Refugee Resettlement Program; Final Notice of Availability of Formula Allocation Funding for FY 2002 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 2002 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 2002 targeted assistance grants for services to refugees under the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP). The purpose of these grants is to provide services in localities with large refugee populations, high refugee concentrations, and high use of public assistance by refugees, 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 May 28, 2002 (67 FR 36905).

DATES:

The closing date for submission of applications is October 10, 2002. Refer to the section of this notice entitled Additional Information for more information on submitting applications. For more information on application procedures, States should contact their ORR State Analyst.

ADDRESSES:

Address applications, in duplicate, to: Ms. Gayle Smith, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. In order to be considered timely, applications must be received in ORR by October 10, 2002.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 93.584.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gayle Smith, Director, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency, (202) 205-3590, e-mail: gsmith@acf.hhs.gov.

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 by refugees, 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 2002 funds for the targeted assistance program (TAP) as part of the FY 2002 appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services (Pub. L. 107-116).

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 5-year population formula, as set forth in this notice.
• $4,947,700 (10% of the total) will be used to award discretionary grants to States under continuation grant awards.

The purpose of targeted assistance grants is to provide, through a process of local planning and implementation, direct services that would result in the economic self-sufficiency and reduced welfare dependency of refugees through job placements.

The requirements of the targeted assistance program are contained in 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: (1) Section 412(c)(2) of the (INA), as amended by the Refugee Assistance Extension Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-605), 8 U.S.C. 1522(c); (2) section 501(a) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 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; (3) 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. 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. 100-461), 1990 (Pub. L. 101-167), and 1991 (Pub. L. 101-513); and (4) section 107(b)(1)(A) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-386), insofar as it states that a victim of a severe form of trafficking shall be eligible for federal and certain State benefits and services to the same extent as a refugee.

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; (3) employability plans for every employable member of the family; and (4) a plan to address the family's social services needs that may be barriers to self-sufficiency. 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. However, 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).

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) of the INA), funds awarded under this program are intended to help fulfill the congressional intent that “employable refugees should be placed in 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 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.

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 45 CFR 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 of ORR 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 encourages 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 obtain child care services, preferably subsidized child care, in order to allow caretaker family members the opportunity to participate in employment services or to accept or retain employment. To accomplish this, child care may be treated as an employment-related service under the targeted assistance program. Refugees who are participating in targeted assistance-funded or social services-funded employment services or have accepted employment are eligible for child care. States and counties are expected to use child care funding from other publicly-administered programs as a prior resource and are encouraged to work with service providers to ensure mainstream access to other publicly funded resources for child care. For an employed refugee, targeted assistance-funded child care should be limited to situations in which no other publicly funded child care funding is available. In these cases, child care services funded by targeted assistance should be limited to one year after the refugee becomes employed.

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 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.

We strongly encourage 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. We also strongly encourage 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 the section entitled Additional Information, below.

IV. Discussion of Comments Received

Four letters of comment were received by the deadline in response to the notice of proposed availability of FY 2002 funds for targeted assistance. These comments are summarized below and in each case are followed by the Department's response. Two letters of comment were received after the published deadline and will not be considered.

Comment: Three commenters expressed concern that their counties no longer qualified for targeted assistance under the formula and requested reconsideration.

Response: In the notice of proposed allocations, we stated that if a county does not agree with ORR's population estimate for refugees and entrants or wishes to submit data on asylees or victims of a severe form of trafficking who have been served by the county, the county must submit evidence to ORR by June 27, 2002, in the form of specified data elements published in the proposed notice. We also indicated that failure to submit the required documentation within the specified time frame would result in forfeiture of consideration.

One of these three commenters submitted data as well as written comments in response to the proposed notice . Those data have been reviewed and were found to pertain to secondary migrants. As we have noted in previous years, we are not able to include secondary migrants in the population formula for targeted assistance because secondary migration data are not available at the county level.

