Johnson O'Malley (JOM) Program

Who is eligible for JOM

Reference, Part 273 of Title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, https://www.ecfr.gov

§273.112   An Indian student is eligible for benefits provided by a Johnson O'Malley contract if the student is:

• From age three (3) years through grade(s) twelve (12);
• Not enrolled in a Bureau-funded school or sectarian school (except the student is eligible if enrolled in a previously private school controlled by an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization); and
•  Is either:
  •  At least one-fourth (1⁄4) degree Indian blood descendant of a member of an Indian Tribe as defined in §273.106*;
  • A member of an Indian Tribe as defined in §273.106*.

*  Indian Tribe means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, rancheria, pueblo, colony or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688) which is federally recognized as eligible by the U.S. Government through the Secretary for the special programs and services provided by the Secretary to Indians because of their status as Indians.

JOM eligibility requirement states that any student enrolled in a tribe is eligible for JOM.  Does that mean they do not need to be ¼ Indian and just enrolled in a tribe?

The requirement is for one or the other, so yes, if a student does not have ¼ degree Indian blood but is a member of a Federally recognized tribe (verified with enrollment number), they are JOM eligible. 

JOM eligibility includes either:

• At least one-fourth (1⁄4) degree Indian blood descendant of a member of an Indian Tribe as defined in §273.106*;
• A member of an Indian Tribe as defined in §273.106*.

If a student is not enrolled with a tribe but has ¼ degree of Indian blood as a descendent of a tribal member, are they eligible for JOM?

Yes.  Verification of this criteria would be through the Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB). The student could be a descendent of someone who is enrolled in a federally recognized tribe but the student themselves are not enrolled.  Through this lineage, the student would need to demonstrate they are ¼ degree of Indian blood (per CIB). 

Another example: A student is ½ Navajo and has their CIB.  However, their half-brother is not enrolled with the tribe, but they have the same father who is 4/4 Navajo and has his CIB.  The half-brother would qualify for JOM since his father is 4/4 Navajo with a CIB, therefore, his son would be ½ Navajo as a descendant, verified by his father’s CIB.

If a child is in Department of Child Services (DCS) care, can the DCS caseworker sign the JOM form to enter a child in the JOM program?

Yes, DCS would be covered under the JOM regulation definition of “parent”

Per JOM Regulation, CFR Title 25, §273.106:  

• Parent means the lawful father or mother of someone and may include an individual or agency whose status as a guardian has been established by judicial decree.