Refugee Resettlement Program; Final Notice of Availability of Formula Allocation Funding for FY 1998 Targeted Assistance Grants for Services to Refugees in Local Areas of High Need

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

Refugee Resettlement Program; Final Notice of Availability of

Formula Allocation Funding for FY 1998 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 1998 targeted assistance grants to States for services to refugees

\1\ in local areas of high need.

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\1\ In addition to persons who meet all requirements of 45 CFR

400.43, ``Requirements for documentation of refugee status,''

eligibility for targeted assistance includes Cuban and Haitian

entrants, certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to the

U.S. as immigrants, and certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are U.S.

citizens. (See section II of this notice on ``Authorization.'') The

term ``refugee'', used in this notice for convenience, is intended

to encompass such additional persons who are eligible to participate

in refugee program services, including the targeted assistance

program.

Refugees admitted to the U.S. under admissions numbers set aside

for private-sector-initiative admissions are not eligible to be

served under the targeted assistance program (or under other

programs supported by Federal refugee funds) during their period of

coverage under their sponsoring agency's agreement with the

Department of State--usually two years from their date of arrival,

or until they obtain permanent resident alien status, whichever

comes first.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of funds and award

procedures for FY 1998 targeted assistance grants for services to

refugees under the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP). These grants are

for service provision in localities with large refugee populations,

high refugee concentrations, and high use of public assistance, and

where specific needs exist for supplementation of currently available

resources. 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 February 17,

1998 (63 FR 7814).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toyo Biddle, Director, Division of

Refugee Self-Sufficiency, (202) 401-9250.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: The closing date for submission of applications

is July 17, 1998. Applications postmarked after the closing date will

be classified as late.

[[Page 30010]]

Mailed applications shall be considered as meeting an announced

deadline if they are either received on or before the deadline date or

sent on or before the deadline date to: U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of

Refugee Resettlement, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency, 370

L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, DC 20447, Attention: Application

for Targeted Assistance Formula Program.

Applicants are cautioned to request a legibly dated U.S. Postal

Service postmark or to obtain a legibly dated receipt from a commercial

carrier or the U.S. Postal Service. Private metered postmarks shall not

be acceptable as proof of timely mailing.

Applications handcarried by applicants, applicant couriers, or by

overnight/express mail couriers shall be considered as meeting an

announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline date,

between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,

Office of Refugee Resettlement, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency,

ACF Mailroom, 2nd Floor Loading Dock, Aerospace Center, 901 D Street,

S.W., Washington, DC 20024, between Monday and Friday (excluding

Federal holidays). (Applicants are cautioned that express/overnight

mail services do not always deliver as agreed.)

ACF cannot accommodate transmission of applications by fax or

through other electronic media. Therefore, applications transmitted to

ACF electronically will not be accepted regardless of date or time of

submission and time of receipt.

To be considered complete, an application package must include a

signed original and two copies of Standard Form 424, 424A, and 424B.

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 93.584.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON APPLICATION PROCEDURES: States should

contact their State Analyst in ORR.

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, 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 1998 funds for the targeted assistance program (TAP) as part of

the FY 1998 appropriation for the Department of Health and Human

Services (Pub. L. No. 105-78).

The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will use

the $49,477,000 in targeted assistance funds as follows:

$35,371,300 will be allocated to States under the 5-year

population formula, as set forth in this notice.

$14,105,700 will be used to award discretionary grants to

States under separate grant announcements, including TAP 10% grants and

as well as other discretionary grants.

In addition, the Office of Refugee Resettlement will have available

an additional $5,000,000 in FY 1998 funds for the targeted assistance

discretionary program through the Foreign Operations, Export Financing,

and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998 (Pub. L. No. 105-118).

These funds will augment the 10 percent of the targeted assistance

program which is set-aside for grants to localities most heavily

impacted by the influx of refugees such as Laotian Hmong, Cambodians

and Soviet Pentecostals, including secondary migrants who entered the

United States after October 1, 1979.

The purpose of targeted assistance grants is to provide, through a

process of local planning and implementation, direct services intended

to result in the economic self-sufficiency and reduced welfare

dependency of refugees through job placements.