States report on secondary migration annually on the ORR-11. This reporting is based on the first three digits of the social security number (SSN). These digits identify the State in which the SSN was issued, which, with a few exceptions, is the State of initial resettlement. This information allows ORR to both credit the State of in-migration and debit the State of out-migration in developing State population estimates. Most States and counties are not able to provide county-level secondary migration data. We cannot use secondary migration data for one county alone. It would be necessary to collect and determine both in-migration and out-migration for approximately 1,000 counties during the qualification process in order to arrive at accurate adjusted county population estimates.

ORR understands that discontinuance of funding in counties that no longer qualify will have an effect on the services in those counties. Every three years, the targeted assistance qualification process attempts to direct targeted assistance funds to those counties that are the most-impacted by recent refugee arrivals. Counties losing targeted assistance formula funds may wish to apply for ORR targeted assistance discretionary funds through their States at the next available opportunity.

ORR does not plan to consider the eligibility of additional counties for targeted assistance formula funds until FY 2005, when ORR will again review data on all counties that could potentially qualify for targeted assistance based on the published criteria.

Comment: One commenter questioned whether Havana Parolee numbers included in the formula are accurate and represent Havana parolees who migrate north after a short stay in Florida. The same commenter also asked whether asylee numbers are included in the formula.

Response: For fiscal years 1999-2001, Havana parolee numbers included in the formula were derived from actual data. For fiscal years 1997-1998, INS provided the number of actual Havana parolees. Please refer to the response above for the discussion of secondary migration as it relates to targeted assistance. In regard to asylees, the proposed notice stated that counties that served asylees could submit specific data on each asylee served in order to have their population estimate adjusted to include those asylees whose asylum was granted within the 60-month period ending September 30, 2001. All asylee data received by close of business June 27, 2002 were reviewed for completeness and complete records were used to adjust arrival data.

Comment: Another commenter requested a redesignation of a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) to include one county instead of three because new refugee arrivals have been concentrated in one of the three SMSA counties, and refugee centers in the other two counties have closed previously due to declining new arrivals and time-eligibility limitations on services for the residual county populations.

Response: ORR examined the distribution of arrivals within the three-county SMSA and found that the two counties that the commenter requested to be dropped from the SMSA had small numbers of arrivals during the 5-year period from FY 1997-FY 2001. There is an advantage to the State to retain the SMSA as a three-county SMSA, because arrivals receive double weight in the qualifying process, while concentration receives single weight, and allocations are made on the basis of arrivals. The State qualifies for targeted assistance using the SMSA population and concentration. The State is able to determine how the targeted assistance funds will be used within the SMSA and may determine to use the funds in the county with the largest number of arrivals, as it does currently. The State should include its proposal for use of funds in its targeted assistance application. Refer to the section of this notice titled “BUDGET AND BUDGET JUSTIFICATION, CRITERIA #1 APPROACH, for required application content regarding the distribution of funds to various counties within an SMSA.

Comment: A different commenter suggested that ORR's method of determining impacted counties was unfair because it used the entire county population to determine impact instead of the population of impacted cities in which refugees resided within the county.

Response: Regarding the suggestion that ORR determine eligibility for targeted assistance at the municipality level, ORR is required by section 412(c)(2)(A) of the INA to make grants to States for assistance to counties and similar areas. Therefore, we do not consider cities, townships or municipalities as meeting the intent of section 412(c)(2)(A) of the INA.

V. Eligible Grantees

Eligible grantees are: 1. those agencies of State governments that are responsible for the refugee program under 45 CFR 400.5 in States containing counties which qualify for FY 2002 targeted assistance awards, and 2. those non-State agencies funded under the Wilson-Fish program which administer, in lieu of a State, a statewide refugee assistance program containing counties which qualify for FY 2002 targeted assistance formula funds.

The Director of ORR will determine the eligibility of counties for inclusion in the FY 2002 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 which have an approved State plan under the Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP).

The State/Wilson-Fish 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/Wilson-Fish agency's application by ORR, local targeted assistance plans will be developed by the county government or other designated entity and submitted to the State/Wilson-Fish agency.

