I.  SUMMARY

This notice establishes the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 formula allocations to States for refugee social services under the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP).  The final notice reflects allocations to States adjusted for FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008 refugee arrivals data (October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2008) and from data submitted to ORR by States. 

II.  APPLICATION

A State must have an approved Annual Services Plan, which is part of the OMB-approved ORR-6 Performance Report, OMB No. 0970-0036, developed on the basis of a local consultative process, as required by 45 C.F.R. 400.11(b)(2), in order to use the formula social services funds described in this final notice.  In order to use formula social services funds for Cuban and Haitian entrants, a State must indicate in its State Plan that Cuban/Haitian entrants will be served and must have an approved Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP).

III.  ELIGIBLE POPULATIONS

Eligibility for refugee social services includes refugees, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, certain Amerasians from Viet Nam who are admitted to the U.S. as immigrants, certain Amerasians from Viet Nam who are U.S. citizens, and victims of a severe form of trafficking who receive certification or eligibility letters from ORR, and certain other specified family members. In addition, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants may receive social services for a limited period of time. See 45 C.F.R. 400.43 and ORR State Letter No. 00-17 on eligibility for ORR programs. Also, see ORR State Letter No. 01-13 on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, dated May 3, 2001, as modified by ORR State Letter No.  02-01, January 4, 2002, and ORR State Letter No.  04-12, June 18, 2004, and ORR State Letters No. 08-04, No. 08-06 and No. 09- 17 on Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant eligibility. ORR State Letters may be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/orr_policy.htm. ORR regulations under the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) may be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/orr_regulations.htm.

The term “refugee,” used in this notice for convenience, is intended to encompass all such additional persons who are eligible to participate in refugee program services.

IV.  SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Amounts for Allocation

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has $154,005,000 in FY 2009 refugee social service funds, as appropriated under the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-8).

  The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 reads as follows:

“For necessary expenses for refugee and entrant assistance activities authorized by section 414 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and section 501 of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980, for carrying out section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, for costs associated with the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children, and for carrying out the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998, $633,442,000, of which up to $9,814,000 shall be available to carry out the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000: Provided, That funds appropriated under this heading pursuant to section 414(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 for fiscal year 2009 shall be available for the costs of assistance provided and other activities to remain available through September 30, 2011.”

The FY 2009 House Appropriations Explanatory Statement accompanying the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009reads as follows with respect to Refugee and Entrant Assistance:

“The bill includes $633,442,000 for Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs, which is $22,189,000 below the fiscal year 2008 level and $5,398,000 above the budget request. With carryover funds, a total of $685,493,000 will be available for these programs. In addition, the bill includes language providing for availability of funds through September 30, 2011 to reimburse the costs of services for all programs within the jurisdiction of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)…Within the funds provided for Social Services, the bill includes $19,000,000 for continued support to communities with large concentrations of Cuban and Haitian entrants of varying ages whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, justifying a more intense level and longer duration of Federal assistance. The Administration on Children and Families (ACF) is requested to continue to adequately fund refugee school impact grants.”

ORR will allocate the $154,005,000 appropriated for FY 2009 social services as follows:

• $85,000,000 is to be allocated under the three-year population (FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008) social services formula, as set forth in this notice, for the purpose of providing employment services and other needed services to refugees.

• $19,000,000 is to be awarded for new awards of grants to serve communities most heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrant and refugee arrivals.

• $15,000,000 is to be awarded for continuation of awards for educational support to schools with a significant proportion of refugee children, consistent with previous support to schools heavily impacted by large concentrations of refugees.

• $19,402,989 is to be awarded through discretionary awards to States and non-profit organizations for continuation of awards made in prior years. 

• $14,942,649 is to be awarded as new social service discretionary grants under new standing competitive grant announcements issued separately from this final notice.

In addition to the above formula and discretionary grants funded with FY 2009 refugee social services funds, $659,362 of refugee social services funds are to be awarded for conferences and an intra-agency agreement promoting resettlement activities for newly arrived refugee population.

