Latest revision as of 18:29, 11 June 2006

Federal Responses To The Unique Needs Of Native Hawaiians

The preceding two chapters have analyzed and reviewed two suggested federal responses to the unique needs of native Hawaiians. The chapter entitled "Existing Law, Native Hawaiians, and Compensation" concludes that the response of compensation for any possible loss of land or sovereignty is not available under present law. The "Review of Hawaiian Homes Commission Programs" reviews the Hawaiian Home Lands program, including ways to ensure better administration of the program. This chapter sets forth other federal responses that are available or being undertaken.

A. IDENTIFICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR WHICH NATIVE HAWAIIANS MAY BE ELIGIBLE

The Federal Government sponsors a vast array of programs administered through a large number of agencies. Five federal programs specifically assist native Hawaiians. 1/ These are: Title VII of the Native Americans Program Act; 2/ Title III of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act; 3/ the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act; 4/ the Mental Health Systems Act; 5/ and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921. 6/

The section that follows lists a representative sample of existing federal programs that meet some of the needs of native Hawaiians that have been identified in this Report. Information on the majority of the federal programs listed on the following pages (except where otherwise noted) was obtained from the 1982 edition of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. [The next edition of the Catalog is scheduled to be released on July 1, 1983.] The Catalog is a Government-wide compendium of federal programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the American public. It contains financial and non-financial assistance programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal Government, and is published annually by the Federal Government. As the basic reference source of Federal programs, the primary purpose of the Catalog is to assist users in identifying the programs that meet specific objectives of the potential applicant, and to obtain general information on federal assistance programs.

The following list is not meant to be exhaustive—the Catalog itself contains hundreds of programs that may be of use to individual native Hawaiians. The list is meant to be indicative, however, of the range of Federal Government programs now available that may meet some of the needs of native Hawaiians. The numbers following the program title are the reference numbers used in the Catalog.

Education: Elementary and Secondary

Compensatory Education for the Disadvantaged; Chapter 1 Grants to Local Educational Agencies */

Description of Grant Process:

Authorization for Basic Grants are computed for States and counties by multiplying the number of children 5-17 years of age from low-income families by 40 percent of the State's average per pupil expenditure (but not less than 80 percent nor more than 120 percent of the national average). These children include: (1) children in families with incomes below the poverty level (1980 census data but

*/ Information on this program obtained from the Office of Management and Budget, February 1983.