The targeted assistance program reflects the requirements of

section 412(c)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),

which provides that targeted assistance grants shall be made available

``(i) primarily for the purpose of facilitating refugee employment and

achievement of self-sufficiency, (ii) in a manner that does not

supplant other refugee program funds and that assures that not less

than 95 percent of the amount of the grant award is made available to

the county or other local entity.''

II. Authorization

Targeted assistance projects are funded under the authority of

section 412(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as

amended by the Refugee Assistance Extension Act of 1986 (Pub. L. No.

99-605), 8 U.S.C. 1522(c); section 501(a) of the Refugee Education

Assistance Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-422), 8 U.S.C. 1522 note,

insofar as it incorporates by reference with respect to Cuban and

Haitian entrants the authorities pertaining to assistance for refugees

established by section 412(c)(2) of the INA, as cited above; section

584(c) of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related

Programs Appropriations Act, 1988, as included in the FY 1988

Continuing Resolution (Pub. L. No. 100-202), insofar as it incorporates

by reference with respect to certain Amerasians from Vietnam the

authorities pertaining to assistance for refugees established by

section 412(c)(2) of the INA, as cited above, including certain

Amerasians from Vietnam who are U.S. citizens, as provided under title

II of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Acts, 1989 (Pub. L. No. 100-461), 1990 (Pub. L. No. 101-

167), and 1991 (Pub. L. No. 101-513).

III. 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; and (3)

employability plans for every employable member of the family. 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. 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).

[[Page 30011]]

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)), funds awarded under this program are

intended to help fulfill the Congressional intent that ``employable

refugees should be placed on jobs as soon as possible after their

arrival in the United States'' (section 412(a)(1)(B)(i) of the INA).

Therefore, in accordance with 45 CFR 400.313, targeted assistance funds

must be used primarily for employability services designed to enable

refugees to obtain jobs with less than one year's participation in the

targeted assistance program in order to achieve economic self-

sufficiency as soon as possible. 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 Sec. 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.

A portion of a local area's allocation may be used for services

which are not directed toward the achievement of a specific employment

objective in less than one year but which are essential to the

adjustment of refugees in the community, provided such needs are

clearly demonstrated and such use is approved by the State. Allowable

services include those listed under Sec. 400.316.

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

Sec. 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 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 expects 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 assure availability of day care services for children

in order to allow women with children the opportunity to participate in

employment services or to accept or retain employment. To accomplish

this, day care may be treated as a priority employment-related service

under the targeted assistance program. Refugees who are participating

in TAP-funded or social services-funded employment services or have

accepted employment are eligible for day care services for children.

For an employed refugee, TAP-funded day care should be limited to one

year after the refugee becomes employed. States and counties, however,

are expected to use day care funding from other publicly funded

mainstream programs as a prior resource and are encouraged to work with

service providers to assure maximum access to other publicly funded

resources for day care.

In accordance with Sec. 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.

When planning targeted assistance services, States must take into

account the reception and placement (R & P) services provided by local

resettlement agencies in order to utilize these resources in the

overall program design and to ensure the provision of seamless,

coordinated services to refugees that are not duplicative. See

Sec. 400.156(b).

ORR strongly encourages 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

in a manner that is culturally and linguistically compatible with the

background of the target population to be served. ORR also strongly

encourages 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 section

IX, below.

IV. Discussion of Comments Received

We received only two letters of comment in response to the notice

of proposed availability of FY 1998 funds for targeted assistance. Both

letters concerned discrepancies between a State or county's count of

arrivals and the number of arrivals credited to that State or county in

the ORR data base. Where warranted, we have made adjustments to our

data base.

V. Eligible Grantees

Eligible grantees are those agencies of State governments that are

responsible

[[Page 30012]]

for the refugee program under 45 CFR 400.5 in States containing

counties which qualify for FY 1998 targeted assistance awards.

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 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's application by ORR, local targeted

assistance plans will be developed by the county government or other

designated entity and submitted to the State.

