Request Proposals Professional Services Indian Community
Listed on 2026-06-26
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Dental / Dentistry
Public Health
The Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota (“Community”) is seeking a qualified external evaluator (individual or firm) to lead the design and implementation of a culturally responsive and community-informed evaluation for its federally funded Tribal Court Improvement Project (TCIP). The project seeks to strengthen the Tribal Court’s handling of child welfare cases and improve collaboration with Lower Sioux Human Services Department through assessment, analysis, and long-term system improvements.
We seek a qualified evaluator to assess current operations, identify areas for improvement, and draft a comprehensive report detailing findings, recommendations, and actionable strategies to enhance the efficiency, fairness, and cultural responsiveness of the Tribal Court’s child welfare proceedings.
The evaluation process will be conducted over a total of 350 hours. 250 hours for the evaluator to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Lower Sioux Tribal Court’s child welfare proceedings. 100 hours for the evaluation and drafting results.
Scope of WorkThe selected evaluator will:
- Collaborate with the Project Director and both multidisciplinary teams to identify and prioritize tribal needs related to child welfare proceedings.
- Lead the development of culturally responsive assessment questions, informed by JCAMP domains and community feedback.
- Facilitate and/or support stakeholder meetings with Project Director
- Assess court orders, case plans, and workflow processes.
- Observe live or recorded hearings.
- Lead all data collection activities in collaboration with the project director and stakeholder teams.
- Implement mixed-method approaches including document review, surveys, interviews, focus groups, talking circles, court observations, and case file reviews.
- Courtroom observations, including qualitative notes on engagement and procedural fairness.
- Review court case files and other relevant records.
- Leverage tribal leadership support to boost community participation.
- Analyze data and provide preliminary findings to the Project Director and stakeholder team.
- Prepare a final evaluation report that includes:
- Assessment methodology
- Contextual tribal factors
- Key findings
- Strengths and areas for improvement
- Actionable recommendations
- Deliver findings in accessible formats tailored to Tribal Council, court personnel, and community members.
The evaluator must comply with all Tribal laws and protocols related to data ownership, access, and governance. This includes:
- Signing a Data Use Agreement (DUA) prior to any data collection.
- Protecting personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive data through encryption and password secure storage.
- Ensuring all findings and reports are approved by the Tribal Court prior to external dissemination.
- No waiver of sovereign immunity.
Demonstrated experience in evaluating tribal, child welfare, or court systems.
- Familiarity with culturally appropriate, Indigenous-led evaluation methods.
- Strong facilitation and communication skills, especially in diverse, interdisciplinary settings.
- Proven capacity to manage large-scale evaluations using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Understanding of tribal sovereignty, data privacy, and respectful engagement practices.
- Experience with evaluations of federally funded programs, especially those supported by DOJ, HHS, BIA, or ACYF.
- Familiarity with JCAMP (Judicial, Court, and Attorney Measures of Performance) or similar frameworks.
- Demonstrated ability to work with Tribal communities and/or Tribal courts.
- Ability to synthesize complex data into clear, actionable insights.
- Attributes including flexibility, responsiveness, collaboration, cultural humility, and hands‑on engagement.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., evaluation, social work, public health, law, or criminal justice).
Applicants should submit the following:
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