Office Of Refugee Resettlement: Data

Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 2003

Discretionary Grants

During FY 2003, ORR continued to fund a wide range of discretionary grants targeting individuals and communities with special needs. Unlike formula social service programs, these funds are awarded competitively and may provide services to refugees who have been in the U.S. for more than 60 months.

Preventive Health

ORR provided continuation funding to 38 projects, awarding grants totaling $4,803,573. Through this program, ORR ensures outreach and access for newly arrived refugees to screening for contagious diseases.

In some areas, interpretation, follow-up treatment, and informational services were also provided through the preventive health funds. State Refugee Coordinators reported a total of 30,663 preventive health screenings completed in FY 2003.

Individual Development Account Program

Individual development accounts (IDAs) are matched savings accounts available for the purchase of specific assets. Under the IDA program, the matching funds, together with the refugee's own savings, are available for purchasing one (or more) of five savings goals: home purchase or renovation; microenterprise capitalization; education or training; purchase of an automobile if necessary to maintain or upgrade employment; and purchase of a computer in support of a refugee's education or training.

Under the ORR-funded program, grantees provide matched savings accounts to refugees whose annual income is less than 200 percent of the poverty level and whose assets, exclusive of a personal residence, are less than $10,000. Grantees that received their initial award in FY 1999 or FY 2000 provide matches of up to $2 for every $1 deposited by a refugee in a savings account. Grantees that received their initial award in FY 2002 provide matches of up to $1 for every $1 deposited by a refugee in a savings account. The total match amount provided may not exceed $2,000 for individuals or $4,000 for households. Upon enrolling in an IDA program, a refugee signs a savings plan agreement. The agreement specifies the savings goal, the match rate, and the amount the refugee will save each month.

The IDA grantees provide basic financial training to the refugees who enroll. The financial training is intended to assist refugees in understanding the American financial system. The IDA grantees also provide training focused on the specific savings goals. The specialized training ensures that refugees receive appropriate information on purchasing and managing their asset purchases. For example, grantees provide training on how to purchase a home and how to develop a business plan for a microenterprise.

In FY 2003,ORR awarded 49 IDA grants; the grants totaled $18,356,438.

Account Activity

From the beginning of the program in FY 1999 through September 30, 2003, 11,853 participants opened accounts. They had the following asset purchase goals:vehicle, 57 percent; home, 23 percent; post-secondary education, 7 percent; computers, 4 percent; and microenterprise, 9 percent.

These participants planned to save approximately $18.2 million. Participants who have completed the program had saved $10.3 million, which has been matched by $18.9 million. Current clients have already saved $4 million, with $7 million in match funds committed to them for purchasing assets.

Asset Purchases

These projects have achieved impressive outcomes from the beginning of the program to September 30, 2003. Since the inception of the program, participants had purchased assets whose value totals $100.3 million.

The assets purchased were 4,163 vehicles (to maintain or upgrade employment), 819 homes, 132 home renovations, 409 computers, 395 post-secondary education courses, and 504 microenterprise assets (for business start-up, expansion, or enhancement).

Participant Characteristics

Participants in the IDA programs came to the U.S. from all over the world. Most came from Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union (42 percent), while Africans (24 percent) were the next largest group, followed by participants from Asia (18 percent), the Middle East (9 percent), and Latin America (6 percent). The place of origin was not reported for the rest of the participants.

IDA participant households varied in important ways. Most of the participants (99 percent) lived in urban settings and most (62 percent) were male. At the time of entry into the program, 60 percent of the IDA participants were married, while 30 percent were single and ten percent were widowed, separated or divorced.

IDA participant resources also varied. Most were employed, full-time or more (72 percent), part-time (20 percent), or working and in school (six percent). About 23 percent had monthly incomes of less than $1,000, 55 percent had between $1,000 and $1,999, 16 percent had between $2,000 and $2,999, and 5 percent had $3,000 or more (for one percent, income was not reported). Of those whose educational level was reported, 36 percent had more than a 12^th grade education, 27 percent had 12^th grade or equivalent (diploma or GED), and 26 percent had less than 12 years of education.

