Refugee Resettlement Program: Final Notice of Availability of Formula Allocation Funding for FY 1999 Targeted Assistance Grants for Services to Refugees in Local Areas of High Need

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of Refugee Resettlement

Refugee Resettlement Program: Final Notice of Availability of

Formula Allocation Funding for FY 1999 Targeted Assistance Grants for

Services to Refugees in Local Areas of High Need

AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), ACF, DHHS.

ACTION: Final notice of availability of formula allocation funding for

FY 1999 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 (1) Cuban and Haitian

entrants, under section 501 of the Refugee Education Assistance Act

of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-422); (2) certain Amerasians from Vietnam who

are admitted to the U.S. as immigrants under section 584 of the

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs

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

Resolution (Pub. L. 100-202); and (3) certain Amerasians from

Vietnam, including U.S. citizens, 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). For convenience, the term ``refugee'' is used in this

notice to encompass all such additional persons who are eligible to

participate in refugee program services, including the targeted

assistance program.

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SUMMARY: ORR announces the availability of funds and award procedures

for FY 1999 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 March 10, 1999

(64 FR 11927).

DATES: The closing date for submission of applications is September 9,

1999. See Part IV of this announcement for more information on

submitting applications.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Smith, Acting Director, Division

of Refugee Self-Sufficiency, Office of Refugee Resettlement, 370

L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20447 Telephone

(202) 205-3590, or e-mail: [email protected].

For Further Information on Application Procedures: States should

contact their State Analyst in ORR.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This program announcement consists of four

parts:

Part I. General Information

Background--program purpose and scope, legislative authority.

Discussion of Comments Received, Funding Availability, Use of

Funds, Assurances/Information, Local Program Administration.

Project and Applicant Eligibility--Qualification and Allocation,

Funding Priorities, Eligible Applicants, project and budget periods,

multiple applications.

Part II: The Project Description

Part III: The Review Process--intergovernmental review, initial ACF

screening, evaluation criteria and application review.

Part IV: The Application--application materials, development and

submission.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13): Public reporting

burden for this collection of information is estimated to average four

hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions,

gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection

of information. The following information collections are included in

the program announcement: OMB Approval No. 0970-0139, ACF UNIFORM

PROJECT DESCRIPTION (UPD), which expires 10/31/2000, and OMB Approval

No. 0970-0036, ORR-6, Quarterly Performance Report (QPR), which expires

7/31/2002. 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.

[[Page 43389]]

Part I. General Information/Background

Purpose and Scope

This notice announces the availability of funds for grants to

States 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 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.

Legislative Authority

Targeted assistance projects are funded under the authority of

section 412(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8

U.S.C. 1522(c)); 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; 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).

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.''

Discussion of Comments Received

Ten letters of comment were received in response to the notice of

proposed availability of FY 1999 funds for targeted assistance. The

comments are summarized below and are followed in each case by the

Department's response.

Comment: Eight commenters requested that ORR consider the impact

that loss of targeted assistance funding will have on large counties

with large number of refugee arrivals. These same commenters indicated

that several arbitrary decisions by ORR, such as use of concentration

rate as an index of impact, the weighting of concentration rate in the

calculations, and the failure of ORR to use some assessments of impact

such as welfare dependency and median household income in the formula

make it possible for large counties to be disqualified. One commenter

requested a modification of the proposed targeted assistance allocation

methodology based on an increase in arrivals during FY 1998 and heavy

utilization of public assistance by refugees in a county.

Resonse: ORR understands that discontinuance of targeted assistance

program (TAP) funds in the counties that no longer qualify will have an

impact on the services in those counties. Counties losing targeted

assistance formula funds may wish to apply for ORR targeted assistance

discretionary funds through their States.

Regarding the suggestion that ORR use welfare dependency or median

household income as qualifying criteria, ORR must take into account all

eligibility factors which are outlined in the statute for which data

are available.

