[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30009-30014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14573]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Refugee Resettlement Program; Final Notice of Availability of
Formula Allocation Funding for FY 1998 Targeted Assistance Grants for
Services to Refugees in Local Areas of High Need
AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), ACF, HHS.
ACTION: Final notice of availability of formula allocation funding for
FY 1998 targeted assistance grants to States for services to refugees
\1\ in local areas of high need.
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\1\ In addition to persons who meet all requirements of 45 CFR
400.43, ``Requirements for documentation of refugee status,''
eligibility for targeted assistance includes Cuban and Haitian
entrants, certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to the
U.S. as immigrants, and certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are U.S.
citizens. (See section II of this notice on ``Authorization.'') The
term ``refugee'', used in this notice for convenience, is intended
to encompass such additional persons who are eligible to participate
in refugee program services, including the targeted assistance
program.
Refugees admitted to the U.S. under admissions numbers set aside
for private-sector-initiative admissions are not eligible to be
served under the targeted assistance program (or under other
programs supported by Federal refugee funds) during their period of
coverage under their sponsoring agency's agreement with the
Department of State--usually two years from their date of arrival,
or until they obtain permanent resident alien status, whichever
comes first.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and award
procedures for FY 1998 targeted assistance grants for services to
refugees under the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP). These grants are
for service provision in localities with large refugee populations,
high refugee concentrations, and high use of public assistance, and
where specific needs exist for supplementation of currently available
resources. The final notice reflects adjustments in final allocations
to States as a result of additional arrival data.
A notice of proposed allocations of targeted assistance funds was
published for public comment in the Federal Register on February 17,
1998 (63 FR 7814).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toyo Biddle, Director, Division of
Refugee Self-Sufficiency, (202) 401-9250.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: The closing date for submission of applications
is July 17, 1998. Applications postmarked after the closing date will
be classified as late.
[[Page 30010]]
Mailed applications shall be considered as meeting an announced
deadline if they are either received on or before the deadline date or
sent on or before the deadline date to: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of
Refugee Resettlement, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency, 370
L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, DC 20447, Attention: Application
for Targeted Assistance Formula Program.
Applicants are cautioned to request a legibly dated U.S. Postal
Service postmark or to obtain a legibly dated receipt from a commercial
carrier or the U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks shall not
be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.
Applications handcarried by applicants, applicant couriers, or by
overnight/express mail couriers shall be considered as meeting an
announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline date,
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Office of Refugee Resettlement, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency,
ACF Mailroom, 2nd Floor Loading Dock, Aerospace Center, 901 D Street,
S.W., Washington, DC 20024, between Monday and Friday (excluding
Federal holidays). (Applicants are cautioned that express/overnight
mail services do not always deliver as agreed.)
ACF cannot accommodate transmission of applications by fax or
through other electronic media. Therefore, applications transmitted to
ACF electronically will not be accepted regardless of date or time of
submission and time of receipt.
To be considered complete, an application package must include a
signed original and two copies of Standard Form 424, 424A, and 424B.
CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 93.584.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON APPLICATION PROCEDURES: States should
contact their State Analyst in ORR.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Purpose and Scope
This notice announces the availability of funds for grants for
targeted assistance for services to refugees in counties where, because
of factors such as unusually large refugee populations, high refugee
concentrations, and high use of public assistance, there exists and can
be demonstrated a specific need for supplementation of resources for
services to this population.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has available $49,477,000
in FY 1998 funds for the targeted assistance program (TAP) as part of
the FY 1998 appropriation for the Department of Health and Human
Services (Pub. L. No. 105-78).
The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will use
the $49,477,000 in targeted assistance funds as follows:
$35,371,300 will be allocated to States under the 5-year
population formula, as set forth in this notice.
$14,105,700 will be used to award discretionary grants to
States under separate grant announcements, including TAP 10% grants and
as well as other discretionary grants.
In addition, the Office of Refugee Resettlement will have available
an additional $5,000,000 in FY 1998 funds for the targeted assistance
discretionary program through the Foreign Operations, Export Financing,
and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998 (Pub. L. No. 105-118).