V.  REFUGEE SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDS

The population figures used for the final FY 2009 formula social services allocation include refugees, Amerasians from Viet Nam, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Havana parolees, asylees, and victims of severe forms of trafficking for FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008.  The final FY 2009 formula allocation notice also includes Cuban Medical Parolees and Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants. These population figures were adjusted in the final notice to reflect the most recent and accurate information on refugee arrivals and on secondary migrants, asylees, and entrant data submitted by States. (See Section IV. Basis of Population Estimates). 

The Director allocates $85,000,000to States on the basis of each State's proportion of the national population of refugees who arrived in the U.S. during the most recent three-year period before the beginning of FY 2009 (including a floor amount for States that have small refugee populations). Of the amount, approximately $7 million is awarded to Wilson/Fish Alternative Projects providing social services.  

Section 412(c)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states that  "funds available for a fiscal year for grants and contracts [for social services}…shall be allocated among the States based on the total number of refugees (including children and adults) who arrived in the United States not more than 36 months before the beginning of such fiscal year and who are actually residing in each State (taking into account secondary migration) as of the beginning of the fiscal year."

States were requested in the ORR State Letter No. 09-10, dated November 20, 2008, to submit their State-generated asylee and entrant data and secondary migration data files for refugees and entrants who have resided in their State for the three-year period prior to October 1, 2008, to the ORR web-based data submission system for the purpose of data records matching for the FY 2009 social service formula allocations.  States were informed that the website would be open for file submission from January 12 through January 30, 2009, and that this would be the only  time period for States to submit data for the FY 2009 Social Services formula allocations and for the ORR-11 secondary migration report.  The one-time-only data submission period, January 12 through January 30, 2009, was established to ensure adequate time for records matching and for timely publication of the final notice for the Social Services formula allocations for FY 2009. 

In preparation for FY 2009 Social Services formula allocations, States were requested to submit (see ORR State Letter No. 09-10, November 20, 2008) the name, e-mail address, and telephone number for a primary and an alternate user of the ORR website system to moushumi.beltangady@acf.hhs.gov by December 5, 2008.  The State’s identified primary and alternate users received instructions prior to January 12, 2009, on the use of the web-based data submission system for providing asylee and entrant data for Social Services, as well as ORR-11 secondary migration data for refugees and entrants, to ORR. 
           
States that receive Cuban or Haitian entrants as border crossers or through ports of entry other than Miami, Florida, had the opportunity to also submit data between January 12 and January 30, to ORR regarding entrants served in their programs. These data were received by ORR and matched against ORR’s Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS).  The results of the match are reflected in the final allocations.  

As established in the FY 1992 social services notice published in the Federal Register on August 29, 1991, section I, "Allocation Amounts" (56 Fed. Reg. 42745 (August 29, 1991)), a variable floor amount for States that have small refugee populations is calculated as follows:  If the application of the regular allocation formula yields less than $100,000, then –

(1) a base amount of $75,000 is provided for a State with a population of 50 or fewer refugees who have been in the U.S. three years or less; and

(2) for a State with more than 50 refugees who have been in the U.S. three years or less:  (a) a floor has been calculated consisting of $50,000 plus the regular per capita allocation for refugees above 50 up to a total of $100,000 (in other words, the maximum under the floor formula is $100,000); (b) if this calculation has yielded less than $75,000, a base amount of $75,000 is provided for the State.

The allocation formula floor of $75,000 for States with very small annual arrivals provides funding for the minimal structure for a State to provide employment and other social services necessary for successful resettlement in American communities.

VI.  POPULATIONS TO BE SERVED AND ALLOWABLE SERVICES

Eligibility for refugee social services includes persons who meet all requirements of 45 C.F.R. 400.43. (See Section III. Eligible Populations.)  In addition, persons granted asylum are eligible for refugee benefits and services from the date that asylum was granted (See ORR State Letter No. 00-12, effective June 15, 2000, as clarified by ORR State Letter No. 00-15, August 3, 2000). Victims of a severe form of trafficking who have received a certification or eligibility letter from ORR and certain other specified family members are eligible from the date on the certification letter (see ORR State Letter No. 01-13, May 3, 2001, as modified by ORR State Letter No. 02-01, January 4, 2002, and ORR State Letter, No.04-12, June 18, 2004). In addition, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants are eligible for refugee benefits and services for a limited period of time (see ORR State Letter No. 08-04, January 18, 2008, ORR State Letter No. 08-06, February 7, 2008, and ORR State Letter No. 09-17, April 9, 2009). (ORR State Letters may be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/orr_policy.htm).