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 2002 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 2002 targeted assistance funds in a manner different from the formula set forth in the final notice, the FY 2002 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 area wide clearinghouses under Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”

VI. Qualification and Allocation

For FY 2002, ORR will continue to use the formula that bases allocation of targeted assistance funds on the most current five-year refugee/entrant arrival data. Targeted assistance services are limited to refugees residing in qualified counties who have been in the U.S. five years or less. The Director of ORR proposes to 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). The FY 1999-FY 2001 three-year project cycle expires 9/30/2002. In preparation for re-qualifying counties for FY 2002, ORR has reviewed data on all counties that could potentially qualify for TAP funds on the basis of the most current five-year refugee/entrant ² arrival data.

A. Qualifying Counties

In order to qualify for application for FY 2002 targeted assistance funds, a county (or group of adjacent counties with the same Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, or SMSA) will be required to either: (1) Rank above a selected cut-off point of jurisdictions for which data were reviewed, based on two criteria: (a) The number of refugee/entrant arrivals placed in the county during the most recent five-year period (FY 1997-FY 2001) and (b) the five-year refugee/entrant arrival population as a percent of the county overall population, or (2) have received 3,000 or more refugee/entrant arrivals during this same five-year period.

In regard to the first qualification criteria, each county will be ranked on the basis of its five-year arrival population and its concentration of refugees, with a relative weighting of two to one respectively, because we believe that large numbers of refugee/entrant arrivals into a county create a significant impact, regardless of the ratio of refugees to the county general population.

Each county will then be ranked in terms of the sum of a county's rank on refugee arrivals and its rank on concentration. To qualify for targeted assistance based on rank, a county will have to rank within the top 50 counties. In addition, counties that have received at least 3,000 arrivals within the most recent five-year period will also qualify. The total number of qualifying counties is 53—the original 50 ranked counties plus three additional counties with at least 3,000 arrivals within the most recent five-year period. ORR has limited the number of qualified counties to 53 in order to cover as many counties as possible while still targeting a sufficient level of funding to the most impacted counties.

ORR decided that counties with 3,000 or more arrivals should qualify for targeted assistance after analyzing the arrival data and discovering that there were three counties which ranked high in arrival numbers (37, 28, and 39) but will not qualify for targeted assistance based solely on the sum of the ranks formula. ORR concluded that these counties which ranked high nationally in refugee population were impacted by high numbers of refugee arrivals, and thus should qualify for Targeted Assistance.

ORR has screened data on all counties that have received awards for targeted assistance since FY 1983 and on all other counties that could potentially qualify for TAP funds based on the criteria proposed in this notice. Analysis of these data indicates that: (1) 44 counties which have previously received targeted assistance will continue to qualify; (2) five counties which have previously received targeted assistance will no longer qualify; and (3) nine new counties will be qualified.

Table 1 provides a list of the counties that will remain qualified and the new counties that will qualify, the number of refugee/entrant arrivals in those counties within the past five years, the percent that the five-year arrival population represents of the overall county population, and each county's rank, based on the qualification formula described above.

Table 2 lists the counties that have previously received targeted assistance which will no longer qualify, the number of refugee/entrant arrivals in those counties within the past five years, the percent that the five-year arrival population represents of the overall county population, and each county's rank, based on the qualification formula.

The counties listed in this final notice as qualified to apply for FY 2002 TAP funding will remain qualified for TAP funding through FY 2004. ORR does not plan to consider the eligibility of additional counties for TAP funding until FY 2005, when ORR will again review data on all counties that could potentially qualify for TAP funds based on the criteria contained in this final notice. We believe that a more frequent redetermination of county qualification for targeted assistance will not provide qualifying counties a sufficient period of time within a stable funding climate to adequately address the refugee impact in their counties, while a less frequent redetermination of county qualification will pose the risk of not considering new population impacts in a timely manner.

B. Allocation Formula

Of the funds available for FY 2002 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 1997 through FY 2001 (October 1, 1996—September 30, 2001). These data are available in the ORR refugee data system.

For fiscal years 1999 through 2001, Havana parolees were derived from actual data. For fiscal years 1997-1998, INS provided the number of actual Havana parolees. The State of Florida supplied ORR with the actual number of these parolees which arrived in Florida. The remaining parolees were not identified with any other State of arrival. To account for these arrivals, ORR prorated the non-Florida parolee numbers to qualifying counties in other States based on the counties' proportion of the five-year entrant population in the U.S.