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

three factors listed for targeted assistance are high population, high

refugee concentration, and high use of public assistance. While we do

not have welfare dependency data, data are available on refugee

population and refugee concentration. Therefore, ORR is required to use

both factors in determining county qualification. As stated in the

notice of proposed allocations, ORR assigns a double weight to

population because we believe that large numbers of refugee/entrant

arrivals to a county create a significant impact, regardless of the

ratio of refugees to the county general population.

Regarding the suggestion that ORR use median household income as a

qualifying criterion for targeted assistance funds, this criterion is

not one of the factors outlined in the statute governing the targeted

assistance allocation formula.

Comment: Two commenters questioned the number of Havana parolees

credited to each county in the proposed notice.

Response: At the time of the proposed notice, ORR had received no

data on FY 1998 Havana parolees other than the gross number reported

(13,442) for the fiscal year by the Immigration and Naturalization

Service (INS). Rather than delay publication of the Proposed Notice,

ORR credited each county in the U.S. with a portion of the FY 1998

arrivals according to its share of the five-year population of entrant

arrivals. During the comment period, ORR obtained additional records

from the Florida Department of Health on parolees arriving in Florida

counties. The Final Notice reflects these data. As was done in the FY

1998 Final Notice, each Florida country is credited with the number of

arrivals identified by the Florida Department of Health; each non-

Florida county is credited with a proportional share of the remaining

Havana Parolees according to its share of the five-year entrant

population.

Funding Availability

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has available $49,477,000

in FY 1999 funds for the targeted assistance program (TAP) as part of

the FY 1999 appropriation for the Department of Health and Human

Services (Pub. L. 105-277).

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 five-

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 separate grant announcements.

Use of Funds

Targeted assistance funding must be used to assist refugee families

to achieve economic independence.

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).

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

[[Page 43390]]

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 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.

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 45 CFR 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 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 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

refugees 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 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.

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 45 CFR

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.

Assurances/Information

The State's application for FY 1999 funding shall provide:

1. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will be used in

accordance with the requirements in 45 CFR Part 400.

2. Assurance that the 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. Of the FY 1999 targeted assistance formula

allocation used for services, States must indicate the percentage that

will be used for employment services.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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 the

plan, except in the case of a State that administers the program

locally as described below.

6. Assurance that the State and its contractors or sub-recipients

will follow appropriate State procurement and contracting requirements

in the acquisition, administration and management of targeted

assistance service contracts and sub-grants.

7. Identification of the contracting cycle for targeted assistance

service contracts in each county. States with more than one qualified

county are encouraged to ensure that all counties participating in TAP

in the State use the same contracting cycle dates.

[[Page 43391]]

8. A description of the State's plan for conducting fiscal and

program monitoring of the targeted assistance program, including

frequency of on-site monitoring.

9. Identification of the local administering agency.

States Administering the Program Locally

States that propose to administer the program locally or propose to

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 sub-components such as

day care, transportation, or language training.

Qualification and Allocation

Qualifying New Counties

In order to qualify for application for FY 1999 targeted assistance

funds, a county (or group of counties with the same Standard

Metropolitan Statistical Area, or SMSA) or independent city is required

to rank above a selected cut-off point of jurisdictions for which data

were reviewed, based on two criteria: (1) The number of refugee/entrant

arrivals placed in the county during the most recent 5-year period (FY

1994-1998); and (2) the 5-year refugee/entrant population as a

percentage of the county's overall population. County arrival numbers

have been adjusted based on updated refugee and entrant arrival data.

Welfare dependency will no longer be used as a qualifying criterion

since welfare dependency data for refugee AFDC and now TANF recipients

have not been available at the national level since FY 1989.

Each county was ranked on the basis of its 5-year arrival

population and its concentration of refugees, with a relative weighting

of 2 to 1 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 general population.

