Funding is available for students attending college and vocational institutions. ONC Tribal Members are given priority. Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) Compacted Tribal Members are encouraged to apply with AVCP at avcp.org

Funding amounts per semester: $2,000 full time, $1,000 part time

Funding amount for vocational training is on a case-by-case basis.

To determine eligibility for education, employment, or training services, please provide required information and documents:

• Fully completed, signed, and dated 477 Department Services Application
• 2 Forms of Identification: Birth Certificate, State ID, Driver License, Tribal ID or Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB)
• Educational Transcripts: High school transcripts, General Education Diploma (GED), Post-secondary transcript (if applicable)
• Completed Individual Development Plan (IDP), included in Application packet. The IDP includes your career goals, a detailed plan of how our services will help you achieve success

Deadlines

Vocational School Scholarship Applications must be submitted two months prior to start date.

Higher Education Scholarships- applications must be received in the office or postmarked no later than

June 30 for Fall, January 3 for Spring, October 30 for Winter, April 30 for Summer

Education and Vocational Training Scholarship eligibility is not based on income.

Required documents:

• Letter of Acceptance from accredited institution
• Student Aid Report (SAR): The reply from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Use the paper application or log on to fafsa.gov
• Budget Forecast & Needs Analysis: most Financial Aid Offices will provide a needs form for your records. A budget forecast authorization form is included in this packet in case our office needs to obtain your budget information. Please fill top portion of the form only. The FAO will fill the rest
• Military Service: Veterans, please provide copies of your Discharge paper work
• Selective Service: Males 18 years of age must provide proof of filing with the Selective Service. Verification can be done online at sss.gov
• NAHASDA Housing Assistance Applicants: Provide a copy of income (examples: tax return copies, pay stub copies)

Returning Student / Continued Funding

I have already received the scholarship, what do I need to submit to the 477 Department for continued funding?

A new application submission is not required. Please send, email, or fax the 477 Department copies of your final semester grades (unofficial transcript will suffice) along with your class schedule for the following semester.

477 Department Services Application

Please visit the Department Pages for more information and access to applications for services.

Housing Department

We are here to serve and make a positive difference in housing for low-income Native peoples of our community.

Services we provide:

• Home-buyer Program
• Rental Assistance Program
• Housing Renovation and/or
• Weatherization Program

Transportation Department

We are responsible for maintenance of traditional trails, roads, grounds. We mark trails for travel between villages to our home, which is the regional hub community of the YK Delta.

Social Services Department

Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)

Rural Child Welfare

• Healthy Families Curriculum
• Healthy Relationships Curriculum

Tribal Child Welfare

Qasgiq – A place to learn Healthy living tools for our people. Formerly known as Methamphetamine Suicide Prevention and Intervention (MSPI). Find us on Facebook: ONC Qasgiq

Senior Services Department

We seek to develop a healthy aging community to support our elders and their caregivers to maintain and improve their quality of life. We seek to develop programming and networking infrastructure to meet the needs of our elders.

We offer information about available public resources that may be beneficial to elders and their caregivers. We gather and maintain relevant or useful information that may help elders and their caregivers access to resources that help meet their needs. This is accomplished by establishing partnerships to maximize community resources, decreasing duplication of services, and improving our elders’ experience through their continuity of care.
We assist elders navigate through various tasks by helping them filling out applications and advocating as a liaison between them access various resources.
We also provide referrals to other departments, various agencies,  and services as appropriate. Visit us on Facebook: Orutsararmiut Native Council Senior Services

477 Department

Our services include education and vocational training scholarships, employment, child care, Johnson O’Malley (JOM), Youth Employment Services (YES), General Assistance, Burial Assistance, ONC Burial Donation, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Visit us on Facebook ONC 477 Department

Tribal Court

One of the aspects of being a Sovereign Tribe is our right to exercise jurisdiction over our Tribal Membership. Our court works closely with our Social Services Department as well as other organizations and courts for the welfare of our people.

Natural Resources Department

• Fisheries for Resource Monitoring Program
• Environmental Program
• EPA Indian General Assistance Program (IGAP)
• EPA State and Tribal Response Program AKA Brownfield Program
• Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program (NALEMP)

Each program works closely with the Orutsararmiut Native Council Members, Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and with the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission on all fish and game resources. We provide services as a central clearinghouse on resource questions within the Bethel area. The Natural Resources Director and Fisheries personnel attends all regulatory meetings of the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game, Federal Subsistence Board and the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council to pursue Fish & Game regulatory actions to help ease restrictions/requirements on the customary and traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering activities compatible with the desires of ONC.  When tribal families who are impacted from a loss of family members and needing the assistance to providing subsistence foods during ceremonial feasts, we contribute to that matter by writing letters on behalf of those needs to fish & game to allow the large game to be caught just for those purposes.

