[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30009-30014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14573]


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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
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Total...............................                                       342,395          46,304          22,436         411,135     35,371,300 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P