Services to refugees must be provided in accordance with the rules of 45 C.F.R. Part 400 Subpart I -- Refugee Social Services.  Although the allocation formula is based on the three‑year refugee population (FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008), States may provide services to refugees who have been in the country up to 60 months (5 years), with the exception of referral and interpreter services and citizenship and naturalization preparation services for which there is no time limitation (45 C.F.R. 400.152(b)). An exception to the five-year period of eligibility for social services is Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, who may only receive services for up to eight months, per the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, the Defense Authorization Act of 2008, the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, ORR State Letter No. 08-04, January 18, 2008, ORR State Letter No. 08-06, February 7, 2008, and ORR State Letter No. 09-17, April 9, 2009.

Allowable social services are those indicated in 45 C.F.R. 400.154 and 400.155.  Additional services not included in these sections that the State may wish to provide must be submitted to, and approved by, the Director of ORR, as required under 45 C.F.R. 400.155(h).

VII.  SERVICE PRIORITIES

In accordance with 45 C.F.R. 400.147, States are required to provide social services to refugees in the following order of priority, except in certain individual extreme circumstances: (a) all newly arriving refugees during their first year in the U.S. who apply for services; (b) refugees who are receiving cash assistance; (c) unemployed refugees who are not receiving cash assistance; and (d) employed refugees in need of services to retain employment or to attain economicindependence.  In order for refugees to leave Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) quickly, States should, to the extent possible, ensure that all newly arriving refugees receive refugee-specific services designed to address the employment barriers that refugees typically face.

ORR encourages States to re-examine the range of services they currently offer to refugees.  Those States that have had success in helping refugees achieve early employment may find it possible to expand beyond the provision of basic employment services and to address the broader needs that refugees have in order to enhance their ability to maintain financial security and to integrate successfully into the community.  Other States may need to reassess the delivery of employment services in light of local economic conditions and develop new strategies to better serve the newly arriving refugee groups.

ORR also makes formula social services funds available to pay for social services that are provided to refugees who participate in Wilson/Fish projects (see Note 2, Table 1) which can be administered by public or private non-profit agencies, includingrefugee, faith-based, and community organizations.  Section 412(e)(7)(A) of the INA provides that:

“The Secretary [of HHS] shall develop and implement alternative projects for refugees who have been in the United States less than thirty‑six months, under which refugees are provided interim support, medical services, support [social] services, and case management, as needed, in a manner that encourages self‑sufficiency, reduces welfare dependency, and fosters greater coordination among the resettlement agencies and service providers.”

This provision is generally known as the Wilson/Fish Amendment.  ORR has issued a separate standing grant announcement for applications for such projects.  The notice can be found at the ORR website at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2008-ACF-ORR-RW-0121.html.

States are encouraged to consider eligible sub-recipients for formula social service funds, including public or private non-profit agencies such as refugee, faith-based, and community organizations.

VIII.  ALLOCATION FORMULAS

Of the funds available for FY 2009 for social services, $85,000,000 is allocated to States in accordance with the formula specified below.

A State's allowable formula allocation is calculated as follows:

1. The total amount of funds determined by the Director to be available for this purpose; divided by
   
   
2. The total number of refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, parolees, Amerasians from Viet Nam, Havana parolees, Cuban medical parolees, and Special Immigrants, as shown by the ORR Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS) for FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008, and victims of severe forms of trafficking as shown by the certification and eligibility letters issued by ORR, who arrived in the United States not more than three (3) years prior to the beginning of the fiscal year for which the funds are appropriated. This totalalso includes the total number of asylees who have been served by States through refugee resettlement or social services system in FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008.  The resulting per capita amount is multiplied by –
   
   
3. The number of persons in item 2, above, in the State as of September 30, 2008, adjusted for verified secondary migration.

