Office Of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Guidance & Reporting Forms

ANNUAL OUTCOME GOAL PLAN

FY 2009
INSTRUCTIONS

General Overview

Thank you for your commitment to the Annual Outcome Goal Plan process as we seek to continuously improve services provided to refugees through the resettlement program! The following provides detailed instructions for completing the FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan: Performance Goals and Actuals and Performance Narrative. For your convenience, individualized forms are provided to all State Refugee Coordinators. On these individualized forms, FY 2008 Goal figures have been entered by Office of Refugee Resettlement staff using data provided by your program on last year’s Annual Outcome Goal Plan form. For each data point, please review the entered information and make any necessary changes.

For FY 2008 Actuals and FY 2009 Goals, consult the following instructions. When setting FY 2009 Goals, States/Wilson Fish agencies should establish targets aimed at improving upon the FY 2008 Actuals while also being realistic about possible outcomes.

A Final Completion Checklist is included for your convenience. This is a tool for your use to ensure proper completion of the Annual Outcome Goal Plan. It is for your use only and does not need to be submitted with your FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan: Performance Goals and Actuals and Performance Narrative.

The completed FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan: Performance Goals and Actuals and Performance Narrative should be submitted to GPRA@ACF.hhs.gov, via email by November 15, 2008.

If you have any questions not addressed by these instructions, please contact Olivia Byler at (202) 260-7143 or by email at Olivia.Byler@acf.hhs.gov.

1. Caseload


	Match Grant Enrollees: States/Wilson Fish Agencies that provide English language instruction to Match Grant enrollees through their employment services should not count these participants in their caseload.

In the shaded fields under FY 2008 Actual, enter the unduplicated number of active, employable adults enrolled in employability services by category of assistance. The form will automatically calculate the total caseload by adding the number of refugees in each category of assistance. Enrolled refugees receiving neither Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) nor Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) should be included in the category No Federal Cash Assistance. Refugees receiving only state cash assistance should also be included in this category.

The caseload consists only of those refugees actively receiving employability services as defined under 45 CFR 400.154 (a) (c) (d) and (e). The full text of these sections can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/45cfr400_00.htm.

In the shaded fields under FY 2009 Goal, enter the proposed unduplicated number of active, employable adults to be enrolled in employability services by category of assistance.

2. Entered Employment


	*Full- vs. Part-time*: Full-time employment is considered any job where a refugee works 35 hours per week or more. Part-time is any job less than 35 hours per week.

In the shaded fields under FY 2008 Actual, enter the unduplicated number of refugees entered employment by category of assistance and employment type. The form will automatically calculate the total number of refugees entered employment by adding the number of refugees in each category of assistance and employment type. Enrolled refugees receiving neither Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) nor Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) should be included in the category No Federal Cash Assistance Entered Employment.

In the shaded fields under FY 2009 Goal, enter the proposed number of refugees to enter employment by category of assistance and employment type. As part of the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) reported to Congress, the Office of Refugee Resettlement has committed to specific increases based on a given program’s performance for this measure. For State/Wilson Fish programs with FY 2008 Actual entered employment rates of less than 50%, the FY 2009 Goal should reflect at least a 5% increase over the Actual. For programs with FY 2008 Actual of more than 50% but less than 85%, a 3% increase is acceptable.

3. Federal Cash Assistance Terminations


	*Termination Rate*: The termination rate is automatically calculated by dividing total federal cash assistance terminations by the total number of TANF and RCA recipients entered employment.

In the shaded fields under FY 2008 Actual, enter the unduplicated number of refugees terminating federal cash assistance due to earnings from employment by category of assistance. The form will automatically calculate the total number of refugees terminating assistance by adding the number of refugees in each category of assistance.

In the shaded fields under FY 2009 Goal, enter the proposed unduplicated number of refugees to terminate federal cash assistance due to earnings from employment by category of assistance.

4. Federal Cash Assistance Reductions

In the shaded fields under FY 2008 Actual, enter the unduplicated number of refugees reducing federal cash assistance due to earnings from employment by category of assistance. The form will automatically calculate the total number of refugees reducing assistance by adding the number of refugees in each category of assistance.

