FEDERAL AGENCY:

ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AUTHORIZATION:

Refugee Act of 1980, Public Law 96-212, Section 412, 94 Stat. 111, 8 U.S.C. 1522, as amended; Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980, Title V, 94 Stat. 1809, as amended.

OBJECTIVES:

To improve resettlement services for refugees. Program objectives include: 1) Providing adequate health assessment activities for refugees; (2) decreasing the numbers of refugees on public assistance and the length of time refugees require such assistance; (3) promoting refugee community and family stability; (4) encouraging placement of refugee families in locations with good job opportunities and lower costs of living; (5) increasing service dollars in areas with good resettlement records; (6) enhancing services to disadvantaged refugee groups; services to promote older refugees access to aging services, assist low income refugees with matching funds for individual development accounts (IDA)and (7) responding to national needs which are not the purview of any particular State services program.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

The discretionary grant program allocates a portion of program social service and targeted assistance funds to conduct projects which promote refugee self-sufficiency or address their special needs. Funds may be used only for the purposes set forth in the grant award. In fiscal year 2000, approximately 15 percent of social service funds not earmarked by Congress were allocated through discretionary programs; ten percent of Targeted Assistance program funds were so obligated.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   State and local governments and private nonprofit organizations.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   State and local governments and private nonprofit organizations will benefit.

Credentials/Documentation:   Cost principles for nonprofit organizations will be determined by OMB Circular No. A-122. Cost principles for State and local governments are found under OMB circular No. A-87.

Pre-application Coordination:   The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) permits preapplication before the submission of a formal grant application for some categories of grants. The preapplication process provides technical assistance to applicants to aid them in improving their submissions. Contact the Headquarters Office listed below for more information. This program is covered under E.O. 12372. "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated s the single point of contact in his or her state for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Application Procedure:   Most awards are granted on a competitive basis, as specified in the program announcements. Each agency desiring to respond to a program announcement is required to submit an application to the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. There is a prescribed format for applications, as stated in the program announcements. Application kits, containing the prescribed application forms and supplemental descriptive information, are available from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Applications are reviewed and evaluated pursuant to criteria specified in the program announcement. Applicants may also submit proposals for projects not specifically identified in a program announcement, but which are relevant to the goals of the refugee resettlement program. These applications will also be subject to a review process and separate funding considerations when they cannot be related to a specific program announcement. However, applications which are not responsive to program announcements can be approved only under special circumstances where the agency determines the application to be so outstanding, and to address a need of such urgency, that immediate, noncompetitive award is warranted.

Award Procedure:   The Director of ORR makes the funding decision on all grant awards. The Office of Grants Management concurs on grants administration and policy compliance.

Deadlines:   Contact the Headquarters Office listed below for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   From 60 to 90 days.

Appeals:   Not applicable.

Renewals:   Renewals or extensions require additional approvals.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   Some activities under this program have matching requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Generally, funds made available for this program will be for budget periods ranging from 1 to 5 years.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Progress reports and financial reports are required, usually on a quarterly or semi-annual basis. Final program and financial reports summarizing the activities and accomplishments of the project in relation to the approved goals and objectives are also required.

Audits:   Periodic audits are made as part of the system of financial management and internal control to meet terms and conditions of grants and other agreements. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. Nonprofit organizations receiving less than $25,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements, but records must be available for review by appropriate officials of the Federal grantor agency or subgranting entity.

Records:   Grant recipients are required to keep all financial, business, and program reports necessary for program review and audit to insure that funds have been expended in accordance with the regulations, grant terms, and conditions of this program.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   75-1503-0-1-609.

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 01 $83,612,466; FY 02 est $84,835,519; and FY 03 est $84,835,519.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  
Refugee Health Promotion grants range from a minimum of $75,000 to a maximum of $300,000.

For fiscal years 2001, 2002 and 2003, ORR intends to fund the following programs, subject to the availability of funds: $19 million for communities impacted by recent Cuban/Haitian arrivals; $14 million to address the needs of refugees and communities impacted by recent changes in Federal assistance programs; and $26 million to assist communities with large concentrations of refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation difficult.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Program announcements are published in the Federal Register. All inquiries should be directed to the Information Contact listed below.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:   Anastasia Brown Mary E. Switzer Building, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201, Washington, District of Columbia 20447 Email: anastasia.brown@acf.hhs.gov Phone: (202) 401-4559 Fax: (202) 401-0981

Web Site Address:  
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/programs

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

In fiscal year 2000, ORR provided funds for projects to: (1) Promote community and family stability; (2) Provide vocational training, job search, and social services to help refugees obtain employment; (3) Provide placement of refugees in preferred communities; (4) meet special needs of unanticipated arrivals; (5) provide microenterprise development services to refugees; and (6)provide matching funds for individual development accounts (IDA).

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

Notice of the criteria for awarding funds is published in the Federal Register or other program announcement for each type of demonstration. See the Information Contact section for more information.