Each county was then ranked in terms of the sum of a county's rank

on refugee/entrant arrivals and its rank on concentration. In order to

target a sufficient level of funding to the most impacted counties, a

county had to rank within the top 50 counties in order to qualify. It

is ORR's intent that the 50 counties listed as qualified for TAP

funding in the FY 1999 final TAP notice will remain qualified for TAP

funding through FY 2001.

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 in this notice.

Analysis of these data indicates that: (1) 40 counties which have

previously received targeted assistance continue to qualify; (2) 7

counties which have previously received targeted assistance no longer

qualify; and (3) 10 new counties qualify.

Table 1 provides a list of the counties that remain qualified and

the new counties that qualify, the number of refugee/entrant arrivals

in those counties within the past 5 years, the percent that the 5-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 funding which no longer qualify, the number of refugee/

entrant arrivals in those counties within the past 5 years, the percent

that the 5-year arrival population represents of the overall county

population, and each county's rank, based on the qualification formula.

Allocation Formula

Of the funds available for FY 1999 for targeted assistance,

$44,529,300 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 1994

through FY 1998 (October 1, 1993-September 30, 1998).

With regard to Havana parolees, we are crediting 13,442 Havana

parolees who arrived in FY 1998 to qualified counties in Florida based

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

have credited FY 1998 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.

Allocations

Table 3 lists the qualifying counties, the number of refugee and

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

October 1, 1993-September 30, 1998, 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 first 3

columns, and the amount of each county's allocation based on its 5-year

total population.

Table 4 provides State totals for targeted assistance allocations.

Table 5 indicates the areas that each qualified county represents.

Table 1.--Top 50 Counties Eligible for Targeted Assistance

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5-year

County State arrival Concentration Sum of

total (in percent) ranks

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Targeted Assistance Counties Eligible for Continuation

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Dade County.................................. FL............................. 67,889 3.5047 3

Sacramento County............................ CA............................. 11,795 1.1328 30

New York..................................... NY............................. 55,411 0.7567 30

City of St. Louis............................ MO............................. 7,672 1.9340 32

Multnomah.................................... OR............................. 12,231 0.8660 36

King/Snohomish............................... WA............................. 14,507 0.7353 38

DeKalb County................................ GA............................. 6,584 1.2062 41

Santa Clara County........................... CA............................. 10,899 0.7278 49

Oneida County................................ NY............................. 4,125 1.6445 50

[[Page 43392]]

Fulton County................................ GA............................. 5,681 0.8754 55

Orange County................................ CA............................. 12,858 0.5334 58

Jefferson County............................. KY............................. 5,155 0.7753 65

Suffolk County............................... MA............................. 4,757 0.7165 72

Dallas/Tarrant............................... TX............................. 12,652 0.4185 77

San Francisco................................ CA............................. 8,108 0.5056 78

Polk County.................................. IA............................. 3,435 1.0500 79

Hennepin County.............................. MN............................. 5,323 0.5156 86

District of Columbia......................... DC............................. 3,889 0.6408 86

Cook/Kane.................................... IL............................. 17,362 0.3202 90

Maricopa County.............................. AZ............................. 8,686 0.4093 91

Duval County................................. FL............................. 3,851 0.5722 94

Monroe County................................ NY............................. 3,863 0.5411 94

San Diego County............................. CA............................. 9,332 0.3736 97

Denver County................................ CO............................. 3,246 0.6942 102

Harris County................................ TX............................. 9,382 0.3329 103

Bernalillo County............................ NM............................. 3,226 0.6713 106

Davidson County.............................. TN............................. 3,249 0.6361 107

Philadelphia County.......................... PA............................. 5,794 0.3654 109

Ingham County................................ MI............................. 2,514 0.8918 113

City of Richmond............................. VA............................. 2,335 1.1499 115

Lancaster County............................. NE............................. 2,335 1.0930 116

Hudson County................................ NJ............................. 2,991 0.5408 125

Ramsey County................................ MN............................. 2,700 0.5558 129

Fairfax County............................... VA............................. 3,610 0.3764 129