A State with more than one qualified county is permitted, but not

required, to determine the allocation amount for each qualified county

within the State. However, if a State chooses to determine county

allocations differently from those set forth in this notice, in

accordance with Sec. 400.319, the FY 1998 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 1998 targeted assistance funds in a manner different from the

formula set forth in this notice, the FY 1998 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 areawide clearinghouses under Executive

Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''

VI. Qualification and Allocation

A. Qualified Counties

The 47 counties listed as qualified for TAP funding in the FY 1997

final TAP notice will remain qualified for TAP funding in FY 1998. We

have not considered the eligibility of additional counties for FY 1998.

In the FY 1996 targeted assistance final notice (61 FR 36739, July 12,

1996) the ORR Director indicated her intention to determine the

qualification of counties for targeted assistance funds once every

three years, beginning in FY 1996. Therefore, in FY 1999, ORR will

again review data on all counties that could potentially qualify for

TAP funds on the basis of the most current 5-year refugee/entrant

population data available at that time.

B. Allocation Formula

Of the funds available for FY 1998 for targeted assistance,

$35,317,300 is allocated by formula to States for qualified counties

based on the initial placements of refugees, Amerasians, entrants, and

Kurdish asylees in these counties during the 5-year period from FY 1993

through FY 1997 (October 1, 1992--September 30, 1997).

With regard to Havana parolees, we are crediting 3,693 Havana

parolees who arrived in FY 1997 to qualified counties in Florida based

on data the State submitted to ORR during the public comment period. We

have credited FY 1997 Havana parolee arrivals to the remaining

qualified targeted assistance counties based on the counties'

proportion of the 5-year entrant arrival population. For FY 1995 and FY

1996, Florida's Havana parolees for each qualified county are based on

actual data submitted by the State of Florida, while Havana parolees

credited to counties in other States were prorated based on the

counties' proportion of the 5-year entrant population in the U.S. The

allocations in this notice reflect these additional parolee numbers.

VII. Allocations

Table 1 lists the qualified counties, the number of refugee and

entrant arrivals in those counties during the 5-year period from

October 1, 1992--September 30, 1997, the prorated number of Havana

parolees credited to each county based on the county's proportion of

the 5-year entrant population in the U.S., the sum of the third,

fourth, and fifth columns, and the amount of each county's allocation

based on its 5-year total population.

Table 2 provides State totals for targeted assistance allocations.

BILLING CODE 4184-01-P

Table 1.--Targeted Assistance Allocations By County: FY 1998

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$35,371,300

Havana Total arrivals total FY 1998

County State Refugees \1\ Entrants parolees \2\ FY 1993-1997 final

allocation

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Maricopa County........................... Arizona..................... 5,919 659 265 6,843 $588,726

Alameda County............................ California.................. 4,029 19 9 4,057 349,037

Fresno County............................. California.................. 4,596 2 0 4,598 395,581

Los Angeles County........................ California.................. 20,708 465 284 21,457 1,846,016

Merced County............................. California.................. 1,067 0 0 1,067 91,798

Orange County............................. California.................. 17,946 27 16 17,989 1,547,653

Sacramento County......................... California.................. 11,461 4 3 11,468 986,630

San Diego County.......................... California.................. 10,780 517 222 11,519 991,018

SAN FRANCISCO AREA........................ California.................. 9,705 85 76 9,866 848,804

San Joaquin County........................ California.................. 1,708 7 3 1,718 147,805

Santa Clara County........................ California.................. 13,706 50 16 13,772 1,184,851

Denver County............................. Colorado.................... 3,384 3 1 3,388 291,481

District of Col........................... District of Col............. 3,858 14 7 3,879 333,723

Broward County............................ Florida..................... 1,131 1,581 524 3,236 278,404

Dade County............................... Florida..................... 9,560 35,152 17,530 62,242 5,354,884

Duval County.............................. Florida..................... 3,430 28 24 3,482 299,568

Palm Beach County......................... Florida..................... 695 1,109 389 2,193 188,671

DeKalb County............................. Georgia..................... 6,052 13 9 6,074 522,566

Fulton County............................. Georgia..................... 5,866 210 97 6,173 531,084

CHICAGO AREA.............................. Illinois.................... 17,240 412 196 17,848 1,535,522

Polk County............................... Iowa........................ 3,301 1 0 3,302 284,082

Jefferson County \3\...................... Kentucky.................... 3,213 555 178 3,946 339,487

Baltimore City............................ Maryland.................... 2,689 3 0 2,692 231,602