These funds will augment the 10 percent of the targeted assistance
program which is set-aside for grants to localities most heavily
impacted by the influx of refugees such as Laotian Hmong, Cambodians
and Soviet Pentecostals, including secondary migrants who entered the
United States after October 1, 1979.
The purpose of targeted assistance grants is to provide, through a
process of local planning and implementation, direct services intended
to result in the economic self-sufficiency and reduced welfare
dependency of refugees through job placements.
The targeted assistance program reflects the requirements of
section 412(c)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),
which provides that targeted assistance grants shall be made available
``(i) primarily for the purpose of facilitating refugee employment and
achievement of self-sufficiency, (ii) in a manner that does not
supplant other refugee program funds and that assures that not less
than 95 percent of the amount of the grant award is made available to
the county or other local entity.''
II. Authorization
Targeted assistance projects are funded under the authority of
section 412(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as
amended by the Refugee Assistance Extension Act of 1986 (Pub. L. No.
99-605), 8 U.S.C. 1522(c); section 501(a) of the Refugee Education
Assistance Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-422), 8 U.S.C. 1522 note,
insofar as it incorporates by reference with respect to Cuban and
Haitian entrants the authorities pertaining to assistance for refugees
established by section 412(c)(2) of the INA, as cited above; section
584(c) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act, 1988, as included in the FY 1988
Continuing Resolution (Pub. L. No. 100-202), insofar as it incorporates
by reference with respect to certain Amerasians from Vietnam the
authorities pertaining to assistance for refugees established by
section 412(c)(2) of the INA, as cited above, including certain
Amerasians from Vietnam who are U.S. citizens, as provided under title
II of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Acts, 1989 (Pub. L. No. 100-461), 1990 (Pub. L. No. 101-
167), and 1991 (Pub. L. No. 101-513).
III. Client and Service Priorities
Targeted assistance funding must be used to assist refugee families
to achieve economic independence. To this end, States and counties are
required to ensure that a coherent family self-sufficiency plan is
developed for each eligible family that addresses the family's needs
from time of arrival until attainment of economic independence. (See 45
CFR 400.79 and 400.156(g).) Each family self-sufficiency plan should
address a family's needs for both employment-related services and other
needed social services. The family self-sufficiency plan must include:
(1) a determination of the income level a family would have to earn to
exceed its cash grant and move into self-support without suffering a
monetary penalty; (2) a strategy and timetable for obtaining that level
of family income through the placement in employment of sufficient
numbers of employable family members at sufficient wage levels; and (3)
employability plans for every employable member of the family. In local
jurisdictions that have both targeted assistance and refugee social
services programs, one family self-sufficiency plan may be developed
for a family that incorporates both targeted assistance and refugee
social services.
Services funded through the targeted assistance program are
required to focus primarily on those refugees who, either because of
their protracted use of public assistance or difficulty in securing
employment, continue to need services beyond the initial years of
resettlement. States may not provide services funded under this notice,
except for referral and interpreter services, to refugees who have been
in the United States for more than 60 months (5 years).
[[Page 30011]]
In accordance with 45 CFR 400.314, States are required to provide
targeted assistance services to refugees in the following order of
priority, except in certain individual extreme circumstances: (a)
Refugees who are cash assistance recipients, particularly long-term
recipients; (b) unemployed refugees who are not receiving cash
assistance; and (c) employed refugees in need of services to retain
employment or to attain economic independence.
In addition to the statutory requirement that TAP funds be used
``primarily for the purpose of facilitating refugee employment''
(section 412(c)(2)(B)(i)), funds awarded under this program are
intended to help fulfill the Congressional intent that ``employable
refugees should be placed on jobs as soon as possible after their
arrival in the United States'' (section 412(a)(1)(B)(i) of the INA).
Therefore, in accordance with 45 CFR 400.313, targeted assistance funds
must be used primarily for employability services designed to enable
refugees to obtain jobs with less than one year's participation in the
targeted assistance program in order to achieve economic self-
sufficiency as soon as possible. Targeted assistance services may
continue to be provided after a refugee has entered a job to help the
refugee retain employment or move to a better job. Targeted assistance
funds may not be used for long-term training programs such as
vocational training that last for more than a year or educational
programs that are not intended to lead to employment within a year.