Los Angeles County........................... CA............................. 17,313 0.1953 129

Fresno County................................ CA............................. 3,014 0.4515 136

Cass County.................................. ND............................. 1,669 1.6224 139

Pierce County................................ WA............................. 2,658 0.4534 147

Cuyahoga County.............................. OH............................. 3,817 0.2703 152

Broward County............................... FL............................. 3,449 0.2747 156

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New Counties That Qualify

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Spokane County............................... WA............................. 3,009 0.8327 99

Davis/Salt Lake.............................. UT............................. 4,605 0.3911 113

Clark County................................. NV............................. 3,462 0.4669 118

Hillsborough County.......................... FL............................. 3,084 0.3698 148

Guilford County.............................. NC............................. 2,093 0.6024 153

Minnehaha County............................. SD............................. 1,430 1.1550 154

Kent County.................................. MI............................. 2,372 0.4738 154

Erie County.................................. PA............................. 1,873 0.6797 155

Hampden County............................... MA............................. 2,239 0.4907 157

Yolo County.................................. CA............................. 1,433 1.0156 158

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Table 2.--Counties That No Longer Qualify

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5-year

County State arrival Concentration Sum of

total (in percent) ranks

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Alameda County............................... CA............................. 3,329 0.2602 165

Oakland County............................... MI............................. 2,826 0.2608 180

Palm Beach County............................ FL............................. 2,398 0.2777 190

Baltimore City............................... MD............................. 2,105 0.2860 198

Broome County................................ NY............................. 1,098 0.5175 222

San Joaquin County........................... CA............................. 1,221 0.2540 259

Merced County................................ CA............................. 690 0.3868 296

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Table 3.--Targeted Assistance Allocations by County

[FY 1999]

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Total Total FY 1999

County State Refugees Entrants Havana arrival FY final

\1\ parolees 94-98 allocation

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------\2\--------------------------------

1 Maricopa County...... Arizona......... 7,394 780 512 8,686 $979,275

[[Page 43393]]

2 Fresno County........ California...... 3,011 2 1 3,014 339,804

3 Los Angeles County... California...... 16,581 434 298 17,313 1,951,899

4 Orange County........ California...... 12,817 23 18 12,858 1,449,634

5 Sacramento County.... California...... 11,788 4 3 11,795 1,329,790

6 San Diego County..... California...... 8,476 517 339 9,332 1,052,107

7 San Francisco........ California...... 8,028 48 32 8,108 914,111

8 Santa Clara County... California...... 10,815 51 33 10,899 1,228,773

9 Yolo County.......... California...... 1,425 5 3 1,433 161,559

10 Denver County........ Colorado........ 3,241 3 2 3,246 365,960

11 District of Columbia. District of 3,866 14 9 3,889 438,453

Columia.

