U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Indian Health Service (IHS) Chapter 8-77

AGENCY AGREEMENTS

IHS Chapter 8-77
General Administration Manual
IHS Transmittal 96.01 (02/07/96)
Subject: Agency Agreements

IHS; 8-77-00 Purpose
8-77 - 10 Scope
8-77 - 20 Definitions
8-77 - 30 Legal Authority for Agency Agreements
8-77 - 40 Responsibilities
8-77 - 50 Policy
8-77 - 60 Requirements for Development, Clearance, and Filing
8-77 - 70 Referral to the Secretary
8-77 - 80 Reserved
Exhibit 8-77-A Agency Agreement Format
Exhibit 8-77-B Transmittal/Action Memorandum Format

IHS: 8-77-00 PURPOSE

This chapter supplements and is to be used in conjunction with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Manual (GAM). It provides guidance for Indian Health Service (IHS) staff on the preparation and clearance process for IHS interagency and intra-agency agreements, and establishes the Division of Management Policy (DMP), Office of Administration and Management (OAM), as the office responsible for managing the IHS system of processing and filing interagency and intra-agency agreements.

8-77-10 SCOPE

This chapter applies only to agreements that the IHS enters into with another HHS agency, including reimbursable agreements with the Office of the Secretary, or with a Federal agency outside HHS, for the purpose of providing or exchanging services, supplies, and/or equipment.
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to:
1. International agreements covered by HHS GAM Chapter: 20-50.
2. Services provided pursuant to the HHS working agreement with the Agency for International Development, as specified in the HHS GAM Chapter 20-15.
3. Acquisition of supplies or services under the Federal Supply Schedules or the Federal Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures system.
4. Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) authorized under Public Law (P.L.) 86-121, the Indian Sanitation Facilities Act, P.L. 93-638, Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act contracts, procurement contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, these are formal arrangements between the IHS and private or public entities, or between IHS and State or local units of government. Except for an MOA authorized under P.L. 86-121, these formal arrangements must be coordinated with the General Acquisition Branch, Administrative Services Center, through the Division of Contracts and Grants Policy, OAK., IHS (Collaborative Agreements, or non-Federal agreements, are discussed in the IHS Supplement to HHS GAM Chapter 8-79).

8-77-20 DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this chapter:

Agency Agreements. Are written formal arrangements between the IHS and one or more Federal agencies, including reimbursable agreements with the Office of the Secretary, in which one or more of the agencies agrees to provide to, purchase from, or exchange, services, supplies, and/or equipment with another Federal agency.
1. An Interagency Agreement is a written formal arrangement between the IHS and one or more Federal agencies outside the HHS.
2. An Intra-Agency Agreement is a written formal arrangement between the IHS and one or more other component(s) of the HHS.
Significant Agreements. Are agreements that are signed by the Secretary of HHS, which include major Secretarial policy initiatives and agreements that impact on State or local governments, other HHS grantees, or the public. These agreements include those requiring 25 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in a given fiscal year (FY); and/or those beyond the scope of authority delegated by the Secretary.

8-77-30 LEGAL AUTHORITY FOR AGENCY AGREEMENTS

The Economy Act of 1932 (31 USC 1535), as amended, provides the legal authority for most agency agreements and authorizes the head of an agency or a major organizational unit within an agency to place an order for goods and services with a major organizational unit within the HHS or with another non-HHS Federal organization, if the following four conditions exist:
1. Funds are available.
2. The head of the ordering agency or unit decides the order is in the best interest of the U.S. Government.
3. The agency or unit to fill the order is in a position to supply or render the goods or services, or to obtain them by contracting.
4. The head of the ordering agency decides the goods or services cannot be provided as conveniently or inexpensively by a commercial enterprise.
Agreements entered into under authority of other than the Economy Act (31 USC 1535 and 1536) require citation of the legal authority for ordering goods and services and to transfer money. The Regional Attorneys and the Division of Legislation and Regulations (DLR), Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Legislation (OPEL), IHS, are available to provide assistance in determining whether an authority exists.
The requisitioning and provider agencies, or units, must have independent legal authority to carry out the activity and expend funds for the purposes identified in the agency agreement.