In accordance with Sec. 400.317, if targeted assistance funds are
used for the provision of English language training, such training must
be provided in a concurrent, rather than sequential, time period with
employment or with other employment-related activities.
A portion of a local area's allocation may be used for services
which are not directed toward the achievement of a specific employment
objective in less than one year but which are essential to the
adjustment of refugees in the community, provided such needs are
clearly demonstrated and such use is approved by the State. Allowable
services include those listed under Sec. 400.316.
Reflecting section 412(a)(1)(A)(iv) of the INA, States must
``insure that women have the same opportunities as men to participate
in training and instruction.'' In addition, in accordance with
Sec. 400.317, services must be provided to the maximum extent feasible
in a manner that includes the use of bilingual/bicultural women on
service agency staffs to ensure adequate service access by refugee
women. The Director also strongly encourages the inclusion of refugee
women in management and board positions in agencies that serve
refugees. In order to facilitate refugee self-support, the Director
also expects States to implement strategies which address
simultaneously the employment potential of both male and female wage
earners in a family unit. States and counties are expected to make
every effort to assure availability of day care services for children
in order to allow women with children the opportunity to participate in
employment services or to accept or retain employment. To accomplish
this, day care may be treated as a priority employment-related service
under the targeted assistance program. Refugees who are participating
in TAP-funded or social services-funded employment services or have
accepted employment are eligible for day care services for children.
For an employed refugee, TAP-funded day care should be limited to one
year after the refugee becomes employed. States and counties, however,
are expected to use day care funding from other publicly funded
mainstream programs as a prior resource and are encouraged to work with
service providers to assure maximum access to other publicly funded
resources for day care.
In accordance with Sec. 400.317, targeted assistance services must
be provided in a manner that is culturally and linguistically
compatible with a refugee's language and cultural background, to the
maximum extent feasible. In light of the increasingly diverse
population of refugees who are resettling in this country, refugee
service agencies will need to develop practical ways of providing
culturally and linguistically appropriate services to a changing ethnic
population. Services funded under this notice must be refugee-specific
services which are designed specifically to meet refugee needs and are
in keeping with the rules and objectives of the refugee program.
Vocational or job-skills training, on-the-job training, or English
language training, however, need not be refugee-specific.
When planning targeted assistance services, States must take into
account the reception and placement (R & P) services provided by local
resettlement agencies in order to utilize these resources in the
overall program design and to ensure the provision of seamless,
coordinated services to refugees that are not duplicative. See
Sec. 400.156(b).
ORR strongly encourages States and counties when contracting for
targeted assistance services, including employment services, to give
consideration to the special strengths of mutual assistance
associations (MAAs), whenever contract bidders are otherwise equally
qualified, provided that the MAA has the capability to deliver services
in a manner that is culturally and linguistically compatible with the
background of the target population to be served. ORR also strongly
encourages MAAs to ensure that their management and board composition
reflect the major target populations to be served.
ORR defines MAAs as organizations with the following
qualifications:
a. The organization is legally incorporated as a nonprofit
organization; and
b. Not less than 51% of the composition of the Board of Directors
or governing board of the mutual assistance association is comprised of
refugees or former refugees, including both refugee men and women.
Finally, in order to provide culturally and linguistically
compatible services in as cost-efficient a manner as possible in a time
of limited resources, ORR strongly encourages States and counties to
promote and give special consideration to the provision of services
through coalitions of refugee service organizations, such as coalitions
of MAAs, voluntary resettlement agencies, or a variety of service
providers. ORR believes it is essential for refugee-serving
organizations to form close partnerships in the provision of services
to refugees in order to be able to respond adequately to a changing
refugee picture. Coalition-building and consolidation of providers is
particularly important in communities with multiple service providers
in order to ensure better coordination of services and maximum use of
funding for services by minimizing the funds used for multiple
administrative overhead costs.
The award of funds to States under this notice will be contingent
upon the completeness of a State's application as described in section
IX, below.