12 Broward County....... Florida......... 978 1,578 893 3,449 388,847

13 Dade County.......... Florida......... 8,426 33,125 26,338 67,889 7,653,928

14 Duval County......... Florida......... 3,788 28 35 3,851 434,169

15 Hillsborough County.. Florida......... 1,525 767 792 3,084 347,696

16 DeKalb County........ Georgia......... 6,562 13 9 6,584 742,292

17 Fulton County........ Georgia......... 5,334 209 138 5,681 640,486

18 Cook/Kane............ Illinois........ 16,699 399 264 17,362 1,957,424

19 Polk County.......... Iowa............ 3,433 1 1 3,435 387,268

20 Jefferson County \3\. Kentucky........ 3,605 934 616 5,155 581,184

21 Hampden County....... Massachusetts... 2,224 9 6 2,239 252,429

22 Suffolk County....... Massachusetts... 4,648 63 46 4,757 536,313

23 Ingham County........ Michigan........ 1,785 440 289 2,514 283,433

24 Kent County.......... Michigan........ 2,304 41 27 2,372 267,424

25 Hennepin County...... Minnesota....... 5,318 3 2 5,323 600,125

26 Ramsey County........ Minnesota....... 2,683 10 7 2,700 304,403

27 City of St. Louis.... Missouri........ 7,670 1 1 7,672 864,955

28 Lancaster County..... Nebraska........ 2,272 38 25 2,335 263,252

29 Clark County \4\..... Nevada.......... 1,363 1,264 835 3,462 390,312

30 Hudson County........ New Jersey...... 1,605 809 577 2,991 337,211

31 Bernalillo County.... New Mexico...... 1,137 1,261 828 3,226 363,705

32 Monroe County........ New York........ 2,723 688 452 3,863 435,522

33 New York............. New York........ 54,272 682 457 55,411 6,247,137

34 Oneida County........ New York........ 4,123 1 1 4,125 465,060

35 Guilford County...... North Carolina.. 2,081 7 5 2,093 235,969

36 Cass County.......... North Dakota.... 1,664 3 2 1,669 188,166

37 Cuyahoga County...... Ohio............ 3,805 6 6 3,817 430,336

38 Multnomah............ Oregon.......... 11,216 613 402 12,231 1,378,945

39 Erie County.......... Pennsylvania.... 1,873 0 0 1,873 211,165

40 Philadelphia County.. Pennsylvania.... 5,708 52 34 5,794 653,226

41 Minnehaha County \5\. South Dakota.... 1,430 0 0 1,430 161,221

42 Davidson County...... Tennessee....... 3,160 54 35 3,249 366,298

43 Dallas/Tarrant....... Texas........... 11,479 707 466 12,652 1,426,410

44 Harris County........ Texas........... 9,065 189 128 9,382 1,057,744

45 Davis/Salt Lake...... Utah............ 4,603 1 1 4,605 519,176

46 Fairfax County....... Virginia........ 3,595 8 7 3,610 406,998

47 City of Richmond..... Virginia........ 2,153 110 72 2,335 263,252

48 King/Snohomish....... Washington...... 14,423 51 33 14,507 1,635,546

49 Pierce County........ Washington...... 2,641 10 7 2,658 299,668

50 Spokane County....... Washington...... 3,009 0 0 3,009 339,240

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T ..................... ................ 313,824 46,056 35,087 394,967 44,529,300

o.

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

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

\2\ For all years, Havana parolee arrivals to the qualifying Florida counties (28,058) are based on actual data,

while parolees in the non-Florida counties (7,029) are prorated based on the counties' proportion of the five-

year (FY 1994-1998) entrant population.

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

\4\ The allocation for Clark County, Nevada will be awarded to the Nevada Wilson/Fish project.

\5\ The allocation for Minnehaha County, South Dakota will be awarded to the South Dakota Wilson/Fish project.

Table 4.--Targeted Assistance Final Allocations by State

[FY 1999]

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

Total FY 1999

State allocation

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

Arizona................................................. $979,275

California.............................................. 8,427,677

Colorado................................................ 365,960

District of Columbia.................................... 438,453

[[Page 43394]]

Florida................................................. 8,824,640

Georgia................................................. 1,382,778

Illinois................................................ 1,957,424

Iowa.................................................... 387,268

Kentucky................................................ 581,184

Massachusetts........................................... 788,742

Michigan................................................ 550,857

Minnesota............................................... 904,528

Missouri................................................ 864,955

Nebraska................................................ 263,252

Nevada.................................................. 390,312

New Jersey.............................................. 337,211

New Mexico.............................................. 363,705

New York................................................ 7,147,719

North Carolina.......................................... 235,969

North Dakota............................................ 188,166

Ohio.................................................... 430,336

Oregon.................................................. 1,378,945

Pennsylvania............................................ 864,391

South Dakota............................................ 161,221

Tennesee................................................ 366,298

Texas................................................... 2,484,154

Utah.................................................... 519,176

Virginia................................................ 670,250

Washington.............................................. 2,274,454

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

Total............................................... 44,529,300

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

Table 5.--Targeted Assistance Areas

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

Targeted assistance

State area Definition

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

Arizona..................... Maricopa County.....