Suffolk County............................ Massachusetts............... 5,090 73 106 5,269 453,309

Ingham County............................. Michigan.................... 1,715 320 113 2,148 184,800

[[Page 30013]]

Oakland County............................ Michigan.................... 3,409 8 4 3,421 294,320

Hennepin County........................... Minnesota................... 5,490 3 0 5,493 472,581

Ramsey County............................. Minnesota................... 3,744 10 4 3,758 323,313

St. Louis County.......................... Missouri.................... 6,614 1 0 6,615 569,110

Lancaster County.......................... Nebraska.................... 2,218 36 11 2,265 194,865

Hudson County............................. New Jersey.................. 1,910 827 391 3,128 269,112

Bernalillo County......................... New Mexico.................. 1,322 1,228 559 3,109 267,478

Broome County............................. New York.................... 1,336 16 11 1,363 117,263

Monroe County............................. New York.................... 2,884 517 227 3,628 312,129

NEW YORK CITY AREA........................ New York.................... 69,575 728 479 70,782 6,089,609

Oneida County............................. New York.................... 3,470 1 0 3,471 298,622

Cass County............................... North Dakota................ 1,535 3 1 1,539 132,405

Cuyahoga County........................... Ohio........................ 4,131 6 2 4,139 356,092

PORTLAND OREGON AREA...................... Oregon...................... 10,453 549 228 11,230 966,154

Philadelphia County....................... Pennsylvania................ 6,756 55 32 6,843 588,726

Davidson County........................... Tennessee................... 3,242 54 16 3,312 284,942

DALLAS AREA............................... Texas....................... 11,393 610 264 12,267 1,055,370

Harris County............................. Texas....................... 9,644 169 70 9,883 850,267

FAIRFAX AREA.............................. Virginia.................... 4,336 8 3 4,347 373,987

Richmond County........................... Virginia.................... 1,981 104 46 2,131 183,337

Pierce County............................. Washington.................. 2,715 10 3 2,728 234,699

SEATTLE AREA.............................. Washington.................. 15,388 52 17 15,457 1,329,817

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Total............................... 342,395 46,304 22,436 411,135 35,371,300

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\1\ Refugees include: refugees, Kurdish asylees, and Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam.

\2\ For FY 1997, HP arrivals to the qualifying Florida counties (3693) were based on actual data while HP's in the non-Florida qualifying counties

(1227) were prorated based on the counties' proportion of the five year (FY 1993-1997) entrant population in the U.S. For FY 1996, HP arrivals to the

qualifying Florida counties (6919) were based on actual data while HP's in the non-Florida qualifying counties (1415) were prorated based on the

counties' proportion of the five year (FY 1992-1996) entrant population in the U.S. For FY 1995, HP arrivals to the qualifying Florida counties (7855)

were based on actual data while HP's in the non-Florida qualifying counties (1327) were prorated based on the counties' proportion of the five year

(FY 1991-1995) entrant population in the U.S.

\3\ The allocation for Jefferson, KY will be awarded to the Kentucky Wilson-Fish project.

Table 2.--Targeted Assistance Allocations by State: FY 1998

------------------------------------------------------------------------

$35,371,300

total FY 1998

State final

allocation

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arizona................................................. $588,726

California.............................................. 8,389,193

Colorado................................................ 291,481

District of Columbia.................................... 333,723

Florida................................................. 6,121,527

Georgia................................................. 1,053,650

Illinois................................................ 1,535,522

Iowa.................................................... 284,082

Kentucky................................................ 339,487

Maryland................................................ 231,602

Massachusetts........................................... 453,309

Michigan................................................ 479,120

Minnesota............................................... 795,894

Missouri................................................ 569,110

Nebraska................................................ 194,865

New Jersey.............................................. 269,112

New Mexico.............................................. 267,478

New York................................................ 6,817,623

North Dakota............................................ 132,405

Ohio.................................................... 356,092

Oregon.................................................. 966,154

Pennsylvania............................................ 588,726

Tennessee............................................... 284,942

Texas................................................... 1,905,637

Virginia................................................ 557,324

Washington.............................................. 1,564,516

---------------

Total............................................... 35,371,300

------------------------------------------------------------------------

BILLING CODE 4184-01-M

VIII. Application and Implementation Process

Under the FY 1998 targeted assistance program, States 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 agency will, in turn, receive,

review, and determine the acceptability of individual county targeted

assistance plans.