8-77-40 RESPONSIBILITIES

Office of the Director
The Director, IHS, is responsible for the development and implementation of a system within IHS for the effective management and use of agency agreements in the IHS.
Office of Administration and Management
On behalf of the Director, IHS, the Associate Director, OAM, is responsible for providing leadership for administering agency agreements, and developing and implementing a management control system (MCS) for the IHS-wide agency agreements program that meets the requirements of Section 2 of the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA). The OAM also conducts periodic reviews of agreements not included under section 8-77-40D of this chapter, to determine if the agreements should be continued, renewed, amended, updated, superseded, or canceled.
Within the OAM, the Director, DMP, is responsible for providing necessary consultative and interpretive services for IHS staff regarding the IHS system of agency agreements. The DMP is designated as the focal point for carrying out the IHS system for administering all Headquarters Office agency agreements, and any Area Office agency agreements with an aggregate FY value, including extensions and revisions, equal to or greater than $250,000.
The DMP is responsible for:
1. Identifying issues related to proposed agency agreements initiated or Sponsored by any IHS organization.
2. Providing information to appropriate agency officials regarding potential and existing agency agreements.
3. Providing a repository for all Headquarters agreements and any Area agreements with an aggregate FY value equal to or greater than $250,000. This includes custodial services for the official file copies of these agreements and all related information.
Headquarters Associate Director
Each IHS Headquarters Associate Director is responsible for establishing a system for management of agency agreements within his/her organization that is consistent with this chapter to ensure that:
1. The HHS and IHS requirements for developing, clearing, and filing agreements are met.
2. Proper legal, administrative, and financial management reviews are exercised over the development and implementation of agreements.
3. Agency agreements are periodically reviewed to determine if they should be continued, renewed, amended, updated, superseded, or canceled.
Area Directors
Each IHS Area Director is responsible for establishing a system for management of agency agreements within his/her organization that is consistent with this chapter to ensure that:
1. The HHS and IHS requirements for developing, clearing, and filing agreements are met.
2. Proper legal, administrative, and financial management reviews are exercised over the development and implementation of agreements.
3. Adequate program review and monitoring are given to each agency agreement.
  Each agreement that involves his/her organization and requires clearance and/or signature by higher echelon officials is personally reviewed and cleared by the Area Director, or his/her principal deputy, prior to submission to Headquarters for clearance and approval.
  Each agency agreement is periodically reviewed to determine if the agreement should be continued, renewed, amended, updated, superseded, or canceled.

8-77-50 POLICY

All IHS agency agreements shall be documented in writing to reflect the contents and format, to the extent practicable, as outlined in IHS Exhibit 8-77-A and 8-77-B of this chapter.
All IHS agency agreements that present one or more of the following characteristics shall be reviewed by the DMP, OAM, for compliance to HHS and IHS policy for review, clearance, and approval:
1. All Agency agreements initiated or sponsored by the Office of the Director, IHS, and IHS Headquarters Associate Office organizations.
2. Agency agreements initiated or sponsored by Area Office organizations that have an aggregate FY value equal to or greater than $250,000.
3. Agency agreements that raise delegation(s) of authority issues.
4. Agency agreements that require the reallocation or the addition of FTEs/budgeted positions.
5. Agency agreements that impact health care services delivery or facilities provided by the IHS regardless of dollar level.
6. Existing agency agreements that establish new arrangements, policies, or procedures for the administration of a program.

