Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 91.djvu/1004

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PUBLIC LAW 95-000—MMMM. DD, 1977

91 STAT. 970

25 USC 450f note.

Training and assistance.

Consultation with tribal organization.

Notification.

Bilingual personnel and materials.

Application,

filing.

PUBLIC LAW 95-113—SEPT. 29, 1977 cal subdivision. In the case of all or part of an Indian reservation, the State agency as defined in section 3(n)(1) of this Act shall be responsible for conducting such program on such reservation unless the Secretary determines that the State agency (as defined in section 3(n)(1) of this Act) is failing, subsequent to the enactment of this Act, properly to administer such program on such reservation in accordance with the purposes of this Act and further determines that the State agency as defined in section 3(n)(2) of this Act is capable of effectively and efficiently conducting such program, in light of the distance of the reservation from State agency-operated certification and issuance centers, the previous experience of such tribal organization in the operation of programs authorized under the Indian Self-Determination Act (25 U.S.C. 450) and similar Acts of Congress, the tribal organization's management and fiscal capabilities, and the adequacy of measures taken by the tribal organization to ensure that there shall be no discrimination in the operation of the program on the basis of race, color, sex, or national origin, in which event such State agency shall be responsible for conducting such program and submitting for approval a plan of operation specifying the manner in which such program will be conducted. The Secretary, upon the request of a tribal organization, shall provide the designees of such organization with appropriate training and technical assistance to enable them to qualify as expeditiously as possible as a State agency pursuant to section 3(n)(2) of this Act. A State agency, as defined in section 3(n)(1) of this Act, before it submits its plan of operation to the Secretary for the administration of the food stamp program on all or part of an Indian reservation, shall consult in good faith with the tribal organization about that portion of the State's plan of operation pertaining to the implementation of the program for members of the tribe, and shall implement the program in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the Indians on the reservation as determined by ongoing consultation with the tribal organization. "(e) The State plan of operation required under subsection (d) of this section shall provide, among such other provisions as may be required by regulation— "(1) that the State agency shall (A) inform low-income households about the availability, eligibility requirements, and benefits of the food s^amp program, including, but not limited to, notification to recipients of aid to families with dependent children, supplemental security income, and unemployment compensation, distribution of application forms, and associated instructions in filling out such forms, and on the documentation required pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection; (B) not conduct any other outreach activities of a noninformational nature in those areas in which a federally funded community action program is in operation and conducting food s+amp outreach; and (C) use appropriate bilingual personnel and printed material in the administration of the program in those portions of political subdivisions in the State in which a substantial number of members of low-income households speak a language other than English; "(2) that each household which contacts a food stamp office in person during office hours to make what may reasonably be interpreted as an oral or written request for food stamp assistance shall receive and shall be permitted to file, on the same day that such contact is first made, a simplified, uniform national application form for participation in the food stamp program designed by the Secretary, unless the Secretary approves a deviation from