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.
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:
From $5,000 to $19,000,000.
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: For program information, contact Nguyen
Kimchi, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children
and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, 6th Floor,
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington DC 20447. Telephone: (202)
401-4556.
Web
Site Address: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/orr
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.