8-77-60 REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPMENT, CLEARANCE, AND FILING

The Director, IHS, is the approval and signatory authority for all IHS agency agreements (excluding significant ones as) defined in Sections 8-77-20 and 8-77-70, that pertain to matters related to the IHS mission and goal, and included extensions and revisions. The Director, IHS, shall delegate this authority to principal deputies within the Office of the Director and to Area Office Directors as follows:
1. The Deputy Director, IHS, shall have the Director's approval and signatory authority for all agency agreements that are initiated or Sponsored by the immediate Office of the Director, IHS, and the IHS Area Offices and organizations within the jurisdiction of an IHS Area Office, which includes extensions and revisions. The authority delegated to the Deputy Director includes the authority to sign reimbursable agreements with the Office of the Secretary.
2. The Director of Headquarters Operations (DHO) shall have approval and signatory authority IHS, agreements initiated or sponsored by the IHS agency Headquarters Associate Offices, which includes extensions and revisions.
3. Area Directors shall have approval and signatory authority for agency agreements that are initiated or sponsored by components of their organizations that have an aggregate FY value, including extensions and revisions, that does not exceed $249,999.
The IHS organizational components initiating or sponsoring an agreement must obtain legal review and advice and all necessary administrative and financial management reviews to ensure the following management control requirements are met:
1. All agency agreements are executed by an official who has been delegated the necessary authority to prevent any liability being assessed to the operating division or operating division officials for erroneous commitments.
2. All services, supplies, and/or equipment to be provided under an agency agreement are essential to the operation of the requisitioning unit, cannot be provided by the requisitioning unit, and are obtained at the least possible cost.
3. Sufficient funds exist for services; supplies, and/or equipment to be provided under a proposed agency agreement.
4. Review and concurrence by the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) and/or Regional Attorneys are completed when the agreement requires the Secretary's approval e.g., it raises unresolved legal questions, presents unusual or novel legal circumstances. All questions may be submitted to the OGC through the DLR, OPEL, IHS.
  The staff in DMP is responsible for confirming compliance to these requirements for each agency agreement submitted for Headquarters Executive approval and signature.
All agency agreements that are initiated or sponsored by IHS organizations that require approval and signature by the Director, Deputy Director, or the DHO, must be submitted to the DMP. Agency agreements initiated or sponsored by Headquarters offices must be entered into the IHS Action Tracking System (ATS) by the originating Headquarters office. The staff in DMP will ensure that all agency agreements received from the Area offices are entered into the IHS ATS in the OAM Associate Director's office. All agreements received in DMP must be packaged as follows:
1. Four original copies of each agency agreement.
2. The proposed agreement shall be accompanied by an action memorandum (Exhibit 8-77-B) with three yellow file box copy sets from the respective Area or Associate Director to the respective IHS official responsible for approving and signing the agreement. The action memorandum must condense, clarify, and highlight the purpose and intent of the agreement.
3. All agency agreements that are initiated and sponsored by Area office organizations and require approval and signature by the Director or Deputy Director, must include an agreements identification number assigned at the Area office in accordance with instructions in section 8-77-60D of this chapter. The DMP staff will assign an IHS identifying number to agreements sponsored by Headquarters organizations upon their receipt in DMP.
4. Each agency agreement received in DMB will be reviewed to ensure that the scope of the agreement is related to the IHS mission and goal, that appropriate authority(s) are cited, and that all necessary IHS administrative and financial accounting information is included in the agreement. The DMP staff will also review each agreement for content, grammar and typing errors, logic/coherence, and proper functional area clearances. Issues identified by DMP during the review of proposed agency agreements must be resolved with the initiating or sponsoring IHS organization(s) and participating agency(s) prior to the agency agreement being routed for signature.
5. The DMP will confirm the availability of IHS funds and verify the accuracy of accounting data with the Division of Resources Management (DRM), CAM, and the participating agency(L), for each agency agreement that will require transfer of funds between participating agencies.
6. The DMP will ensure coordination with the IHS Executive Secretariat (ES) for signature processing. The agreement will be logged, tracked, and processed and will be accompanied by an action memorandum submitted for approval and signature by the Director, Deputy Director, or DHO.
  1. Agreements and action memorandums that contain errors will be returned to the initiating office for corrective action and resubmission. (Periods for corrective action and resubmission will not exceed 10 workdays.)
  2. Agreements and action memorandums processed by the ES will be returned to the DMP for filing and distribution of signed agreement copies, or mailing to participating agencies for signature.
7. Upon receipt of all authorized signatures by officials of participating agencies/organizations, the DMP shall distribute copies of the agency agreements as follows:
  1. Headquarters Agency Agreements
    one original to the sponsoring IHS organization
    one copy to DRM, OAM
    two originals to the participating non-IHS Agency
    one original to the DMP agency agreements repository file
  2. Area Office Agency Agreements greater than $249,999
    one original to the Office of the Area Director one copy for the Area office agency agreements repository file; and one copy for the Area Financial Management Officer
    two originals to the participating non-IHS Agency
    one original to the DMP agency agreements repository file
AGENCY AGREEMENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS
1. A unique identifying number shall be assigned to each agency agreement. At IHS Headquarters, the DMP is responsible for assigning the IHS identification numbers for all agency agreements initiated or sponsored by Headquarters organizations. Area Directors must designate the individual(s) within the Area office who will be responsible for maintaining agency agreement identification number assignments and records.
2. The identification numbers for agency agreements denotes the following information:
  1. The type of agreement: 1 for Interagency, 2 for Intra-agency.
  2. The location of the initiating or sponsoring IHS organization:
    HQ Office of the Director, IHS
    OA Office of Administration and Management, IHS Headquarters
    PL Office of Planning Evaluation, and Legislation
    TA Office of Tribal Activities
    HP Office of Health Programs
    EH Office of Environmental Health and Engineering
    RD Office of Health Program Research and Development
    XM Office of Information Resources Management
    HR Office of Human Resources
    AB Aberdeen Area Indian Health Service
    AK Alaska Area Indian Health Service
    AQ Albuquerque Area Indian Health service
    BE Bemidji Area Indian Health Service
    CA California Area Indian Health Service
    BL Billings Area Indian Health Service
    NL Nashville Area Indian Health Service
    NV Navajo Area Indian Health Service
    OK Oklahoma City Area Indian Health Service
    PX Phoenix Area Indian Health Service
    PT Portland Area Indian Health Service
  3. The FY in which the agency agreement is executed.
  4. The sequential number of the agreement executed by the Area Office or Headquarters in the FY.
  5. The number of modifications/amendments for this agreement.
3. Example of Agreement Number:
  1-HP-96-0030-01
  The above example number 1 denotes an Interagency Agreement; coordinated or sponsored by the Office of Health Programs (HP); during fiscal year 1996; 30th HP agreement; and modification number 1.