IV. Discussion of Comments Received
We received only two letters of comment in response to the notice
of proposed availability of FY 1998 funds for targeted assistance. Both
letters concerned discrepancies between a State or county's count of
arrivals and the number of arrivals credited to that State or county in
the ORR data base. Where warranted, we have made adjustments to our
data base.
V. Eligible Grantees
Eligible grantees are those agencies of State governments that are
responsible
[[Page 30012]]
for the refugee program under 45 CFR 400.5 in States containing
counties which qualify for FY 1998 targeted assistance awards.
The use of targeted assistance funds for services to Cuban and
Haitian entrants is limited to States which have an approved State plan
under the Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP).
The State agency will submit a single application on behalf of all
county governments of the qualified counties in that State. Subsequent
to the approval of the State's application by ORR, local targeted
assistance plans will be developed by the county government or other
designated entity and submitted to the State.
A State with more than one qualified county is permitted, but not
required, to determine the allocation amount for each qualified county
within the State. However, if a State chooses to determine county
allocations differently from those set forth in this notice, in
accordance with Sec. 400.319, the FY 1998 allocations proposed by the
State must be based on the State's population of refugees who arrived
in the U.S. during the most recent 5-year period. A State may use
welfare data as an additional factor in the allocation of its targeted
assistance funds if it so chooses; however, a State may not assign a
greater weight to welfare data than it has assigned to population data
in its allocation formula. In addition, if a State chooses to allocate
its FY 1998 targeted assistance funds in a manner different from the
formula set forth in this notice, the FY 1998 allocations and
methodology proposed by the State must be included in the State's
application for ORR review and approval.
Applications submitted in response to the final notice are not
subject to review by State and areawide clearinghouses under Executive
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
VI. Qualification and Allocation
A. Qualified Counties
The 47 counties listed as qualified for TAP funding in the FY 1997
final TAP notice will remain qualified for TAP funding in FY 1998. We
have not considered the eligibility of additional counties for FY 1998.
In the FY 1996 targeted assistance final notice (61 FR 36739, July 12,
1996) the ORR Director indicated her intention to determine the
qualification of counties for targeted assistance funds once every
three years, beginning in FY 1996. Therefore, in FY 1999, ORR will
again review data on all counties that could potentially qualify for
TAP funds on the basis of the most current 5-year refugee/entrant
population data available at that time.
B. Allocation Formula
Of the funds available for FY 1998 for targeted assistance,
$35,317,300 is allocated by formula to States for qualified counties
based on the initial placements of refugees, Amerasians, entrants, and
Kurdish asylees in these counties during the 5-year period from FY 1993
through FY 1997 (October 1, 1992--September 30, 1997).
With regard to Havana parolees, we are crediting 3,693 Havana
parolees who arrived in FY 1997 to qualified counties in Florida based
on data the State submitted to ORR during the public comment period. We
have credited FY 1997 Havana parolee arrivals to the remaining
qualified targeted assistance counties based on the counties'
proportion of the 5-year entrant arrival population. For FY 1995 and FY
1996, Florida's Havana parolees for each qualified county are based on
actual data submitted by the State of Florida, while Havana parolees
credited to counties in other States were prorated based on the
counties' proportion of the 5-year entrant population in the U.S. The
allocations in this notice reflect these additional parolee numbers.
VII. Allocations
Table 1 lists the qualified counties, the number of refugee and
entrant arrivals in those counties during the 5-year period from
October 1, 1992--September 30, 1997, the prorated number of Havana
parolees credited to each county based on the county's proportion of
the 5-year entrant population in the U.S., the sum of the third,
fourth, and fifth columns, and the amount of each county's allocation
based on its 5-year total population.
Table 2 provides State totals for targeted assistance allocations.
