Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 1998
I. ORR'S REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM
Admissions
To be admitted to the United States, refugees must be determined by an officer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to meet the definition of refugee as defined in the Refugee Act of 1980. They also must be determined to be of special humanitarian concern to the U.S., be admissible under U.S. law, and not be firmly resettled in another country. Special humanitarian concern generally applies to refugees with relatives residing in the U.S., refugees whose status as refugees has occurred as a result of their association with the U.S., and refugees who have a close tie to the U.S. because of education here or employment by the U.S. government. In addition, the U.S. admits a share of refugees determined by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to be in need of resettlement in a third country outside the region from which they have fled.
The ceiling for the number of refugees to be admitted each year is determined by the President after consultation between the Executive Branch and the Congress. The President has authority to respond beyond the ceiling in cases of refugee emergencies. The table at right shows the arrivals versus the ceilings in FY's 1983-1998.
For FY 1998 the refugee ceiling was 83,000. During FY 1998, 76,372 refugees and 374
Amerasians were admitted to the U.S. In addition, 13,348 Cuban and 534 Haitian entrants and humanitarian parolees were admitted to the U.S.
The Population Profile section and associated tables in Appendix A of this report provide refugee (including Amerasian) and entrant arrival numbers by country of origin and State of initial resettlement for the period FY 1983 through FY 1998.
Reception and Placement
Most persons eligible for ORR's refugee program benefits are the refugees resettled through the Department of State's refugee allocations system under the annual ceiling for refugee admissions. Upon arrival, refugees are provided initial services through a program of grants, called Cooperative Agreements, made by the Department of State to qualifying agencies. In FY 1998 the following agencies participated: Church World Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Iowa Refugee Service Center, International Rescue Committee, Immigration and Refugee Services of America, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, United States Catholic Conference, and World Relief Refugee Service.
These grantee agencies are responsible to provide initial "nesting" services covering basic food, clothing, shelter, orientation, and referral for the first 30 days. In FY 1998, the agencies received a per capita amount of $720 from the State Department for this purpose. After this period, needy refugees are eligible for the assistance provided under ORR's program of domestic assistance.
ORR Assistance and Services
All persons admitted as refugees or granted asylum while in the U.S. are eligible for refugee benefits described in this report. Certain other persons admitted to the United States under other immigration categories are also eligible for refugee benefits. Amerasians from Vietnam and their accompanying family members, though admitted to the U.S. as immigrants, are entitled to the same social services and assistance benefits as refugees. Certain nationals of Cuba and Haiti, such as public interest parolees and asylum applicants, may also receive benefits in the same manner and to the same extent as refugees if they reside in States with an approved Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program.
Cuban and Haitian Arrivals in FY 1995 through FY 1998
In FY 1998, 13,882 Cuban and Haitian entrants arrived in the U.S. Eighty-seven percent initially resettled in Florida. In FY 1997, 5,317 Cuban and Haitian entrants arrived in the U.S. with 89 percent initially resettled in Florida. In FY 1996, 17,188 Cuban and Haitian entrants arrived in the United States with 74 percent initially resettling in Florida. In FY 1995, 32,001 arrived in the United States with 82 percent initially resettling in Florida. This was the largest wave of Cuban and Haitian refugees/entrants to arrive since the 1980 Mariel boat lift.
Domestic Resettlement Program
Refugee Appropriations
In FY 1998, the refugee and entrant assistance program was funded under two separate appropriation laws: the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Act ($415 million) and the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act ($5 million). In addition, ORR received spending authority for $3.3 million in reappropriated prior year unobligated funds, bringing the total budget authority for FY 1998 to $423.3 million.
Three Program Approaches to Domestic Resettlement
The domestic refugee program consists of three separate resettlement approaches:
- the State-administered
program,
- the Wilson/Fish program, and
- the Matching Grant program.
(1) State-Administered Program
Overview
Federal resettlement
assistance to refugees is provided primarily through a State-administered
refugee resettlement program. States provide transitional cash and
medical assistance and social services to refugees, as well as maintaining
legal responsibility for the care of unaccompanied refugee children.
Cash and Medical Assistance
Needy refugees who meet the eligibility requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, and the Medicaid program may receive benefits under these programs. Those who do not qualify for the TANF, SSI, or Medicaid programs, but who meet the income and resource eligibility standards of these programs, may receive special Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) through the refugee program during their first eight months in the U.S.