The calculation above yields the formula allocation for each State.  Minimum allocations for States with low numbers of arrivals are also determined by the allocation formula.   

IX. BASIS OF POPULATION ESTIMATES

The population figures used in FY 2009for final formula allocations to States for refugee social services are based on data on refugee arrivals for FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008 from the ORR Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS), as of September 30, 2008, adjusted for verified secondary migration.  The database includes refugees of all nationalities, Amerasians from Viet Nam, Cuban and Haitian entrants,Havana parolees, Cuban medical parolees, asylees, SIVs, and trafficking victims.  Data on trafficking victims are taken from the total number of trafficking victims' certification and eligibility letters issued by ORR. Asylee and entrant data, reported by States as receiving services and matched by ORR for FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008, are also included in the population estimates.
           
As previously stated, ORR formula social service finalallocations for the States for FY 2009 are based on the numbers of refugee arrivals, Amerasians, entrants, Havana parolees, Cuban medical parolees, asylees, SIVs and victims of a severe form of trafficking.  Refugee numbers are based upon the arrivals during the preceding FYs2006, 2007, and 2008 as of September 30, 2008, adjusted for estimated secondary migration.  ORR makes additional adjustments for entrants and asylees who have been served by the States in FYs 2006, 2007 and 2008 through the refugee resettlement program or social service system, as verified by ORR. 

The data on secondary migration are based on information submitted by all participating States on Form ORR-11 on refugee and entrant secondary migrants who have resided in the U.S. for 36 months or less, as of September 30, 2008, as verified through matching against RADS. The ORR-11 report by each State was due to ORR on January 9, 2009, and backup data files supporting the ORR-11 were due to ORR via the website submission system on January 30, 2009.  Data on asylees, SIVs, and victims of trafficking are not captured on the Form ORR-11. Instead, data submitted by states on asylees served are used to ensure current information for allocations purposes; ORR includes the number of certification and eligibility letters issued to trafficking victims during FY 2006, 2007, and FY 2008 in the allocations; and ORR receives SIV data for use in the allocations from the Department of State’s Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS) and from the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection.

For the finalallocation,the total migration data from ORR-11 State files were matched against RADS, yielding in- and out-migration figures for refugees and entrants and a net migration figure for each State.  The net migration figure is applied to the State's total arrival figure, resulting in a revised ORR population figure.  ORR calculations are developed separately for refugees and entrants and then combined into a total three-year refugee/entrant population for each State.  Eligible Amerasians are included in the refugee figures.  Havana parolees and Cuban medical parolees are enumerated in separate columns in Table 1, below, because they are tabulated separately from other entrants.  Havana parolee and Cuban medical parolee arrivals for all States are based on actual data. 

Table 1(attached) represents the FY 2009 final social service formula allocations.  The columns reflect three-year populations, for October 1, 2005, through September 30, 2008, of refugees (Col. 1), entrants (Col. 2), asylees (Col. 3), Cuban Medical Professional Parolees (Col. 4), Havana parolees (Col. 5), victims of trafficking (Col. 6), Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants (Col. 7), total population (Col. 8), the  final formula amounts without allocation formula floor (Col. 9), and the final formula allocation (Col. 10).

X.  FINAL ALLOCATION AMOUNTS

Funding subsequent to the publication of this final notice will be contingent upon the submission and approval of a State Annual Services Plan that is developed on the basisof a local consultative process, as required by 45 C.F.R. 400.11(b)(2) in the ORR regulations.

XI.  PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

This notice has reporting and record keeping requirements as approved under OMB Clearance No. 0970-0036, Expiration Date 8/31/2010.

XII.  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Contact Henley Portner, Division of Budget, Policy, and Data Analysis (BPDA), Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, telephone (202) 401-5363, email henley.portner@acf.hhs.gov, fax (202) 401-0981.

Posted on July 28, 2009