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
Table 1.--Targeted Assistance Allocations By County: FY 1998
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$35,371,300
Havana Total arrivals total FY 1998
County State Refugees \1\ Entrants parolees \2\ FY 1993-1997 final
allocation
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Maricopa County........................... Arizona..................... 5,919 659 265 6,843 $588,726
Alameda County............................ California.................. 4,029 19 9 4,057 349,037
Fresno County............................. California.................. 4,596 2 0 4,598 395,581
Los Angeles County........................ California.................. 20,708 465 284 21,457 1,846,016
Merced County............................. California.................. 1,067 0 0 1,067 91,798
Orange County............................. California.................. 17,946 27 16 17,989 1,547,653
Sacramento County......................... California.................. 11,461 4 3 11,468 986,630
San Diego County.......................... California.................. 10,780 517 222 11,519 991,018
SAN FRANCISCO AREA........................ California.................. 9,705 85 76 9,866 848,804
San Joaquin County........................ California.................. 1,708 7 3 1,718 147,805
Santa Clara County........................ California.................. 13,706 50 16 13,772 1,184,851
Denver County............................. Colorado.................... 3,384 3 1 3,388 291,481
District of Col........................... District of Col............. 3,858 14 7 3,879 333,723
Broward County............................ Florida..................... 1,131 1,581 524 3,236 278,404
Dade County............................... Florida..................... 9,560 35,152 17,530 62,242 5,354,884
Duval County.............................. Florida..................... 3,430 28 24 3,482 299,568
Palm Beach County......................... Florida..................... 695 1,109 389 2,193 188,671
DeKalb County............................. Georgia..................... 6,052 13 9 6,074 522,566
Fulton County............................. Georgia..................... 5,866 210 97 6,173 531,084
CHICAGO AREA.............................. Illinois.................... 17,240 412 196 17,848 1,535,522
Polk County............................... Iowa........................ 3,301 1 0 3,302 284,082
Jefferson County \3\...................... Kentucky.................... 3,213 555 178 3,946 339,487
Baltimore City............................ Maryland.................... 2,689 3 0 2,692 231,602
Suffolk County............................ Massachusetts............... 5,090 73 106 5,269 453,309
Ingham County............................. Michigan.................... 1,715 320 113 2,148 184,800
[[Page 30013]]
Oakland County............................ Michigan.................... 3,409 8 4 3,421 294,320
Hennepin County........................... Minnesota................... 5,490 3 0 5,493 472,581
Ramsey County............................. Minnesota................... 3,744 10 4 3,758 323,313
St. Louis County.......................... Missouri.................... 6,614 1 0 6,615 569,110
Lancaster County.......................... Nebraska.................... 2,218 36 11 2,265 194,865
Hudson County............................. New Jersey.................. 1,910 827 391 3,128 269,112
Bernalillo County......................... New Mexico.................. 1,322 1,228 559 3,109 267,478
Broome County............................. New York.................... 1,336 16 11 1,363 117,263
Monroe County............................. New York.................... 2,884 517 227 3,628 312,129
NEW YORK CITY AREA........................ New York.................... 69,575 728 479 70,782 6,089,609
Oneida County............................. New York.................... 3,470 1 0 3,471 298,622
Cass County............................... North Dakota................ 1,535 3 1 1,539 132,405
Cuyahoga County........................... Ohio........................ 4,131 6 2 4,139 356,092
PORTLAND OREGON AREA...................... Oregon...................... 10,453 549 228 11,230 966,154
Philadelphia County....................... Pennsylvania................ 6,756 55 32 6,843 588,726
Davidson County........................... Tennessee................... 3,242 54 16 3,312 284,942
DALLAS AREA............................... Texas....................... 11,393 610 264 12,267 1,055,370
Harris County............................. Texas....................... 9,644 169 70 9,883 850,267
FAIRFAX AREA.............................. Virginia.................... 4,336 8 3 4,347 373,987
Richmond County........................... Virginia.................... 1,981 104 46 2,131 183,337
Pierce County............................. Washington.................. 2,715 10 3 2,728 234,699
SEATTLE AREA.............................. Washington.................. 15,388 52 17 15,457 1,329,817
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Total............................... 342,395 46,304 22,436 411,135 35,371,300
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\1\ Refugees include: refugees, Kurdish asylees, and Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam.