In FY 1998, ORR provided $189.0 million to reimburse States for their full costs for the RCA and RMA programs and associated State administrative costs. Due to insufficient funding, ORR no longer provides reimbursement for the State costs of the TANF, SSI, and Medicaid programs. Cash and medical assistance allocations for each State are presented in the table on pages 8 and 9.
Social Services
ORR provides funding for a broad range of social services to refugees, both through States and in some cases through direct service grants, for the purpose of helping refugees to obtain employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency and social adjustment as quickly as possible. After deducting set asides mandated by Congress, ORR, as in previous fiscal years, allocated 85 percent of the social service funds on a formula basis.
Under this formula, ORR allocated $67.0 million in FY 1998 social service funds to States for their State-administered social service programs. An additional $22.1 million in prior year funds augmented these FY 1998 funds, for a total social services obligations of $89.1 million. State programs funds varied according to each State's proportion of refugee arrivals during the previous three fiscal years. States with small refugee populations received a minimum of $75,000 in social service funds. An additional $1.8 million was provided to fund social services in States with privately administered Wilson/Fish alternative programs.
ORR also provided funds to State-administered programs for special social services for refugees receiving cash assistance under the TANF program. Although the goals of the TANF program are closely aligned with ORR's goal of early employment and self-sufficiency, State TANF programs are generally designed for mainstream recipient populations. Unlike most TANF populations, refugees new to the U.S. require extensive and sometimes repeated orientation in the American work culture and the expectation of American employers. This orientation and acculturation must be conducted in the native language of the refugee, but few TANF programs are designed to provide such specialized orientation. To assist TANF recipients, ORR provided $10 million to States to allow an estimated 33,366 refugee TANF recipients to meet their TANF work activities in the existing refugee service system.
In addition to these funds, ORR obligated about $53.8 million in social services funds to discretionary programs. A discussion of these discretionary awards may be found beginning on page 25.
|
CMA
(a/), Social Services (b/), TANF Services (c/), and Targeted
Assistance (d/) Obligations by State: FY 1998 |
|||||
|
State |
CMA |
Social Services |
TANF Services |
Targeted Assistance |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alabama |
$216,284 |
$201,618 |
$0 |
$417,902 |
|
|
Arizona |
6,766,000 |
1,690,760 |
74,927 |
588,726 |
9,120,413 |
|
Arkansas |
27,000 |
93,968 |
0 |
120,968 |
|
|
California |
30,250,615 |
13,564,832 |
3,268,597 |
8,389,193 |
55,473,237 |
|
Colorado |
2,764,305 |
1,017,638 |
63,837 |
291,481 |
4,137,261 |
|
Connecticut |
1,427,430 |
752,960 |
43,757 |
2,224,147 |
|
|
Delaware |
99,855 |
75,000 |
0 |
174,855 |
|
|
Dist. Columbia |
2,204,030 |
536,010 |
0 |
333,723 |
3,073,763 |
|
Florida |
21,471,000 |
16,889,960 |
966,253 |
6,121,527 |
45,448,740 |
|
Georgia |
4,652,000 |
2,551,327 |
134,868 |
1,053,650 |
8,391,845 |
|
Hawaii |
200,161 |
100,000 |
0 |
300,161 |
|
|
Idaho |
1,229,000 |
417,990 |
0 |
1,646,990 |
|
|
Illinois |
10,366,000 |
3,517,187 |
855,362 |
1,535,522 |
16,274,071 |
|
Indiana |
292,000 |
351,458 |
0 |
643,458 |
|
|
Iowa |
2,262,000 |
1,405,833 |
239,765 |
284,082 |
4,191,680 |
|
Kansas |
695,462 |
470,925 |
76,125 |
1,242,512 |
|
|
Kentucky d/ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
339,487 |
339,487 |
|
Louisiana |
500,000 |
505,348 |
11,988 |
1,017,336 |
|
|
Maine |
403,000 |
195,255 |
29,971 |
628,226 |
|
|
Maryland |
2,284,000 |
1,149,544 |
0 |
231,602 |
3,665,146 |
|
Massachusetts |