California.................. Fresno County.......

Los Angeles County..

Orange County.......

Sacramento County...

San Diego...........

San Francisco....... Marin, San

Francisco, and San

Mateo Counties.

San Clara County....

Yolo County.........

Colorado.................... Denver..............

District of Columbia........

Florida..................... Broward County......

Dade County.........

Duval County........

Hillsborough County.

Georgia..................... DeKalb County.......

Fulton County.......

Illinois.................... Cook and Kane

Counties.

Iowa........................ Polk County.........

Kentucky.................... Jefferson County....

Massachusetts............... Hampden County......

Suffolk County......

Michigan.................... Ingham County.......

Kent County.........

Minnesota................... Hennepin County.....

Ramsey County.......

Missouri.................... City of St. Louis...

Nebraska.................... Lancaster County....

Nevada...................... Clark County........

New Jersey.................. Hudson County.......

New Mexico.................. Bernalillo County...

New York.................... Monroe County.......

New York............ Bronx, Kings,

Queens, New York,

and Richmond

Counties.

Oneida County.......

North Carolina.............. Cuilford County.....

North Dakota................ Cass County.........

Ohio........................ Cuyahoga County.....

Oregon...................... Multnomah........... Clackamas,

Multnomah, and

Washington

Counties, Oregon,

and Clark County,

Washington.

Pennsylvania................ Erie................

Philadelphia........

South Dakota................ Minnehaha County....

Tennesee.................... Davidson County.....

Texas....................... Dallas/Tarrant......

Harris County.......

Utah........................ Davis/Salt Lake..... Davis, Salt Lake,

and Utah Counties.

Virginia.................... Fairfax............. Fairfax County and

the cities of Falls

Church, Fairfax,

and Alexandria.

City of Richmond....

Washington.................. King/Snohomish......

Pierce Count........

[[Page 43395]]

Spokane County......

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

Eligible Applicants

ORR invites eligible entities to submit grant applications for

Targeted Assistance Grants for Services to Refugees in Local Areas of

High Need.

Eligible grantees are 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 1999 targeted assistance

awards.

Under the FY 1999 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. 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.

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).

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 45 CFR 400.319, the FY 1999 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 1999 targeted assistance funds in a manner different from the

formula set forth in this notice, the FY 1999 allocations and

methodology proposed by the State must be included in the State's

application for ORR review and approval.

This announcement is inviting applications for project periods up

to 3 years. Awards will be for a one-year budget period, although

project periods may be for 3 years. Applications for continuation

grants funded under these awards beyond the one-year budget period but

within the 3 year project period will be entertained in subsequent

years on a noncompetitive basis, subject to availability of funds,

satisfactory progress of the grantee and a determination that continued

funding would be in the best interest of the Government.

Part II: The Project Description

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. Applicants are encouraged

to provide information on their organizational structure, staff,

related experience, and other information considered to be relevant.

Awarding offices use this and other information to determine whether

the applicant has the capability and resources necessary to carry out

the proposed project. It is important, therefore, to carry out the

proposed project, and it is important that this information be included

in the application. However, in the narrative the applicant must

distinguish between resources directly related to the proposed project

from those that will not be used in support of the specific project for

which funds are requested.

General Instructions

Cross-referencing should be used rather than repetition. 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. (Supporting information concerning activities that will

not be directly funded by the grant or information that does not

directly pertain to an intergral 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.

General Instructions for Preparing a Full Project Description

Introduction

Applicants required to submit a full project description shall

prepare the project description statement in accordance with the

following instructions.

Project Summary/Abstract

Provide a summary of the project description (a page or less) with

reference to the funding request.

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

participation/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.