\2\ For FY 1997, HP arrivals to the qualifying Florida counties (3693) were based on actual data while HP's in the non-Florida qualifying counties
(1227) were prorated based on the counties' proportion of the five year (FY 1993-1997) entrant population in the U.S. For FY 1996, HP arrivals to the
qualifying Florida counties (6919) were based on actual data while HP's in the non-Florida qualifying counties (1415) were prorated based on the
counties' proportion of the five year (FY 1992-1996) entrant population in the U.S. For FY 1995, HP arrivals to the qualifying Florida counties (7855)
were based on actual data while HP's in the non-Florida qualifying counties (1327) were prorated based on the counties' proportion of the five year
(FY 1991-1995) entrant population in the U.S.
\3\ The allocation for Jefferson, KY will be awarded to the Kentucky Wilson-Fish project.
Table 2.--Targeted Assistance Allocations by State: FY 1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$35,371,300
total FY 1998
State final
allocation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona................................................. $588,726
California.............................................. 8,389,193
Colorado................................................ 291,481
District of Columbia.................................... 333,723
Florida................................................. 6,121,527
Georgia................................................. 1,053,650
Illinois................................................ 1,535,522
Iowa.................................................... 284,082
Kentucky................................................ 339,487
Maryland................................................ 231,602
Massachusetts........................................... 453,309
Michigan................................................ 479,120
Minnesota............................................... 795,894
Missouri................................................ 569,110
Nebraska................................................ 194,865
New Jersey.............................................. 269,112
New Mexico.............................................. 267,478
New York................................................ 6,817,623
North Dakota............................................ 132,405
Ohio.................................................... 356,092
Oregon.................................................. 966,154
Pennsylvania............................................ 588,726
Tennessee............................................... 284,942
Texas................................................... 1,905,637
Virginia................................................ 557,324
Washington.............................................. 1,564,516
---------------
Total............................................... 35,371,300
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-M
VIII. Application and Implementation Process
Under the FY 1998 targeted assistance program, States may apply for
and receive grant awards on behalf of qualified counties in the State.
A single allocation will be made to each State by ORR on the basis of
an approved State application. The State agency will, in turn, receive,
review, and determine the acceptability of individual county targeted
assistance plans.
Pursuant to Sec. 400.210(b), FY 1998 targeted assistance funds must
be obligated by the State agency no later than one year after the end
of the Federal fiscal year in which the Department awarded the grant.
Funds must be liquidated within two years after the end of the Federal
fiscal year in which the Department awarded the grant. A State's final
financial report on targeted assistance expenditures must be received
no later than two years after the end of the Federal fiscal year in
which the Department awarded the grant. If final reports are not
received on time, the Department will deobligate any unexpended funds,
including any unliquidated obligations, on the basis of the State's
last filed report.
The requirements regarding the discretionary portions of the
targeted assistance program will be addressed separately in the grant
announcements for those funds. Applications for these funds are
therefore not subject to provisions contained in this notice but to
other requirements which will be conveyed separately.
IX. Application Requirements
The State application requirements for grants for the FY 1998
targeted assistance formula allocation are as follows:
States that are currently operating under approved management plans
for their FY 1996 or FY 1997 targeted assistance program and wish to
continue to do so for their FY 1998 grants may provide the following in
lieu of resubmitting the full currently approved plan:
The State's application for FY 1998 funding shall provide:
A. Assurance that the State's current management plan for the
administration of the targeted assistance program, as approved by ORR,
will continue to be in full force and effect for the FY 1998 targeted
assistance program, subject to any additional assurances or revisions
required by this notice which are not
[[Page 30014]]
reflected in the current plan. Any proposed modifications to the
approved plan will be identified in the application and are subject to
ORR review and approval. Any proposed changes must address and
reference all appropriate portions of the FY 1996 or FY 1997
application content requirements to ensure complete incorporation in
the State's management plan.
B. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will be used in
accordance with the requirements in 45 CFR 400.
C. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will be used primarily
for the provision of services which are designed to enable refugees to
obtain jobs with less than one year's participation in the targeted
assistance program. States must indicate what percentage of FY 1998
targeted assistance formula allocation funds that are used for services
will be allocated for employment services.
D. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will not be used to
offset funding otherwise available to counties or local jurisdictions
from the State agency in its administration of other programs, e.g.
social services, cash and medical assistance, etc.
