01-18142. Refugee Resettlement Program; Availability of Formula Allocation Funding for FY 2001 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 2001 targeted assistance grants to States for services to refugees in local areas of high need.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces the availability of funds and award procedures for FY 2001 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.

This notice continues the eligibility of those 50 counties located in 29 States that previously qualified for and received targeted assistance program (TAP) grants beginning in FY 1999 as a result of the three-year qualification process. The FY 2001 TAP formula allocations are based on the same formula as in FY 1999, updated to reflect arrivals during the five-year period from FY 1996 through FY 2000. The final notice reflects an adjustment in final allocations to States as a result of additional arrival data.

DATES:

The closing date for submission of applications is August 20, 2001. See Part VIII of this notice for more information on submitting applications. Applications postmarked after the closing date will be classified as late.

Announcement Availability:

This notice is published on the ORR website at: www.acf.dhhs.gov/​programs/​orr

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gayle Smith, Director, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency, [phone]; email:[e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A notice of proposed allocations to States of FY 2001 funds for targeted assistance was published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2001 (66 FR 21229).

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 2001 funds for the targeted assistance program (TAP) as part of the FY 2001 appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, as enacted into law by section 1(a)(1) of Pub. L. No. 106-554).

The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will use the $49,477,000 in targeted assistance funds as follows:

$44,529,300 will be allocated to States under the five-year population formula, as set forth in this notice.

$4,947,700 (10 percent of the total) will be used to award discretionary grants to States under separate continuation grant awards.

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. Use of Funds

Targeted assistance funding must be used to assist refugee families to achieve economic independence in accordance with regulations at 45 CFR Part 400. The term “refugee” includes persons who meet all requirements of 45 CFR 400.43 (as amended by 65 FR 15409 (March 22, 2000)) and 45 CFR 401.2 (Cuban and Haitian entrants). 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. Under 45 CFR 400.316, a State may provide the same scope of services under targeted assistance as may be provided to refugees under 45 CFR 400.154 and 45 CFR 400.155, with the exception of 45 CFR 400.155(h). 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.

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 (five years). Specifically, States may not provide citizenship preparation services to refugees who have been in the United States for more than 60 months (five years) using targeted assistance funds.

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 accordance with 45 CFR 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.

Refugees who are participating in TAP-funded or social services-funded employment services or have accepted employment are eligible for child care services. For an employed refugee, TAP-funded child care should be limited to one year after the refugee becomes employed. States and counties, however, are expected to use child 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 child care.

Reflecting section 412(a)(1)(A)(iv) of the INA, States must “ensure that women have the same opportunities as men to participate in training and instruction.” In addition, in accordance with 45 CFR 400.317, targeted assistance 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.

In accordance with 45 CFR 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 that 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.

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 Mutual Assistance Associations (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 VIII below.

IV. Discussion of Comments Received

ORR did not receive any comments in response to the notice of proposed FY 2001 allocations to States for targeted assistance.

V. Eligible Grantees

Eligible grantees are those agencies of State governments that are responsible for the refugee program under 45 CFR 400.5 in States containing counties that qualify for FY 2001 targeted assistance awards. Replacement designees must also adhere to the regulations at Subpart L of 45 CFR part 400 regarding formula allocation grants for targeted assistance, if the State authorized the replacement designee appointed by the Director to act as its agent in applying for and receiving targeted assistance funds. If a State withdraws from all or part of the program components with the prior approval of the Director and a Wilson/Fish alternative program (section 412(e)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) is approved to provide the program components relinquished by the State, the Wilson/Fish grantee may apply for and receive targeted assistance in lieu of the State.

The Director of ORR determined the eligibility of counties for inclusion in the FY 2001 targeted assistance program on the basis of the method described in section VI of this notice.

The use of targeted assistance funds for services to Cuban and Haitian entrants is limited to States that 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 that are 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 the final notice, in accordance with 45 CFR 400.319, the FY 2001 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 five-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 2001 targeted assistance funds in a manner different from the formula set forth in this final notice, the FY 2001 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 this final notice are not subject to review by State and area-wide clearinghouses under Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”

VI. Qualification and Allocation

A. Qualification

The Director of ORR will determine the qualification of counties for targeted assistance once every three years, as stated in the FY 1999 notice of proposed availability of targeted assistance allocations to States which was published in the Federal Register on March 10, 1999 (64 FR 11927). Since ORR determined the qualification of counties for targeted assistance in FY 1999, those qualifying counties determined eligible in FY 1999 and listed in this notice as qualified to apply for FY 2001 TAP funding will remain qualified for TAP funding through FY 2001 on the basis of the most current five-year refugee/entrant arrival data. ORR does not plan to consider the eligibility of additional counties for TAP funding until FY 2002, when ORR will again review data on all counties that could potentially qualify for TAP funds.