10,900,103 |
2,152,140 |
344,662 |
453,309 |
13,850,214 |
|
Michigan |
6,475,000 |
2,289,541 |
547,264 |
479,120 |
9,790,925 |
|
Minnesota |
5,331,000 |
2,535,707 |
312,594 |
795,894 |
8,975,195 |
|
Mississippi |
1,099,971 |
75,000 |
0 |
1,174,971 |
|
|
Missouri |
3,735,000 |
1,678,901 |
44,956 |
569,110 |
6,027,967 |
|
Montana |
51,784 |
100,000 |
3,896 |
155,680 |
|
|
Nebraska |
1,593,867 |
544,399 |
0 |
194,865 |
2,333,131 |
|
Nevada e/ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
New Hampshire |
849,000 |
261,497 |
44,956 |
1,155,453 |
|
|
New Jersey |
4,459,000 |
1,670,512 |
179,824 |
269,112 |
6,578,448 |
|
New Mexico |
666,766 |
539,771 |
29,971 |
267,478 |
1,503,986 |
|
New York |
18,002,000 |
11,675,649 |
319,187 |
6,817,623 |
36,814,459 |
|
North Carolina |
1,787,000 |
939,247 |
89,912 |
2,816,159 |
|
|
North Dakota |
1,426,000 |
338,441 |
61,140 |
132,405 |
1,957,986 |
|
Ohio |
5,676,077 |
1,176,445 |
0 |
356,092 |
7,208,614 |
|
Oklahoma |
510,000 |
231,124 |
0 |
741,124 |
|
|
Oregon |
5,010,736 |
1,495,506 |
160,643 |
966,154 |
7,633,039 |
|
Pennsylvania |
4,843,000 |
2,230,242 |
299,706 |
588,726 |
7,961,674 |
|
Rhode Island |
305,360 |
102,979 |
32,968 |
441,307 |
|
|
South Carolina |
105,000 |
103,557 |
0 |
208,557 |
|
|
South Dakota |
356,106 |
190,337 |
46,454 |
592,897 |
|
|
Tennessee |
635,000 |
1,128,138 |
0 |
284,942 |
2,048,080 |
|
Texas |
6,402,000 |
3,829,016 |
224,780 |
1,905,637 |
12,361,433 |
|
Utah |
1,532,086 |
742,835 |
0 |
2,274,921 |
|
|
Vermont |
439,098 |
206,536 |
59,941 |
705,575 |
|
|
Virginia |
2,918,000 |
1,512,573 |
67,434 |
557,324 |
5,055,331 |
|
Washington |
13,912,000 |
5,064,471 |
1,240,185 |
1,564,516 |
21,781,172 |
|
West Virginia |
5,000 |
75,000 |
0 |
80,000 |
|
|
Wisconsin |
1,908,888 |
698,867 |
124,078 |
2,731,833 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
Total |
$189,044,984 |
$89,076,044 |
$10,000,000 |
$35,371,300 |
$323,492,328 |
|
|
|||||
|
b/ Does not include funds for privately administered Wilson/Fish programs in California ($113,981), Kentucky ($1,125,825), and Nevada ($591,838). |
|||||
|
c/ These funds provided to States that submitted proposals to provide refugee social services to refugees who receiving TANF benefits. |
|||||
|
d/ Kentucky has not participated in the CMA program since FY 1994. A privately administered Wilson/Fish program has since replaced the State-administered program. |
|||||
|
e/ Nevada ended its participation in the State-administered program on April 30, 1994. A privately administered Wilson/Fish program has since replaced the State-administered program. |
|||||
Targeted Assistance
The targeted assistance program funds employment and other services for refugees and entrants who reside in local areas of high need. These areas are defined as counties or contiguous county areas with unusually large refugee and entrant populations, high refugee or entrant concentrations in relation to the overall population, or high use of public assistance. Such counties need supplementation of other available service resources to help the local refugee or entrant population obtain employment with less than one year's participation in the program.
In FY 1998, ORR obligated $54.5 million for targeted assistance activities for refugees and entrants. Of this, $35.4 million was awarded by formula to 26 States on behalf of the 47 counties eligible for targeted assistance grants. Of the remaining funds, $4.9 million of targeted assistance funds was allocated to communities in the form of discretionary grants through the Targeted Assistance Ten Percent program. An additional $5 million was allocated through the Targeted Assistance supplemental program, and $9.2 million was awarded to grantees to provide services to the elderly. A discussion of these discretionary awards may be found beginning on page 25.
The table on pages 28-29 presents the amount of funds awarded to each State under the formula allocation program. The amounts for individual counties are provided in the following tables.