E. The amount of funds to be awarded to the targeted county or
counties. If a State with more than one qualifying targeted assistance
county chooses to allocate its targeted assistance funds differently
from the formula allocation for counties presented in the ORR targeted
assistance notice in a fiscal year, its allocations must be based on
the State's population of refugees who arrived in the U.S. during the
most recent 5-year period. A State may use welfare data as an
additional factor in the allocation of targeted assistance funds if it
so chooses; however, a State may not assign a greater weight to welfare
data than it has assigned to population data in its allocation formula.
The application must provide a description of, and supporting data for,
the State's proposed allocation plan, the data to be used, and the
proposed allocation for each county.
F. Assurance that local administrative budgets will not exceed 15%
of the local allocation. Targeted assistance grants are cost-based
awards. Neither a State nor a county is entitled to a certain amount
for administrative costs. Rather, administrative cost requests should
be based on projections of actual needs. States and counties are
strongly encouraged to limit administrative costs to the extent
possible to maximize available funding for services to clients.
Results or Benefits Expected
All applicants must establish targeted assistance proposed
performance goals for each of the 6 ORR performance outcome measures
for each targeted assistance county's proposed service contract(s) or
sub-grants for the next contracting cycle. Proposed performance goals
must be included in the application for each performance measure. The 6
ORR performance measures are: entered employments, cash assistance
reductions due to employment, cash assistance terminations due to
employment, 90-day employment retentions, average wage at placement,
and job placements with available health benefits. Targeted assistance
program activity and progress achieved toward meeting performance
outcome goals are to be reported quarterly on the ORR-6, the
``Quarterly Performance Report.''
States which are currently grantees for targeted assistance funds
should base projected annual outcome goals on the past year's
performance. Proposed targeted assistance outcome goals should reflect
improvement over past performance and strive for continuous improvement
during the project period from one year to another.
Budget and Budget Justification
Provide line item detail and detailed calculations for each budget
object class identified on the Budget Information form (424A). Detailed
calculations must include estimation methods, quantities, unit costs,
and other similar quantitative detail sufficient for the calculation to
be duplicated. The detailed budget must also include a breakout by the
funding sources identified in Block 15 of the SF-424.
Provide a narrative budget justification that describes how the
categorical costs are derived. Discuss the necessity, reasonableness,
and allocability of the proposed costs. The Office of Refugee
Resettlement is particularly interested in the following:
1. A line item budget and justification for State administrative
costs limited to a maximum of 5% of the total award to the State. Each
total budget period funding amount requested must be necessary,
reasonable, and allocable to the project. States that administer the
program locally in lieu of the county, through a mutual agreement with
the qualifying county, may add up to, but not exceed, 10% of the
county's TAP allocation to the State's administrative budget.
2. A line item budget and justification for State administrative
costs limited to a maximum of 5% of the total award to the State. Each
total budget period funding amount requested must be necessary,
reasonable, and allocable to the project.
States administering the program locally: States that have
administered the program locally or provide direct service to the
refugee population (with the concurrence of the county) must submit a
program summary to ORR for prior review and approval. The summary must
include a description of the proposed services; a justification for the
projected allocation for each component including relationship of funds
allocated to numbers of clients served, characteristics of clients,
duration of training and services, and cost per placement. In addition,
the program component summary must describe any ancillary services or
subcomponents such as day care, transportation, or language training.
X. Reporting Requirements
States are required to submit quarterly reports on the outcomes of
the targeted assistance program, using Schedule A and Schedule C of the
new ORR-6 Quarterly Performance Report form which was sent to States in
ORR State Letter 95-35 on November 6, 1995.
XI. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13)
All information collections within this program notice are approved
under the following valid OMB control numbers: 424 (0348-0043); 424A
(0348-0044); 424B (0348-0040); Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (0348-
0046); Uniform Project Description (0970-0139), Expiration date 10/31/
2000. Financial Status Report (SF-269) (0348-0039) and ORR Quarterly
Performance Report (0970-0036).
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 10 hours per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
reviewing the collection of information.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Dated: May 27, 1998.
Lavinia Limon,
Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement.
[FR Doc. 98-14573 Filed 6-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