B. Allocation Formula

Of the funds available for FY 2001 for targeted assistance, $44,529,300 will be allocated by formula to States for qualified counties based on the initial placements of refugees, Amerasians, entrants (including Havana parolees), and Kurdish asylees in these counties during the five-year period from FY 1996 through FY 2000 (October 1, 1995-September 30, 2000). These data are available in the ORR Refugee Data System.

The arrival data used as the basis for targeted assistance formula allocations do not take asylees or secondary migrants who have received services into account. We are unable to include secondary migrants in the 5-year population because secondary migration is not currently tracked at the county level. We are unable to include asylees, except for Kurdish asylees who were processed on Guam, because information from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) on grants of asylum are available by zip code of the asylee. Unfortunately, zip code assignments do not correspond to county designations. Many zip codes cross county lines and in some cases, State lines. Therefore, based on available data, ORR is currently unable to credit numbers of asylees to counties.

ORR plans to remedy this by revising the ORR-11 and seeking OMB approval to capture numbers of asylees and secondary migrants accessing services at the county level. This revision to the ORR-11 will allow States to report on numbers of asylees and secondary migrants receiving services at the county level. ORR will adjust the targeted assistance 5-year population based on these data.

States are advised that ORR expects that these revisions to the ORR-11, once implemented, will require States to track asylees and secondary migrants who receive services by name, social security number, alien registration number, county of initial residence/resettlement, and county of current residence in order to transmit this information to ORR in the future.

With regard to Havana parolees, in the absence of reliable data on the State-by-State resettlement of this population, we are crediting 49,507 Havana parolees who arrived in the U.S. during the past 5 years according to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) using the following methodology. For FY 1999 and FY 2000, we credited the qualifying counties with Havana parolees according to arrival numbers supplied to us by the Parolee Orientation Program funded by the International Affairs Office of the INS. For FY 1996 through 1998, the Havana parolees for each qualifying county in Florida are based on actual arrival data submitted by the State of Florida; Havana parolees credited to qualifying counties in other States were prorated based on the counties' proportion of the three-year (FY 1996 through FY 1998) entrant population in the U.S.

VII. Allocations

Table 1 lists the qualifying counties; the number of refugee (column 3) and entrant (column 4) arrivals in those counties during the five-year period from October 1, 1994—September 30, 1999; the number of Havana parolees (column 5) credited to each county during this period, the total number of arrivals; and the final amount of each county's allocation based on its five-year arrival population.

Note 1.:

—Table 1. Final Targeted Assistance Allocations By County: FY 2001 is attached. Table 2.—State totals for final FY 2001 targeted assistance allocations is attached.

VIII. Application and Implementation Process

States that are currently operating under approved management plans for their FY 1999 targeted assistance program and wish to continue to do so for their FY 2001 grants may provide the following in lieu of resubmitting the full currently approved plan:

The State's application for FY 2001 funding shall provide:

• Assurance that the State's current management plan for the administration of the targeted assistance program, as approved by ORR in FY 1999, will continue to be in full force and effect for the FY 2001 targeted assistance program, subject to any additional assurances or revisions required by this notice which are not 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, e.g., if the State assumes local administration of the program or if the State chooses to determine county allocations differently. Any proposed changes must address and reference all appropriate portions of the FY 1999 application content requirements to ensure complete incorporation in the State's management plan.
• A line item budget and justification for State administrative costs limited to a maximum of five percent of the total award to the State. Each total budget period funding amount requested must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable to the project.
• Targeted assistance performance goals as described under Section IX.

IX. Results or Benefits Expected

The applicant describes in quantifiable terms the results and benefits to be derived. For example, all applicants must establish targeted assistance proposed performance goals for each of the six 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 six 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.”

X. Reporting Requirements

States will be required to submit quarterly reports on the outcomes of the targeted assistance program, using the same format that States use for reporting on refugee social services formula grants: Schedule A and Schedule C, pages 1 and 2 of the ORR-6 Quarterly Performance Report form (OMB #0970-0036). States are also required to file the Financial Status Report (SF-269) semi-annually.

XI. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13)

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 information. The following information collections are included in this notice of final allocations: OMB Control No. 0970-0139, ACF UNIFORM PROJECT DESCRIPTION (UPD) which expires 12/31/2003, and OMB Control No. 0970-0036, ORR Quarterly Performance Report (QPR) which expires 7/31/02. 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.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 93.584

Dated: July 13, 2001.