ORR awarded the following grants in FY 2003:

International Rescue Committee, Arizona, $377,441
Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission, Fresno, California, $250,000
Long Beach Community Services Development Corporation, Long Beach, California, $400,000
Community Based Education and Development, Los Angeles, California, $250,000
El Rescate, Los Angeles, California, $311,306
El Rescate, Los Angeles, California, $335,979
Lao Family Community Development, Inc., Oakland, California, $400,000
Opening Doors, Inc., Sacramento, California, $240,000
Catholic Charities/Diocese of San Diego, San Diego, California, $852,600
International Rescue Committee, San Diego, California, $523,416
International Rescue Committee, San Jose, California, $300,000
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, San Jose, California, $115,000
Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation, Inc., Stockton, California, $200,000
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Miami, Florida, $400,000
Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, $1,000,000
Broward County Board of County Commissioners, Oakland Park, Florida, $215,210
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida, $318,960
Lutheran Ministries of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, $400,000
Georgia Mutual Assistance Association Consortium, Decatur, Georgia, $250,000
Mountain States Group, Inc., Boise, Idaho, $388,690
Goodcity NFP, Chicago, Illinois, $133,333
Institute for Social and Economic Development, Coralville, Iowa, $500,000
Western Kentucky Refugee Mutual Assistance Association, Bowling Green, Kentucky, $150,000
Jewish Family and Vocational Services, Louisville, Kentucky, $449,000
International Institute of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, $350,000
Jewish Vocational Service, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, $200,000
Cambodian American League of Lowell, Inc., Lowell, Massachusetts, $250,000
International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, $576,000
Lincoln Action Program, Lincoln, Nebraska, $100,000
International Institute of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, $227,409
Chinatown Manpower Project, New York, New York, $253,333
International Rescue Committee, Dallas, Texas, $300,000
New York Association for New Americans, New York, New York, $800,000
Worker Ownership Resource Center, Inc., Rochester, New York, $160,000
Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, Syracuse, New York, $225,253
Jewish Family Services, Columbus, Ohio, $900,000
Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Portland, Oregon, $260,952
Mercy Enterprise Corporation, Portland, Oregon, $220,487
Women's Opportunities Resource Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, $200,000
Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, $389,225
World Relief, Nashville, Tennessee, $400,006
World Relief, Nashville, Tennessee, $174,713
Alliance for Multicultural Community Services, Houston, Texas, $1,261,620
Ethiopian Community Development Council, Arlington, Virginia, $553,500
Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Fairfax, Virginia, $120,266
Boat People S.O.S., Falls Church, Virginia, $250,000
Diocese of Olympia, Seattle, Washington, $356,739
Wisconsin Community Action Program Association, Madison, Wisconsin, $666,000
Lao Family Community, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, $400,000

Targeted Assistance Discretionary Grants

ORR awarded 21 grants totaling $4,915,540 to States to implement special employment services not implemented with formula social services or with TAG formula grants.