Unaccompanied Minors
ORR continued its support of care for unaccompanied refugee minors in the U.S. These children, who are identified in countries of first asylum as requiring foster care upon their arrival in this country, are sponsored through two national voluntary agencies-the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)-and placed in licensed child welfare programs operated by their local affiliates, Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services, respectively.
|
Targeted Assistance Allocations by County, FY 1998
|
||
| Maricopa |
AZ
|
$588,726 |
| Alameda |
CA
|
349,037
|
|
Fresno |
CA |
395,581 |
|
Los Angeles |
CA |
1,846,016 |
|
Merced |
CA |
91,798 |
|
Orange |
CA |
1,547,653 |
|
Sacramento |
CA |
986,630 |
|
San Diego |
CA |
991,018 |
|
San Francisco |
CA |
848,804 |
|
San Joaquin |
CA |
147,805 |
|
Santa Clara |
CA |
1,184,851 |
|
Denver |
CO |
291,481 |
|
Dist. of Columbia |
DC |
333,723 |
| Broward |
FL
|
278,404
|
| Dade |
FL
|
5,354,884
|
| Duval |
FL
|
299,568
|
|
Palm Beach |
FL |
188,671 |
| DeKalb |
GA
|
522,566
|
| Fulton |
GA
|
531,084
|
|
Cook/Kane |
IL |
1,535,522 |
| Polk |
IA
|
284,082
|
| Jefferson |
KY
|
339,487
|
|
Baltimore |
MD |
231,602 |
| Suffolk |
MA
|
453,309
|
| Ingham |
MI
|
184,800
|
| Oakland |
MI
|
294,320
|
| Hennepin |
MN
|
472,581
|
|
Ramsey |
MN |
323,313 |
|
St. Louis |
MO |
569,110 |
| Lancaster |
NE
|
194,865
|
| Hudson |
NJ
|
269,112
|
|
Bernadillo |
NM |
267,478 |
|
Broome |
NY |
117,263 |
|
Monroe |
NY |
312,129 |
| New York |
NY
|
6,089,609
|
| Oneida |
NY
|
298,622
|
| Cass |
ND
|
132,405
|
|
Cuyahoga |
OH |
356,092 |
|
Multnomah |
OR |
966,154 |
|
Philadelphia |
PA |
588,726 |
|
Davidson |
TN |
284,942 |
|
Dallas/Tarrant |
TX |
1,055,370 |
|
Harris |
TX |
850,267 |
|
Fairfax |
VA |
373,987 |
| Richmond |
VA
|
183,337
|
| Pierce |
WA
|
234,699
|
|
King/Snohomish |
WA |
1,329,817 |
|
Total |
$35,371,300 |
|
Each refugee minor in the care of this program is eligible for the same range of child welfare benefits as non-refugee children in the State. Where possible, the child is placed with a local affiliate of USCC and LIRS in an area with nearby families of the same ethnic background. Depending on their individual needs, the minors are placed in home foster care, group care, independent living, or residential treatment. ORR reimburses costs incurred on behalf of each child until the month after his eighteenth birthday or such higher age as is permitted under the State's Plan under title IV-B of the Social Security Act.
Since January 1979, a total of 11,566 children have entered the program through local affiliates in 41 States. Of these, 1,383 subsequently were reunited with family and 9,884 reached the age of emancipation. At the end of FY 1998, only 299 minors remained in the program. The number leaving the program by reaching the age of majority continues to accelerate. As a result, programs in 21 States have already phased out.
In progress reports forwarded to ORR, local caseworkers rated children's progress in four categories-English language, general education, social adjustment, and health-on three levels: unsatisfactory, satisfactory, and superior.
Caseworker ratings by percentage were as follows:
Superior Satis- Unsatis-
factory
factory
English language 33.8% 57.9% 8.3%
General education 31.0 51.0 17.9
Social adjustment 28.3 63.4 8.3
Health 44.1 53.8 2.1
(2) Wilson/Fish Alternative Program
An alternative approach to the State-administered program is the Wilson/Fish program. The Wilson/Fish amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, contained in the FY 1985 Continuing Resolution on Appropriations, directed the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to develop alternatives to the regular State-administered program for the purpose of:
- increasing refugee self-sufficiency,
- avoiding welfare dependency, and
- increasing coordination among service providers and resettlement agencies.
The Wilson/Fish authority provides States, voluntary resettlement agencies, and others the opportunity to develop innovative approaches for the provision of cash and medical assistance, social services, and case management. No separate funding is appropriated; funds are drawn instead from regular cash and medical assistance grants and social services allocations. Wilson/Fish alternative projects typically emphasize several of the following elements:
Preclusion of otherwise eligible refugees from public assistance, with cash and/or medical assistance provided instead through specially designed alternative projects.
