meet weekly with families to support their knowledge and awareness and strengthen self-advocacy skills, emphasizing educational and workforce development services. Anishinaabe culture and language grounds monthly family activities that provide spiritual support, encourage community engagement, and strengthen community-based social capital.

WECARE Navigators designed and trained staff across Tribal programs to use the WECARE assessments. Navigators also do a lot of community outreach by attending Pow Wows, job fairs and other events on the reservation to inform families and to do assessments on the spot if families desire. Navigators monitor the referrals to ensure families are connected to the programs they are requesting. Due to the comprehensive nature of the assessment, the local Head Start program replaced its prior enrollment form with the WECARE assessment for intake, a move toward a more integrated system.

Additionally, the pilot focused on better engaging agencies underutilizing the WECARE assessment tool and care team process. Due to the work of the pilot, a Tribal decree was made that all programs will use the WECARE assessment.

The WECARE Assessment expansion work for 2-Gen also included work to better utilize WECARE RiteTrack Software for a better understanding of the data and to better use the data to respond to family needs in the community.

News and resources

2-Generation Case Study, Issue 2 - Collaborative evaluation | Minnesota Department of Human Services and White Earth Nation

As part of the Minnesota 2-Generation Policy Network, White Earth Nation and the Minnesota Department of Human Services partnered on White Earth Coordination Assessment Resource and Education (WECARE), an initiative to provide wraparound services to individuals seeking assistance from Tribal programs. This collaboration also included program evaluation and data analysis. They leveraged the department's evaluation and analysis experience, commitment to evaluation and rich data of WECARE. This partnership provides an example of an effective collaboration, and how institutions can work together to achieve positive outcomes. Collaborative analysis of data collected by WECARE may lead to effective program changes that will better serve White Earth Nation citizens. Tribal and department staff worked together to analyze data in ways that honors participants, creating potential for strengthening program policy.

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