Carmel Clay-Thompson,

Acting Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Table 1.—Final Targeted Assistance Allocations By County: FY 2001

County	State	Refugees 1	Entrants	Havana parolees 2	Total arrivals FY 1996—2000	Total FY 2001 final allocation
1 Maricopa County	Arizona	9,674	685	401	10,760	$1,407.140
2 Fresono County	California	968	2	1	971	126,982
3 Los Angeles County	California	13,149	124	380	13,653	1,785,447
4 Orange County	California	4,713	12	23	4,748	620,874
5 Sacramento County	California	10,652	2	6	10,660	1,394,032
6 San Diego County	California	5,826	141	280	6,247	816,885
7 San Francisco	California	5,028	13	33	5,074	663,479
8 Santa Clara County	California	6,317	43	31	6,391	835,776
9 Yolo County	California	1,224	0	3	1,227	160,399
10 Denver County	Colorado	2,795	0	5	2,800	366,100
11 District of Columbia	District of Columbia	2,941	5	14	2,960	387,106
12 Broward County	Florida	617	1,285	1,274	3,176	415,331
13 Dade County	Florida	7,012	14,460	40,333	61,805	8,082,345
14 Duval County	Florida	4,641	18	59	4,718	616,981
15 Hillsborough County	Florida	1,605	329	1,312	3,246	424,485
16 DeKalb County	Georgia	8,685	10	8	8,703	1,138,061
17 Fulton County	Georgia	4,644	84	134	4,862	635,810
18 Cook/Kane	Illinois	14,730	182	272	15,184	1,985,637
19 Polk County	Iowa	3,571	1	2	3,574	467,378
20 Jefferson County 3	Kentucky	3,765	1,576	487	5,828	762,152
21 Hampden Coutny	Massachusetts	2,295	9	5	2,309	301,900
22 Suffolk County	Massachusetts	4,154	57	49	4,260	557,120
23 Ingham County	Michigan	1,911	718	227	2,856	373,515
24 Kent County	Michigan	3,125	190	29	3,344	437,299
25 Hennepin County	Minnesota	7,891	5	4	7,900	1,033,036
26 Ramsey County	Minnesota	1,680	2	5	1,687	220,627
27 City of St. Louis	Missouri	9,429	1	1	9,431	1,233,244
28 Lancaster County	Nebraska	2,302	34	20	2,356	308,098
29 Clark County 4	Nevada	1,761	1,163	698	3,622	473,655
30 Hudson County	New Jersey	787	257	868	1,912	250,035
31 Bernalilo County	New Mexico	880	695	647	2,222	290,575
32 Monroe County	New York	2,526	643	358	3,527	461,232
33 New York	New York	32,361	355	481	33,197	4,341,227
34 Oneida County	New York	4,781	0	0	4,781	625,219
35 Guilford County	North Carolina	2,508	5	15	2,528	330,591
36 Cass County	North Dakota	2,043	0	2	2,045	267,428
37 Cuyahoga County	Ohio	3,335	6	7	3,348	437,833
38 Mulnomah	Oregon	11,076	734	317	12,127	1,585,841
39 Erie County	Pennsylvania	1,989	0	0	1,989	260,105
40 Philadelphia County	Pennsylvania	4,200	26	39	4,265	557,691
41 Minnehaha County 5	South Dakota	1,729	0	0	1,729	226,104
42 Davidson County	Tennessee	3,180	54	45	3,279	428,754
43 Dallas/Tarrant	Texas	10,636	333	406	11,375	1,487,516
44 Harris County	Texas	8,039	508	118	8,665	1,133,104
45 Davis/Salt Lake	Utah	5,569	1	3	5,573	728,727
46 Fairfax County	Virginia	3,285	4	9	3,298	431,297
48 City of Richmond	Virginia	2,403	39	59	2,501	327,100
8 King/Snohomish	Washington	12,529	41	34	12,604	1,648,260
49 Pierce County	Washington	1,982	3	5	1,990	260,251
50 Spokane County	Washington	3,207	0	1	3,208	419,516
Total		266,150	24,855	49,507	340,512	44,529,300
1 Includes refugees, Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam, and Kurdish asylees from Iraq. Does not include other asylees or secondary migrants.
2 For FY 1999 and FY 2000, the Havana parolees for all counties are based on actual data. Fro previous years, the Havana parolees of Florida counties are based on actual data, while parolees from other counties are prorated based on each county's proportion of the three-year (FY 1996-1998) entrant population.
3 The allocation for Jefferson County, Kentucky will be awarded to the Kentucky Wilson/Fish project.
4 The allocation for Clark County, Nevada will be awarded to the Nevada Wilson/Fish project.
5 The allocation for Minnehaha County, South Dakota will be awarded to the South Dakota Wilson/Fish project.

Table 2.—Final Targeted Assistance Allocations by State: FY 2001

State	Total FY 2001 allocation
Arizona	$1,407,140
California	6,403,874
Colorado	366,100
District of Columbia	387,106
Florida	9,539,142
Georgia	1,773,871
Illinois	1,985,637
Iowa	467,378
Kentucky	762,152
Massachusetts	859,020
Michigan	810,814
Minnesota	1,253,663
Missouri	1,233,244
Nebraska	308,098
Nevada	473,655
New Jersey	250,035
New Mexico	290,575
New York	5,427,678
North Carolina	330,591
North Dakota	267,428
Ohio	437,833
Oregon	1,585,841
Pennsylvania	817,796
South Dakota	226,104
Tennessee	428,754
Texas	2,620,620
Utah	728,727
Virginia	758,397
Washington	2,328,027
Total	44,529,300