Florida ($375,000) for interpretation/ translation, community outreach, employment counseling, and case management.
Maryland ($100,000) for orientation and acculturation and for English and civics courses for women between the age of 18 and 80.
Louisiana ($101,000) for computer-assisted language learning and literacy.
Michigan ($200,000) for community orientation, social and employment services, and vocational ESL.
Minnesota ($250,000) for community services for the deaf, academic English Language Training (ELT) for medical career advancement, nursing assistant training, ELT exchange programs for youth, and community orientation for Somalis.
Missouri ($250,000) for pre-literate refugee women in St. Louis and Kansas City for employment and supportive services.
Illinois ($250,000) for parenting and domestic violence prevention, ESL classes for adults and for children after school, and electronic assembly training classes.
California ($950,706) for employment assistance for youth and parents, family violence prevention, family day care and literacy training, licensed vocational nurse training, and employment and placement services.
North Carolina ($125,000) for ESL and employment services, health care, and youth mentoring.
Texas ($384,356) for family violence prevention, Sudanese MAA support groups on women issues, and ESL classes.
Ohio ($91,000) to assist eligible refugees, particularly women, find work within a year after arrival.
Wisconsin ($510,478) for employment training, microenterprise development, case management, parenting assistance, tutoring and ESL after school for at-risk youth, mental health assessment, case management, counseling/referral, family violence prevention, and intervention services.
Connecticut ($175,000) to assist low-and pre-literate homebound women to gain skills for employment, through a collaborative effort of a wide spectrum of community-based organizations.
Maine ($250,000) proposes to offer employment, case management, retention and job counseling to its target population.
Washington ($250,000) proposes a partnership to address special employment needs of refugees, through intensive case management, employment and naturalization services.
Pennsylvania ($113,000) will address special employment needs of refugee women and secondary migrants in two distinct geographical areas - Central and Western Pennsylvania.
South Dakota ($100,000) A Wilson/Fish agency, Lutheran Social Services is the only provider in the State. They intend to serve pre-literate women and the elderly (for citizenship services), and do job upgrades for 6 months for higher-skilled refugees who are working but barely self-sufficient.
Idaho ($100,000) will address the top and bottom of the job search scale-homebound women for first employment and job upgrade support for refugees who are working.
Arizona ($150,000) program is proposed for Tucson to address the gaps in services to eligible refugees. The purpose is for refugees to gain employment through supportive services, i.e. ESL skills training.
New Jersey ($125,000) will address the current employment shift from manufacturing industries in the State to better prepare clients for long-term employment and self-sufficiency.
Nevada ($65,000) proposes to provide employment training, upgrading and follow-up services and recertification assistance to eligible and highly skilled clients in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Funds will be specifically targeted to Cuban entrant border clients who arrive directly in Las Vegas without any prior resettlement services and RAP referrals from the newly opened local office of ECDC.

Technical Assistance

ORR supports the work of its grantees in various program areas through several technical assistance cooperative agreements with organizations qualified to advance the field, improve program achievement and develop organizational capacity to improve performance. ORR's intent through this technical assistance support is to equip grantees with the best technical help for continuous improvement in programs, in their capacity to serve refugees, and in their impact on refugee lives and economic independence.

Spring Institute for International Studies ($299,991) for English Language Training.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service ($299,918) for Employment Services
Mercy Housing ($200,000) for housing for refugees
Institute for Social and Economic Development ( $500,000) for self-sufficiency programs, including the Individual Development Account program, the Microenterprise Development program, and the Employment Subsidy program
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ($500,000) for Child Welfare Services
Institute for Social and Economic Development ( $300,000) for ethnic community self-help organizations.
National Crime Prevention Council ($395,544)
International Rescue Committee ($480,000) for ethnic community self-help organizations.
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., ($300,000) for a hotline for asylees seeking assistance.

Microenterprise Development Program

In FY 2003, ORR awarded 29 microenterprise grants. The total funds awarded to develop and administer microenterprise programs were $5,870,661. ORR also awarded one grant to provide technical assistance to ORR microenterprise grantees.

The microenterprise development projects are intended for recently arrived refugees on public assistance, refugees who possess few personal assets, and refugees who lack a credit history that meets commercial lending standards. The projects are also intended for refugees who have been in the U.S. for several years and wish to supplement salaried income. Microenterprise projects typically include components of training and technical assistance in business skills and business management, credit assistance, and administration of revolving loan funds and loan loss reserve funds.

Since the program's inception in September 1991, ORR has awarded 87 microenterprise development grants (20 four-year grants, 56 three-year grants, 11 two-year grants) to 45 agencies. The programs currently operate in 20 different States across the country, from California to Maine and from Florida to Washington State. The agencies are located in both rural and urban settings, and in areas with both high and low concentrations of refugees.

These projects have achieved the following outcomes from the beginning of the program to September 30, 2003.