Pursuant to Sec. 400.210(b), FY 1998 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 two years after the end of the Federal fiscal year in

which the Department awarded the grant. 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 portions of the

targeted assistance program will be addressed separately in the grant

announcements for those funds. Applications for these funds are

therefore not subject to provisions contained in this notice but to

other requirements which will be conveyed separately.

IX. Application Requirements

The State application requirements for grants for the FY 1998

targeted assistance formula allocation are as follows:

States that are currently operating under approved management plans

for their FY 1996 or FY 1997 targeted assistance program and wish to

continue to do so for their FY 1998 grants may provide the following in

lieu of resubmitting the full currently approved plan:

The State's application for FY 1998 funding shall provide:

A. Assurance that the State's current management plan for the

administration of the targeted assistance program, as approved by ORR,

will continue to be in full force and effect for the FY 1998 targeted

assistance program, subject to any additional assurances or revisions

required by this notice which are not

[[Page 30014]]

reflected in the current plan. Any proposed modifications to the

approved plan will be identified in the application and are subject to

ORR review and approval. Any proposed changes must address and

reference all appropriate portions of the FY 1996 or FY 1997

application content requirements to ensure complete incorporation in

the State's management plan.

B. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will be used in

accordance with the requirements in 45 CFR 400.

C. 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 1998

targeted assistance formula allocation funds that are used for services

will be allocated for employment services.

D. 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, etc.

E. The amount of funds to be awarded to the targeted county or

counties. If a State with more than one qualifying targeted assistance

county chooses to allocate its targeted assistance funds differently

from the formula allocation for counties presented in the ORR targeted

assistance notice in a fiscal year, its allocations 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 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.

The application must provide a description of, and supporting data for,

the State's proposed allocation plan, the data to be used, and the

proposed allocation for each county.

F. Assurance that local administrative budgets 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. States and counties are

strongly encouraged to limit administrative costs to the extent

possible to maximize available funding for services to clients.

Results or Benefits Expected

All applicants must establish targeted assistance proposed

performance goals for each of the 6 ORR performance outcome measures

for each targeted assistance county's proposed service contract(s) or

sub-grants for the next contracting cycle. Proposed performance goals

must be included in the application for each performance measure. The 6

ORR performance measures are: entered employments, cash assistance

reductions due to employment, cash assistance terminations due to

employment, 90-day employment retentions, average wage at placement,

and job placements with available health benefits. Targeted assistance

program activity and progress achieved toward meeting performance

outcome goals are to be reported quarterly on the ORR-6, the

``Quarterly Performance Report.''

States which are currently grantees for targeted assistance funds

should base projected annual outcome goals on the past year's

performance. 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.

Budget and Budget Justification

Provide line item detail and detailed calculations for each budget

object class identified on the Budget Information form (424A). 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:

1. 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 locally in lieu of the county, through a mutual agreement with

the qualifying county, may add up to, but not exceed, 10% of the

county's TAP allocation to the State's administrative budget.

2. 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 administering the program locally: States that have

administered the program locally or provide direct service to the

refugee population (with the concurrence of the county) must submit a

program summary to ORR for prior review and approval. The summary must

include a description of the proposed services; a justification for the

projected allocation for each component including relationship of funds

allocated to numbers of clients served, characteristics of clients,

duration of training and services, and cost per placement. In addition,

the program component summary must describe any ancillary services or

subcomponents such as day care, transportation, or language training.

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

new ORR-6 Quarterly Performance Report form which was sent to States in

ORR State Letter 95-35 on November 6, 1995.

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: 424 (0348-0043); 424A

(0348-0044); 424B (0348-0040); Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (0348-

0046); Uniform Project Description (0970-0139), Expiration date 10/31/

2000. Financial Status Report (SF-269) (0348-0039) and ORR Quarterly

Performance Report (0970-0036).

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.

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.

Dated: May 27, 1998.

Lavinia Limon,

Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement.

[FR Doc. 98-14573 Filed 6-1-98; 8:45 am]

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