Results or Benefits Expected

Identify the results and benefits to be derived. For example, when

applying for a grant to establish a neighborhood child care center,

describe who will occupy the facility, who will use the facility, how

the facility will be used, and how the facility will benefit the

community which it will serve.

Approach

Outline a plan of action which describes the scope and detail of

how the proposed work will be accomplished. Account for all functions

[[Page 43396]]

or activities identified in the applications. 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 microloans

made. When accomplishments cannot be quantified by activity or

function, list them in chronological order to show the schedule of

accomplishments and their target dates.

Identify the kinds of data to be collected, maintained, and/or

disseminated. Note that clearance from the U.S. Office of Management

and Budget might be needed prior to a ``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.

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.

General

The following guidelines are for preparing the budget and budget

justification. Both Federal and non-Federal resources shall be detailed

and justified in the budget and narrative justification. For purposes

of preparing the budget and budget justification, ``Federal resources''

refers only to the ACF grant for which you are applying. Non-Federal

resources are all other Federal and non-Federal resources. It is

suggested that budget amounts and computations be presented in a

columnar format: first column, object class categories; second column,

Federal budget; next column(s), non-Federal budget(s), and last column,

total budget. The budget justification should be a narrative.

Part III: The Review Process

A. Intergovernmental Review

This program is not covered under Executive Order 12372,

``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' and 45 CFR Part 100,

``Intergovernmental Review of Department of Health and Human Services

Programs and Activities.''

B. Initial ACF Screening

Each application submitted under this program announcement will

undergo a pre-review to determine that (1) the application was received

by the closing date and submitted in accordance with the instruction in

this announcement and (2) the applicant is eligible for funding.

C. Application Review and Review Criteria

Applications which pass the initial ACF screening will be evaluated

and rated based on the completeness of the application as described

below.

Criteria 1: Objectives and Need

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 that incorporates both targeted assistance

and refugee social services may be developed for a family.

In instances where a State received targeted assistance funding for

impacted counties contained in a standard metropolitan statistical area

(SMSA) which includes a county or counties located in a neighboring

State, the State receiving those funds must provide a description of

the 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.

Criteria 2: Approach

A description of the State's guidelines for the targeted assistance

plans for the required content of county targeted assistance plans or

requests for proposals (RFPs), in the case of States that administer

the program directly on behalf of an impacted county, and a description

of the State's review/approval process for such county plans or RFPs.

Acceptable county plans must minimally include the following:

a. Assurance that targeted assistance funds will be used in

accordance with the requirements of 45 CFR Part 400.

b. Procedures for carrying out a local planning process for

determining targeted assistance priorities and service strategies. All

local targeted assistance plans will be developed through a planning

process that involves, in addition to the State Refugee Coordinator,

representatives of the private sector (for example, private employers,

the private industry council, Chamber of Commerce, etc.), leaders of

refugee/entrant community-based organizations, voluntary resettlement

agencies, refugees from the impacted communities, and other public

officials associated with the social services and employee agencies

that serve refugees. Counties are encouraged to foster coalition-

building among those participating organizations.

c. Identification of the 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).

d. Description of specific strategies and services to meet the

needs of targeted populations. These should be justified where possible

through analysis of strategies and outcomes from projects previously

implemented under targeted assistance programs, and any other services

available to the refugee populations.

e. The relationship of targeted assistance services to other

services available to refugees in the county

[[Page 43397]]

including State-allocated ORR social services.

f. Analysis of available employment opportunities in the local

community. Examples of acceptable analysis of employment opportunities

might include surveys of employers or potential employers of refugee

clients and reviews of studies on employment opportunities/forecasts

which would be appropriate to the refugee populations. Description of

the monitoring and oversight responsibilities to be carried out by the

county or qualifying jurisdiction.