Client Businesses

Since September 1991, 2,291 businesses have been assisted under this program. Of these, 1,682 were new business starts, 307 were expansions of existing businesses, and 302 represented strengthening or stabilization of existing businesses. The types of businesses helped are as diverse as the people who operated them. They include small farming, trucking, babysitting, retail, hot dog vendors, piano teachers, and music producers.

Loan Funds

Since 1991, 978 businesses served by the ORR microenterprise programs obtained $8,177,837 in business financing. This represents an average loan amount of $8,362. Of this amount, ORR provided $3,751,511 in loan capital, which leveraged the additional $4,426,326 from other sources. The default rate has been less than five percent. Lending has increased over the life of the program.

Client Characteristics

Nearly 10,131 refugees have participated in training or technical assistance. At the time of entry into training, 37.5 percent had been in the U.S. less than 2 years; 33.3 percent had been in the U.S. 2-5 years; and 29.1 percent had been in the U.S. over 5 years. About 65 percent were competent in English, while 35 percent had little or no English language skills.

Other characteristics of refugee entrepreneurs include the following. Thirty-seven percent of the participants were women and 63 percent were men. Over 64 percent of participants were between 31 and 50 years of age. Married clients equaled 67 percent and singles equaled 33 percent.

Cost Analysis

There are three measures of cost analysis that are used to determine the effectiveness of the refugee microenterprise program-cost per business assisted, cost per job created, and cost per employment outcome. These measures are calculated by dividing the amount of operational funding by the number of businesses assisted, jobs created, or employment outcomes. Excluding loan funds, the total amount of ORR operational funding expended for these microenterprise projects was $21,059,225 over the eleven-year period.For 2,291 businesses assisted, this represents an average cost-per-business start or expansion of $9,192.

The total number of jobs created by new and expanding/strengthening businesses (including the business owner) was 2,234,[1] which translates to $9,427 per job created. Finally, of the businesses assisted, 2,026 are still in operation-an 88 percent survival rate.

ORR awarded the following grants in FY 2003:

Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission, Fresno, California, $241,487
Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment, Los Angeles, California, $200,000
Opening Doors, Inc., Sacramento, California, $250,000
International Rescue Committee, San Diego, California, $246,593
Church World Service, Miami, Florida, $261,447
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida, $100,000
Partnership for Community Action, Decatur, Georgia, $100,435
Refugee Women's Network, Decatur, Georgia, $175,000
Mountain States Group, Inc., Boise, Idaho, $198,334
Jewish Vocational Service and Employment Center, Chicago, Illinois, $228,207
Institute for Social and Economic Development, Coralville, Iowa, $189,000
Coastal Enterprises, Inc., Wiscasset, Maine, $155,136
International Institute of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, $180,000
Neighborhood Development Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, $150,000
International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, $238,272
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Camden, Pennsauken, New Jersey, $198,989
Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency Team, Albuquerque, New Mexico, $200,000
Business Outreach Center Network, Inc., Brooklyn, New York, $197,440
New York Association for New Americans, Inc., New York, New York, $325,000
Jewish Family Services, Columbus, Ohio, $300,000
World Relief, Nashville, Tennessee, $200,000
Champlain Valley O.E.O., Inc., Burlington, Vermont, $143,593
Ethiopian CommunityDevelopment Council, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, $257,896
Diocese of Olympia, Inc., Seattle, Washington, $221,885
Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs, Spokane, Washington, $140,725
Wisconsin Community Action Program Association, Madison, Wisconsin, $400,000
Hmong/American Friendship Association, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, $78,770
ADVOCAP, Inc., Oshkosh, Wisconsin, $105,000

ORR Standing Announcement

In FY 2001 ORR, seeking to assure that refugees are welcomed in their U.S. communities of resettlement with sufficient services to begin their new lives, revised and reissued its standing announcement with the following categories: Category 1 (Preferred Communities), Category 2 (Unanticipated Arrivals), Category 3 (Services for Arriving Refugees with Special Conditions), and Category 4 (Ethnic Community Self-Help).

[1]Job creation data was not collected for 1991 and 1992 grantees.Data for these two periods were created by extrapolating from the data for the 1994-2000 grantees.