The Indian Children’s Program was initially funded by monies appropriated to Indian Health Service and to the BIA. Between 1991 and 1998, the priority for service was focused on children referred from the BIA school programs. In 1998, when BIA support was discontinued, ICP services were focused on children referred from IHS clinics, Head Start, tribal organizations, and other local and community-based service programs. Supplemental funding was provided for one year to address Head Start needs. However, under the current contract, the total source of federal support for ICP comes from Indian Health Service.

One of the primary benefits of providing ICP services through the consortium is the opportunities for leveraging expertise and resources to maximize the impact of the funding provided by IHS. Each consortium member conducts a variety of related training, service, and demonstration projects through contracts with state, tribal, and federal funding agencies addressing the needs of people with disabilities, focused primarily in their respective states. The ICP is nested within this rich environment of expertise, history, and familiarity which facilitates coordination and maximizes the impact of IHS resources.

A secondary benefit that the ICP consortium provides is the opportunity for spin-off services and training projects. ICP staff, by working at the grassroots level with families and local communities, become aware of the gaps and breaks in the service systems where jurisdictional problems have not been resolved and where major areas of training and service needs exist. This information is shared with the administrative and program development staff of the individual centers; sources of funding to address these needs are identified; and proposals prepared. Table ___ provides information on some of the projects that have been developed by ICP staff seeking other support to address the needs in the catchment area. This table identifies the years such projects were conducted, ICP staff involved, source and amount of support, and a brief description. [This is on page 47-48 of the Summary Report.]