Matching Grant Program

The past year marked the 21st anniversary of the Matching Grant program. In those twenty-one years, more than two million refugees arrived in the U.S., and some 450,000, or 20 percent of all refugees, have participated in the Matching Grant program.

The Matching Grant program, funded by Congress since 1979, provides an alternative approach to State-administered resettlement assistance. The program’s goal is to help refugees attain self-sufficiency within four months after arrival, without access to public cash assistance. Participating agencies agree to match the ORR grant with cash and in-kind contributions. Twenty percent of their match must be in cash.

From its inception until mid-1996, ORR matched Voluntary Agency (volag) funding dollar for dollar for up to $1,000 per client. From mid-1996 until 1999, ORR matched each dollar of agency contribution of cash or in-kind services with $1.40 of Federal funds, with a maximum Federal contribution of $1,400 per refugee.

In 1999, ORR announced significant changes in the Matching Grant program. Beginning with the second trimester, ORR raised the Federal contribution to $2 per $1 of agency cash and in-kind services with the maximum Federal contribution of $2,000 per refugee. Furthermore, ORR directed volags to raise the weekly cash allowance to adult refugees from the existing $20 per week to $50 per week per adult, or the maximum amount that would not disqualify a refugee from Medicaid benefits.

While ORR was preparing the supplemental awards, the crisis in the Balkans led to an unanticipated increase in refugee arrivals from Kosovo. ORR responded with an addendum to the Matching Grant program to enable agencies to serve Kosovar refugees in the Matching Grant program. These changes resulted in ORR increasing overall funding for the Matching Grant program to an annual budget of $49 million. This amount was offset by slightly more than $6 million of unexpended funds resulting from the dramatic decline in arrivals from the Former Soviet Union anticipated by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).

During FY 2000, ORR made additional changes to the Matching Grant program. These included Cuban/ Haitian entrant enrollment at any time during the first 31 days of eligibility and the provision of cash allowance through the first 120 days of the program. Funding was increased to $55 million, enough to serve more than 27,000 refugees, entrants, and asylees in 228 sites in 122 cities around the country.

The Matching Grant program is characterized by a strong emphasis on community participation in the refugee resettlement process. Volunteers and in-kind donations are coupled with goods and intensive services to attain self-sufficiency during the first four months. ORR requires participating agencies to provide maintenance (food and housing), case management, and employment services in-house. Additional services, such as English language training and vocational training, may be provided in-house or arranged through referral to other programs. Refugees in the Matching Grant program may use publicly funded medical assistance, such as Refugee Medical Assistance or Medicaid.

Refugees from the Soviet Union and its successor republics had been the primary beneficiaries of the program after its commencement in 1979. With the decline in arrivals from the former Soviet Union, the Matching Grant Program has served an increasingly diverse population. During FY 2000, its participants arrived from the former Soviet Union, Kosovo, Southeast Asia, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iraq, and a host of other countries.

As with the Wilson/Fish and State-administered programs, Matching Grant voluntary agencies work with ORR staff to establish goal plans to measure continuous improvement in client outcomes. Because the program emphasizes family self-sufficiency (independence from cash assist-ance), goal plans measure the proportion of cases that are self-sufficient at four months after arrival in the U.S. and self-sufficiency retention after 180 days. Goal plans establish self-sufficiency and retention goals for individual participants as well as cases. Goals are also established for individual refugees in terms of job placements, wages, and health benefits. Summaries of the progress reports of the nine participating agencies follow, with all data reported over the calendar year.

Church World Service (CWS) received $2,440,000 to enroll 1,220 refugees in 19 sites. CWS actually enrolled 1,234 refugees, with 82 percent of the families achieving self-sufficiency in Calendar Year (CY) 2000. The primary groups were Bosnians and Cubans. The largest sites were Miami, Florida; Richmond, Virginia; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Houston, Texas. New sites for the Matching Grant program included Atlanta, Georgia; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The inclusion of Cuban parolees in the Matching Grant program resulted in significant growth in Miami's office.

Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) received $2,140,000 to serve 1,070 refugees in the Matching Grant program. EMM enrolled 904 refugees at 18 sites, with 788 refugees reaching self-sufficiency by the 180^th day. The largest ethnic groups served were Bosnian and Sudanese.

Ethiopian Community Development Center (ECDC) received $920,000 in CY 2000 to serve Matching Grant clients. ECDC ultimately enrolled only 329 refugees into Matching Grant, the shortfall due to low arrivals for the year. Their network was comprised of four sites in CY 2000: Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; San Diego, California; and Arlington, Virginia. The major ethnic groups served arrived from the Sudan, Ethiopia, Bosnia and Somalia.