In the shaded fields under FY 2009 Goal, enter the proposed unduplicated number of refugees to reduce federal cash assistance due to earnings from employment by category of assistance.

5. Entered Full Time Employment Offering Health Benefits


	*Offered vs. Accepted*: Full-time jobs offering health benefits are counted regardless of whether or not the refugee chooses to accept the health coverage.

In the shaded fields under FY 2008 Actual, by category of assistance, enter the unduplicated number of refugees entered full-time employment where health benefits are offered within the first six months of employment. The form will automatically calculate the total number of refugees entered full-time employment where health benefits are offered.

In the shaded fields under FY 2009 Goal, by category of assistance, enter the proposed unduplicated number of refugees to enter full-time employment where health benefits are offered within the first six months of employment.

6. Average Hourly Wage of Refugees Entering Full Time Employment


	*Weighting the Average*: ORR has refined the calculation of the aggregate national average wage by weighting each state average by that state’s number of entered employments.

In the shaded fields under FY 2008 Actual, enter the average wage at placement for all refugees entered full-time employment.

In the shaded fields under FY 2009 Goal, enter the proposed average wage at placement for all refugees to enter full-time employment.

7. 90-Day Retention Rate


	*Measuring Retention*: The retention rate is a measure of retention of employment – not necessarily retention of a specific job. As long as the refugee remains employed in a job a quarter after employment entry, it is considered a retention even if it is not the same job started during the previous baseline quarter.

For the FY 2008 Actual, in the shaded fields under the title “Unduplicated # of Entered Employments,” enter the unduplicated number of entered employments by quarter for 4^th quarter FY 2007 through 3^rd quarter FY 2008.

In the shaded fields under the title “Unduplicated # of Retentions”, enter the unduplicated number of retentions by quarter for 1^st quarter FY 2008 through 4^th quarter FY 2008. The form will automatically calculate the FY 2008 Actual 90-Day Retention Rate in the row above entitled “Percentage” by dividing the total retentions by the total entered employments from the 90-Day Retention Rate Calculator (7a).

In the shaded field under FY 2009 Goal, enter the proposed retention percentage goal.

8. Office of Refugee Resettlement Funding


	*Using Discretion over Discretionary Funds*: All funds expended in FY 2008 or proposed for FY 2009 from Discretionary Grants that have employment outcomes should be included in that year’s Discretionary Grant Funding line in Section 8: Office of Refugee Resettlement Funding. Those without employment outcomes should not be included.

In the shaded fields, enter the total Office of Refugee Resettlement funds, by category, for employment services as defined by CFR 400.154 (a) ONLY (“including development of a family self-sufficiency plan and an individual employability plan, world-of-work and job orientation, job clubs, job workshops, job development, referral to job opportunities, job search, and job placement follow up”) liquidated in FY 2008, regardless of the year in which those funds were received. The form will automatically calculate the total funding expended in FY 2008 and the cost per placement.

In the shaded fields, enter the total, by category, of Office of Refugee Resettlement funds for employment services as defined by CFR 400.154 (a) ONLY proposed to be liquidated in FY 2009. The form will automatically calculate the total funding proposed to be expended in FY 2009 and the proposed cost per placement.

Agency Point of Contact

In the shaded fields, enter the name, title, and contact information of the agency staff person best equipped to respond to questions regarding your Annual Outcome Goal Plan submission.

Performance Narrative

Using the shaded fields in the attached Performance Narrative, respond to each of the ten questions as thoroughly as possible. Information provided in the Performance Narrative is important for understanding not only an individual program’s performance but in analyzing overall trends affecting programs nationwide.

Deadline

The completed FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan: Performance Goals and Actuals and Performance Narrative should be submitted to GPRA@ACF.hhs.gov, via email by November 15, 2008.

Thank you for your participation!

Attachments:

FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan Instructions (doc 113KB)
FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan Performance Goals and Actuals Sample (xls 70KB)
FY 2009 Annual Outcome Goal Plan Performance Narrative (doc 37KB)