Creation of a "front-loaded" service system which provides intensive services to refugees in the early months after arrival with an emphasis on early employment.
Integration of case management, cash assistance, and employment services generally under a single private agency that is equipped to work with refugees.
Development of mechanisms for closer monitoring of refugee progress, including a more effective sanctioning system.
In FY 1998, ORR provided $4.7 million to fund three privately administered alternative projects in Kentucky, Nevada, and San Diego and $13.4 million to fund a publicly administered alternative project in Massachusetts. As in past years, Wilson/Fish program managers worked closely with ORR staff to establish outcome goal plans for their programs. The program outcomes established for FY 1998 were identical to the program measures adopted for the State-administered program. For a fuller explanation of each program measure, see the section entitled "Partnerships to Improve Employment and Self-Sufficiency Outcomes", beginning on page 15.
Wilson/Fish 1998 Obligations
Social
CMA Services Total
Private
Kentucky $1,805,897 $1,125,824 $2,931,721
Nevada $793,737 $591,838 $1,385,575
San Diego $275,483 $113,981 $3,89,464
Subtotal $2,875,117 $1,831,643 $4,706,760
Public
Massachusetts $10,900,103 $2,496,802 $13,396,905
The Massachusetts Wilson/Fish demonstration is administered by
the State of Massachusetts; it receives its social service and CMA
funds through the State-administered program.
Kentucky
In FY 1998, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) and its local affiliate, Catholic Charities of Louisville, administered a State-wide Wilson/Fish with $2.9 million in ORR funds for almost 1,600 refugees. The project provides interim cash assistance, private medical coverage and social services through a consortium of five local affiliates of four voluntary agencies. In addition, Kentucky qualified for $339,487 of formula Targeted Assistance funds based on the five-year population for Jefferson County. These funds were incorporated into the Wilson/Fish program.
|
Kentucky |
FY 1997 |
FY 1998 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Caseload |
1,965 |
|
1,601 |
|
|
Entered Employments |
667 |
|
1,049 |
|
|
Terminations |
533 |
89 % |
932 |
88 % |
| Reductions |
0
|
0
%
|
0
|
0
%
|
| Average Wage |
$6.16
|
|
$6.19
|
|
| Retentions |
506
|
76
%
|
761
|
73
%
|
| Health Benefits |
482
|
72
%
|
870
|
83
%
|
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants (MORI) completed its second year of administering a State-wide Wilson/Fish alter-native project. The project restructures the delivery of cash assistance and services and creates a case management and tracking system that provides each refugee family with a single case manager who works with them for their entire eligibility period.
|
Massachusetts |
FY 1997 |
FY 1998 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Caseload |
1,800 |
|
1,876 |
|
|
Entered Employments |
1,159 |
|
1,256 |
|
|
Terminations |
521 |
45 % |
550 |
44 % |
| Reductions |
192
|
16
%
|
123
|
10
%
|
| Average Wage |
$7.58
|
|
$
7.95
|
|
| Retentions |
838
|
72
%
|
796
|
63
%
|
| Health Benefits |
664
|
78
%
|
734
|
73
%
|
Nevada
In FY 1998, Catholic Community Services of Nevada (CCSN) was awarded $1.3 million to provide social services, cash and private medical coverage to almost 600 refugees resettled throughout the State.
|
Nevada |
FY 1997 |
FY 1998 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Caseload |
406 |
594 |
||
|
Entered Employments |
222 |
310 |
||
|
Terminations |
71 |
32 % |
200 |
65 % |
| Reductions |
3
|
1
%
|
2
|
0
%
|
| Average Wage |
$6.84
|
|
$7.55
|
|
| Retentions |
267
|
100
%
|
271
|
87
%
|
| Health Benefits |
189
|
97%
|
283
|
91
%
|
San Diego
Since 1990 the USCC has operated an alternative project for refugees whom it resettles in San Diego. This project uses a one-stop shopping approach to provide comprehensive services and cash assistance to participants. In FY 1998, as in previous years, it received a proportional share of California's social services formula allocation.
|
San Diego |
FY 1997 |
FY 1998 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Caseload |
108 |
|||
|
Entered Employments |
71 |
|||
|
Terminations |
61 |
86 % |
||
| Reductions |
3
|
|||