• Environmental Program: “Preserve and enhance the integrity of regional fish, wildlife or other populations, and habitat to fully provide for subsistence use needs in perpetuity.”
  We are professional field employees who fully embrace and execute the missions, goals, and objectives of the ONC and the department towards tribal co-management of all subsistence resources we depend on for our customary and traditional indigenous subsistence way of life. Find us on Facebook: Orutsararmiut Native Council Environmental Program
• Fisheries: We conduct In-Season and Post-Season Subsistence Harvest Surveys, Chinook Salmon Age-Sex-Length Sampling Program and fisheries educational outreach programs. Find us on Facebook: Orutsararmiut Native Council Fisheries

Tips for perspective higher education and vocational training students

Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFASA)

The Student Aid Report (SAR) is the answer you get when you apply for FAFSA. It is a required document for many scholarship applications. You can apply at fafsa.gov – have income information available.

ONC 477 Department can help, AVCP Workforce Development can help, College Academic Advisor can help.

Indian Education Institutions

Many Indian colleges have tuition waivers for Native students. Ilisagvik College in Utqiagvik, AK, Haskell Indian University in Kansas, Fort Lewis College in Colorado.

Visit their websites for more information.

Job Corps, AVTEC, Alaska Career College, Charter College are options for Vocational Education. Learn a valuable Trade.

Visit their websites for more information.

Higher Education

Q: Who can apply?

A: We welcome anyone who is Alaska Native and/or America Indian to apply, but ONC gives priority to ONC Tribal Members. Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP) provides scholarship services to tribes that have compacts with them.

Q: I was awarded the scholarship last semester. What do I need to do to receive continued funding?

A: A new application submission is not required. Please send, email, or fax the 477 Department copies of your final semester grades (unofficial transcript will suffice) along with your class schedule for the following semester.

Child Care Assistance

Q: How does the payment and copayment system work?

A: ONC will pay their obligated portion of a child’s cost of care directly to the child care provider. The parent will pay their obligated portion (Copay) directly to the child care provider as well.

Q: How often do child care providers get paid?

A: Payment is made biweekly, usually on a Tuesday or Thursday.

Payment rates and sliding fee scale are available from the 477 Department Staff. We will be happy to produce them to you, as they do change occasionally.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program LIHEAP

Q: What is the income guideline for eligibility for LIHEAP benefits?

A: Our office uses the published Federal Poverty Level (FPL) with our threshold being 150% of the FPL.

General Assistance

Q: How long after I apply does it take to process my application?

A: Application processing can take 1-3 weeks. Case workers must collect required backup documentation and data before we determine eligibility for benefits.

Bethel Youth Yuraq at the 2018 Annual Meeting

Employment, Training and Related Services

General Assistance, Burial Assistance

LIHEAP

We help our clients to identify and work through barriers to achieve self-sufficiency.

Mary Simon, 477 Director

Kristy Evans, Program Services Coordinator

Amy O’Brien, Program Services Coordinator

General Email: education@nativecouncil.org

If you were a recipient of higher education or AVT & received your diploma or certificate please email a copy to education@nativecouncil.org

Public Law 102-477 Department Services

• Job Placement and Training- helps to identify and remove barriers to becoming self sufficient
• Youth Employment Service (YES) – expose youth to the world of work
• Education and Training: scholarships for college or vocational training- ONC Tribal Members are given priority in this services, as funds are limited
• Child Care: at-home relative and non-relative child care, subsidized payments for child care center tuition
• Economic Development- creation of jobs, including quality child care providers
• Supported Work Services
• Case Management
• Johnson O’Malley- work with the local schools to encourage students to stay in school and to enrich the quality of their education
• Other – Job Search, Counseling, Referral

477 Department Services Application

A three year plan that outlines the way that we provide these services can be found here: ONC’s Three Year Plan

Annual Reports to the Bureau of Indian Affairs can be found here.

More information on Public Law 102-477 can be found here.

BIA Financial Assistance and Social Service Programs: available for Alaska Native and American Indians who live in Bethel:

• General Assistance– cash assistance for bills (except for phone bill), must apply on a monthly basis
• Burial Assistance– deceased must have lived in Bethel for at least 6 months (special exceptions apply)
• Emergency Assistance

ONC Burial Donation: Separate from the BIA Burial Assistance, for ONC Tribal Members only- must provide proof of ONC enrollment.

Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

• Bill Pay (Electric, Heating Fuel, Firewood) – regular and crisis
• Weatherization
• available for all people who reside in Bethel, regardless of race

Information on filing a Grievance with the 477 Department can be found here.