VII. Allocations

Table 3 lists the final qualifying counties, the number of refugee and entrant arrivals in those counties during the five-year period from October 1, 1996—September 30, 2001, the number of Havana parolee arrivals in those counties for this five-year period, the sum of the third, fourth, and fifth columns, and the final amount of each county's allocation based on its five-year arrival population.

Table 4 provides State totals for final targeted assistance allocations. Table 5 indicates the areas that each final qualifying county represents. Tables 1 through 5 follow:

VIII. Application and Implementation Process

Under the FY 2002 targeted assistance program, States and Wilson/Fish agencies 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 or Wilson/Fish agency will, in turn, receive, review, and determine the acceptability of individual county targeted assistance plans.

Pursuant to 45 CFR 400.210(b), FY 2002 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 90 days after the end of the two-year expenditure period. 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 portion of the targeted assistance program will be addressed under separate continuation grant awards. Continuation applications for these funds, therefore, are not subject to provisions contained in this notice but to other requirements which will be published separately.

IX. Required Assurances

A. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will be used in accordance with the requirements in 45 CFR Part 400.

B. 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 2002 targeted assistance formula allocation funds that are used for services will be allocated for employment services.

C. 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.

The Project Description Overview

Purpose

The project description provides a major means by which an application is evaluated and ranked to compete with other applications for available assistance. The project description should be concise and complete and should address the activity for which Federal funds are being requested. Supporting documents should be included where they can present information clearly and succinctly. In preparing your project description, all information requested through each specific evaluation criteria should be provided. Awarding offices use this and other information in making their funding recommendations. It is important, therefore, that this information be included in the application.

General Instructions

ACF is particularly interested in specific factual information and statements of measurable goals in quantitative terms. Project descriptions are evaluated on the basis of substance, not length. Extensive exhibits are not required. Cross referencing should be used rather than repetition. Supporting information concerning activities that will not be directly funded by the grant or information that does not directly pertain to an integral part of the grant funded activity should be placed in an appendix.

Pages should be numbered and a table of contents should be included for easy reference

Approach

Outline a plan of action which describes the scope and detail of how the proposed work will be accomplished. Account for all functions or activities identified in the application. Cite factors which might accelerate or decelerate the work and state your reason for taking the proposed approach rather than others. Describe any unusual features of the project such as design or technological innovations, reductions in cost or time, or extraordinary social and community involvement.

Provide quantitative monthly or quarterly projections of the accomplishments to be achieved for each function or activity in such terms as the number of people to be served and the number of activities accomplished. When accomplishments cannot be quantified by activity or function, list them in chronological order to show the schedule of accomplishments and their target dates.

If any data is to be collected, maintained, and/or disseminated, clearance may be required from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This clearance pertains to any “collection of information that is conducted or sponsored by ACF.”

List organizations, cooperating entities, consultants, or other key individuals who will work on the project along with a short description of the nature of their effort or contribution.

Additional Information

Following are requests for additional information that need to be included in the application:

Objectives and Need for Assistance

Clearly identify the physical, economic, social, financial, institutional, and/or other problem(s) requiring a solution. The need for assistance must be demonstrated and the principal and subordinate objectives of the project must be clearly stated; supporting documentation, such as letters of support and testimonials from concerned interests other than the applicant, may be included. Any relevant data based on planning studies should be included or referred to in the endnotes/footnotes. Incorporate demographic data and participant/beneficiary information, as needed. In developing the project description, the applicant may volunteer or be requested to provide information on the total range of projects currently being conducted and supported (or to be initiated), some of which may be outside the scope of the program announcement.

Budget and Budget Justification

Criteria #1: Approach

• If administered locally, the name of the local agency administering the funds, and the name and telephone number of the responsible person.
• The amount of funds to be awarded to the targeted county or counties. In instances where a State receives targeted assistance funding for impacted counties contained in a standard metropolitan statistical area (SMSA), the State must indicate in its application the proposed allocation plan for the counties contained in the SMSA and the rationale for the proposed allocations. In instances in which a State receives targeted assistance funding for impacted counties contained in an SMSA that includes a county or counties located in a neighboring State, the State receiving those funds must provide a description of coordination and planning activities undertaken with the State Refugee Coordinator of the neighboring State in which the impacted county or counties are located. These planning and coordination activities should result in a proposed allocation plan for the equitable distribution of targeted assistance funds by county based on the distribution of the eligible population by county within the SMSA. The proposed allocation plan must be included in the State's application to ORR.
• Assurance that county targeted assistance plans will include:

1. A description of the local planning process for determining targeted assistance priorities and services, taking into consideration all other ORR-funded services available to the refugee population, including formula social services.

