Effective Dates: 08/02/2022 - Present Previous | Next

TN 154 (08-22)

SI 00830.815 Native American Precedent Application (NAPA) Website

A. Introduction to the NAPA website

NAPA is a website that stores precedents about income and resources for specific tribal programs. The Seattle Region’s Center for Automation maintains the NAPA website. Click on NAPA to access the website.

NOTE: As of August 1, 2022, new precedents and resources are established and stored on the Native American Precedent and Resource Center (NAPR) website. Use NAPA for historical reference only.

There is a User Guide on the NAPA website. As explained in the User Guide, each region will determine the necessary field office (FO) development and extent of the regional office (RO) review needed for precedents within their region in order to ensure the precedent information complies with POMS.

NOTE: 

Submit precedent information regarding tribal trust to the SSI Trust Monitoring System (SSITMS) according to operational guidelines. For more questions contact your regional office.

B. Process for adding precedents to the NAPA website

As of August 1, 2022, new precedents and resources are established and stored in the NAPR website. NAPA should only be used to access historical information.

 

Use the following steps to add a precedent electronically to NAPA at the time of an initial claim, pre-effectuation review contact, or redetermination.

  1. 1. 

    Determine if a precedent already exists by doing a search of the NAPA site.

  2. 2. 

    If there is “No Record Found,” use the Create page to establish a new precedent or use the page to send an email to request a new precedent from the SSA office that services the tribe. Input the tribe’s zip code to determine FO jurisdiction.

    NOTE: 

    Tribal zip codes are located at: https://www.bia.gov/tribal-leaders-directory.

  3. 3. 

    The FO that services the tribe is responsible for developing and referring the precedent to the RO for approval.

  4. 4. 

    The RO that services the tribe is responsible for approving and posting or updating the precedent to the NAPA website. In addition, the servicing RO is responsible for deleting erroneous or duplicate precedents.

    NOTE: 

    For complete instructions on searching, creating, and updating a precedent within the NAPA website, review the “User Guide”.

C. Policy for developing unearned income

For specific Native American income instructions, see References in this section.

For general rules for developing unearned income when there are no specific Native American income instructions, see SI 00830.005.

D. Using the NAPA website to document income and resources

1. Precedent relates to excludable income or resources

Use a MSSICS Report of Contact (DROC) screen to document whether the income, resource, or both are excludable.

EXAMPLE of DROC entry: “Per NAPA precedent, the (Name of the Tribe) elder payment is excludable from income. Normal resource counting rules apply.”

If the income is excludable, accept the recipient’s allegation of the amount and receipt date. If the recipient’s allegation is consistent with the information on NAPA, there is no further development required.

2. Precedent relates to income or resources that are not excludable

Follow existing supplemental security income (SSI) procedures for verifying and documenting the amount of income and resources.

Use a MSSICS DROC screen to document that the income, resource, or both are not excludable.

EXAMPLE of DROC entry: “Per NAPA precedent, the (Name of the Tribe and the type of payment) is not excludable from income or resources. Normal income and resource counting rules apply.”

3. Update precedent if there is new or discrepant information

If the recipient provides information that is new or discrepant with the existing precedent, complete an update or use the website email function to request an update from the FO that services the tribe.

The FO that services the tribe will develop the issue and refer the updated precedent to the servicing RO for approval.

NOTE: 

Per the User Guide, each region determines the necessary FO development and extent of the RO review needed for precedents within their jurisdiction in order to ensure the precedent information complies with POMS.

E. References

  • •

    SI 00830.800 Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance

  • •

    SI 00830.810 Bureau of Indian Affairs Adult Custodial Care and Child Welfare Assistance Payments

  • •

    SI 00830.820 Individual Indian Money Accounts

  • •

    SI 00830.830 Indian-Related Exclusions

  • •

    SI 00830.850 Exclusion of Income from Individual Interests in Indian Trust or Restricted Lands

  • •

    SI 00830.852 The Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (Cobell v. Salazar)

  • •

    SI 00830.855 Processing Inquiries from Potential Barney Class Members

  • •

    SI 00830.880 Indian Fishing Rights Income

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0500830815
SI 00830.815 - Native American Precedent Application (NAPA) Website - 08/02/2022
Batch run: 08/02/2022
Rev:08/02/2022