State Letter #05-26
TO: STATE REFUGEE COORDINATORS
WILSON/FISH PROJECTS
NATIONAL VOLUNTARY AGENCIES
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATIONS
OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
Director
Office of Refugee Resettlement SUBJECT: Disaster Assistance Payments Received by Victims of Hurricane Katrina
This State Letter is intended to provide additional income/asset eligibility guidance for service providers regarding refugee individuals and families who are seeking Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) benefits and services and have recently been evacuated or displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Many of those impacted by Hurricane Katrina, including populations served by the ORR, have received various forms of disaster assistance, including cash payments. Benefits have been provided by federal, state and local governments as well as numerous non-profit organizations.
Agencies are asked to disregard any forms of disaster assistance received from any source by an ORR applicant who has been displaced or evacuated as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Consequently, disaster relief benefits should not be considered or counted during any income/asset analysis for the purposes of determining eligibility for ORR benefits and services.1
If a service-provider is having difficulty determining eligibility for refugee individuals and families who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina please contact Paul E. Gleason at (202) 401-4604 or pgleason@acf.hhs.gov.
1. See Waiver of Administrative Condition, 42 U.S.C. 5141