Criteria 3: Budget and Budget Justification

Provide line item detail and detailed calculations for each budget

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

Detailed calculations must include estimation methods, quantities, unit

costs, and other similar quantitive 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 necessary, reasonableness,

and allocability for the proposed costs. Tnt Office of Refugee

Resettlement is particularly interested in the following:

A line item budget and budget, 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. Sates that

administer the program locally in lieu of the country, through a mutual

agreement with the qualifying county, may request administrative costs

that add up to, but may not exceed, 10% of the country's TAP allocation

to the State's administrative budget.

Each applicant should describe 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, and

the proposed allocation for each county.

In instances where a State receives targeted assistance funding for

impacted counties contained in a standard metropolitan statistical area

(SMSA) which includes a county or counties located in a neighboring

State, the State receiving those funds must provide a description of

the coordination and planning activities undertaken with the State

Refugee Coordinator.

A line item budget and justification for State Administrative costs

limited to a maximum of 5% of the total award to the State. Each budget

request must be necessary, reasonable and allocable to the project.

States that administer the program locally in lieu of the county may

use up to, but not exceed, 10% of the county's TAP allocation for the

State's administrative budget.

Criteria 4: Results or Benefits Expected

All applicants must establish targeted assistance proposed

performance goals for each of the 6 ORR performance outcome measures

for each impacted county's proposed service contracts 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 terminations due to

employment, cash assistance reductions 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 (OMB Approval No. 0970-0036, expires 7/31/2002).

States that are currently grantees for targeted assistance funds

should base projected annual outcome goals for each performance measure

on past performance.

States identified as new eligible targeted assistance grantees and

States that are currently grantees that have new qualifying counties

are also required to set proposed outcome goals for each of the 6 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.

Proposed targeted assistance goals should reflect improvement over past

performance and strive for continuous improvement during the project

period from one year to another.

Part IV. The Application

A. Application Development

In order to be considered for a grant under this program

announcement, an application must be submitted on the forms supplied

and in the manager prescribed by ACF. Application materials including

forms and instructions are available from the ORR State Analyst

assigned to your State.

B. Application Submission

1. Mailed applications postmarked after the closing date will be

classified as late.

2. Deadline: Mailed applications shall be considered as meeting an

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

to DHHS, ACF, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Attention: Shirley B.

Parker, ORR Grants Officer, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Sixth Floor,

Washington, DC 20447.

Applicants must ensure that a legibly dated U.S. Postal Service

postmark or a legibly dated, machine produced postmark of a commercial

mail service is affixed to the envelope/package containing the

application(s). To be acceptable as proof of timely mailing, a postmark

from a commercial mail service must include the logo/emblem of the

commercial mail service company and must reflect the date the package

was received by the commercial mail service company from the applicant.

Private Metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely

mailing. (Applicants are cautioned that express/overnight mail services

do not always deliver as agreed.)

Applications hand-carried by applicants, applicant couriers, or by

other representatives of the applicant shall be considered as meeting

an announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline

date, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., EDT, at the Department

of Health and human Services, Administration for Children and Families,

Office of Refugee Resettlement, ACF Mailroom, 2nd Floor (near loading

dock), Aerospace Center, 901 D Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024,

between Monday and Friday (excluding Federal holidays). The address

must appear on the envelope/package containing the application with the

note: ``Attention: Shirley B. Parker, ORR Grants Officer.'' 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.

[[Page 43398]]

Therefore, applications transmitted to ACF electronically will not be

accepted regardless of date or time of submission and time of receipt.

3. Late applications. Applications which do not meet the criteria

above are considered late applications.

4. Extension of deadlines. ACF may extend an application deadline

when circumstances such as acts of God (floods, hurricanes, etc.)

occur, or when there are widespread disruptions of the mail service, or

in other rare cases. Determinations to extend or waive deadline

requirements rest with ACF's Chief Grants Management Officer.

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, OMB Approval No. 0970-0036, which

expires 7/31/2002.

Pursuant to 45 CFR 400.210(b), FY 1999 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.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93-584.

Dated: August 2, 1999.

Lavinia Limon,

Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement.

[FR Doc. 99-20245 Filed 8-9-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184-01-M