[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 100 (Thursday, May 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 29773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11440]



[[Page 29773]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Office of Refugee Resettlement; Grant Notice

AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and 
Families, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice to supplement funding to the 2008 Voluntary Agency 
Matching Grant Program.

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    CFDA#: 93.567.
    Legislative Authority: Section 412(c)(1)(A) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(A); Section 7(a) and (b) of the 
Refugee Assistance Extension Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-605) (8 U.S.C. 1522 
note)
    Amount of Award: $2.17 million supplemental to 2008 awards of $60 
million federal funds plus $30 million in cash and in-kind ``match''.
    Project Period: February 15, 2008 to January 31, 2010.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Resettlement, 
Division of Community Resettlement, will award supplemental funds 
without competition to nine agencies: Church World Service, Ethiopian 
Community Development Council, Episcopal Migration Ministries, Hebrew 
Immigrant Aid Society, International Rescue Committee, Lutheran 
Immigration and Refugee Services, the United States Committee for 
Refugees and Immigrants, the United States Conference of Catholic 
Bishops, and World Relief Corporation. The cost for these supplemental 
awards is $2.17 million.
    The Voluntary Agency Matching Grant program was created by Congress 
in 1979. Matching Grant services enable the Voluntary Agencies' 
resettlement agencies to work with recently arrived refugees and other 
eligible clients. The goal of the program is to assist refugees become 
economically self-sufficient without accessing public assistance within 
120-180 days. Last year, 81% of clients entering the program were 
economically self-sufficient within 180 days.
    Since the Presidential Determination was signed in October 2007, 
the ceiling for refugees was raised from 70,000 to 80,000 to 
accommodate 10,000 additional Iraqi refugees. In addition, legislation 
passed in December 2007 and January 2008 created a new class of 
individuals eligible for the refugee services. Thousands of Afghani and 
Iraqi interpreters who served the U.S. military have been provided 
``Special Immigrant Visas'' (SIV) and are now eligible for six or eight 
months of refugee services. The Matching Grant program is often the 
program of choice for these special populations as it is geared for 
readily employable cases and for SIV cases, conforms to the legislative 
time limits.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald A. Munia, Director, Division of 
Community Resettlement, Office of Refugee Resettlement, 370 L'Enfant 
Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20047. E-mail: [email protected] and 
phone: 202-401-4559.

    Dated: May 13, 2008.
David H. Siegel,
Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement.
[FR Doc. E8-11440 Filed 5-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P