8-77-70 REFERRAL TO THE SECRETARY

The Director, IHS, or his/her designee, shall refer any of the following types of agreements to the Secretary for approval:

Agency agreements that deal with major Secretarial or Operating Division policy initiatives or contain significant policy changes.
Agency agreements that may have a significant impact on relations between the Department, State and local governments, other Department grantees, or the public.
Agency agreements determined by heads of major organizational units to require Secretarial approval.
Agency agreements that provides 25 or more FTEs in any given FY. Routine recurring service type agreements are exempt from this requirement.
Agency agreements that are beyond the scope of the authorities delegated by the Secretary.
Information Resources Management (IRM) related agency agreements are an exception to the above criteria. The IRM related agency agreements are reviewed separately through a Department specific IRM review process.
The IRM related agency agreements should be submitted for Departmental review and approval consistent with current dollar thresholds established for Automated Data Processing (ADP) procurement. This is in compliance with requirements for ADP procurement established in the HHS Information Resources Management Manual, part 4.
Submission of non-IRM related agency agreements for Secretarial approval shall be made through the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget under cover memorandum explaining the benefits to be derived by IHS from the agreement.

8-77-80 MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM.

This section is reserved for information regarding the MCS (segmentation, risk assessment, and review methodology) for the agency agreements management control area to comply with Section 2 of the FMFIA.