2. Identification of refugee/entrant populations to be served by targeted assistance projects, including approximate numbers of clients to be served, and a description of characteristics and needs of targeted populations. (As per 45 CFR 400.314)

3. Description of specific strategies and services to meet the needs of targeted populations.

4. The relationship of targeted assistance services to other services available to refugees/entrants in the county including formula allocated ORR social services to States/Wilson-Fish agencies.

5. Analysis of available employment opportunities in the local community. Examples of acceptable analyses of employment opportunities might include surveys of employers or potential employers of refugee clients, surveys of presently effective employment service providers, and review of studies on employment opportunities/forecasts which will be appropriate to the refugee populations.

6. Description of the monitoring and oversight responsibilities to be carried out by the county or qualifying local jurisdiction.

7. Assurance that the local administrative budget 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. All TAP counties will be allowed to spend up to 15% of their allocation on TAP administrative costs, as need requires. However, States and counties are strongly encouraged to limit administrative costs to the extent possible to maximize available funding for services to refugees.

8. For any State that administers the program directly or otherwise provides direct service to the refugee/entrant population in a qualified county (with the concurrence of the county), the State must have the same information contained in a county plan prior to issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for services. States that administer programs directly may spend no more than 5% of their total allocation, and up to 10% of the county's allocation, on administrative costs that are reasonable, allocable, and necessary.

9. Assurance that the State will make available to the county or designated local entity not less than 95% of the amount of its formula allocation for purposes of implementing the activities proposed in its plan, except in the case of a State that administers the program locally as described in item H above. Allocable costs for State contracting and monitoring for targeted assistance, if charged, must be charged to the targeted assistance grant and not to general State administration.

Criteria #2: Additional Information

• A description of the State's plan for conducting fiscal and programmatic monitoring and evaluations of the targeted assistance program, including frequency of on-site monitoring.

Criteria #3: Objectives and Need for Assistance

Identify the results and benefits to be derived.

All applicants will be required to establish proposed targeted assistance performance goals for each of the six ORR performance outcome measures for each impacted 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 entered employments 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 that are currently grantees for targeted assistance funds should base projected annual outcome goals on past performance. Current grantees should have adequate baseline data for all of the six ORR performance outcome measures based on a history of targeted assistance program experience.

States identified as new eligible targeted assistance grantees are also required to set proposed outcome goals for each of the six ORR performance outcome measures. New grantees may use baseline data, as available, and current data as reported on the ORR-6 for social services program activity to assist them in the goal-setting process.

New qualifying counties within States that are current grantees are also required to set proposed outcome goals for each of the six ORR performance outcome measures. New counties may use baseline data, as available, and current data as reported on the ORR-6 for social services program activity to assist them in the goal-setting process.

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.

Final targeted assistance outcome goals are due November 15, 2002, in conjunction with the ORR Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) cycle.

Criteria #4: Budget and Budget Justification

Provide line item detail and detailed calculations for each budget object class identified on the Budget Information form.

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:

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 directly in lieu of the county, through a mutual agreement with the qualifying county, States that administer programs directly may spend no more than 5% of their total award, and up to 10% of the county's allocation, on administrative costs that are reasonable, allocable, and necessary.

Forms may be obtained from the ORR Web site at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr.

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 ORR-6 Quarterly Performance Report (0970-0036).

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: SF 424 (0348-0043); SF 424A (0348-0044); SF 424B (0348-0040); Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (0348-0046); Uniform Project Description (0970-0139), Expiration date 12/31/2003; Financial Status Report (SF-269) (0348-0039); and ORR Quarterly Performance Report (0970-0036).

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.

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.