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State Letter #99-20

FY99 Final Social Services Announcement

Refugee Resettlement Program:Final Notice of Allocations to States of FY 1999 Funds for Refugee Social Services.

Agency, Action, and Summary
I. Amounts For Allocation
II. Discussion of Comments Received

III. Allocation Formulas

IV. Basis of Population Estimates
V. Allocation Amounts

VI. Paperwork Reduction Act

AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), ACF, HHS.

ACTION: Final notice of allocations to States of FY 1999 funds for refugee1 social services.

1 In addition to persons who meet all requirements of 45 CFR 400.43, "Requirements for documentation of refugee status," eligibility for refugee social services also includes: (1) Cuban and Haitian entrants, under section 501 of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-422); (2) certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to the U.S. as immigrants under section 584 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); and (3) certain Amerasians from Vietnam, including U.S. citizens, 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). For convenience, the term "refugee" is used in this notice to encompass all such eligible persons unless the specific context indicates otherwise.

SUMMARY: This notice establishes the allocations to States of FY 1999 funds for social services under The Federal Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP).

This notice includes a $15.5 million set-aside to: (1) Provide outreach and referral to ensure that eligible refugees access the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other programs for low income working populations; and (2) provide specialized interpreter training and the hiring of interpreters to enable refugees to have equal access to medical and legal services.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Date of publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara R. Chesnik, Division of Refugee Self-Sufficiency, (202) 401-4558.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice of proposed allocations to States of FY 1999 funds for refugee social services was published on April 27, 1999 (64 FR 22626).

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I. Amounts For Allocation

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has available $139,990,000 in FY 1999 refugee social service funds as part of the FY 1999 appropriation for the Department of Health and Human Services (Pub. L. No. 105-277).

The FY 1999 House Appropriations Committee Report (H.R. Rept. No. 105-635) reads as follows with respect to social services funds:

The bill provides $134,990,000 for social services, an increase of $5,000,000 over the comparable fiscal year 1998 appropriation and the budget request. Funds are distributed by formula as well as through the discretionary grant making process for special projects. The Committee agrees that $19,000,000 is available for assistance to serve communities affected by the Cuban and Haitian entrants and refugees whose arrivals in recent years have increased. The Committee has set-aside $16,000,000 for increased support to communities with large concentrations of refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult justifying a more intense level and longer duration of Federal assistance. Finally, the Committee has set aside $14,000,000 to address the needs of refugees and communities impacted by recent changes in Federal assistance programs relating to welfare reform. The Committee urges ORR to assist refugees at risk of losing, or who have lost, benefits including SSI, TANF and Medicaid, in obtaining citizenship. In addition, ORR may initiate planning grants to create alternative cash and medical assistance programs for refugees. The Committee has included funding for health screening of new arrivals.

The Committee encourages ORR to award grants for mental health and other health services for victims of torture if such activities are authorized in law.

The Committee encourages ORR to consider supporting education and outreach activities related to female genital mutilation if such activities are authorized in law.

The FY 1999 Senate Appropriations Committee Report (S. Rept. No. 105-300) adds the following:

The Committee provides $19,000,000 to serve communities affected by the Cuban and Haitian entrants and refugees, the same as the amount contained in last year’s appropriation. In addition, the Committee recommends $14,000,000 to address the needs of refugees and communities affected by recent changes in Federal assistance programs, and $16,000,000 to assist communities with large concentrations of refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation difficult. These funds are included in the social services line item.

The FY 1999 Conference Report on Appropriations (H.R. Conf. No. 105-825) reads as follows concerning social services:

The conference agreement provides $139,990,000 for social services, an increase of $5,000,000 over the House and $10,000,000 over the Senate. The conference agreement includes $26,000,000 for increased support to communities with large concentrations of refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult justifying a more intense level and longer duration of Federal assistance, and $14,000,000 to address the needs of refugees and communities impacted by the recent changes in Federal assistance programs relating to welfare reform. The agreement includes $19,000,000 for assistance to communities impacted by Cuban and Haitian entrants and refugees whose arrivals in recent years have increased.

The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will use the $139,990,000 appropriated for FY 1999 social services as follows:

  • $68,841,500 will be allocated under the 3-year population formula, as set forth in this notice for the purpose of providing employment services and other needed services to refugees.
  • $12,148,500 will be awarded as social service discretionary grants through competitive grant announcements that will be issued separately from this notice.
  • $19,000,000 will be awarded to serve communities most heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrant and refugee arrivals. These funds would be awarded through a discretionary grant announcement that will be issued separately from this notice.
  • $26,000,000 will be awarded through discretionary grants for communities with large concentrations of refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult.

justifying a more intense level and longer duration of Federal assistance. A grant announcement will be issued separately from this notice.

  • $14,000,000 will be awarded to address the needs of refugees and communities impacted by recent changes in Federal assistance programs relating to welfare reform. Awards will be made through announcements issued separately from this notice.

In addition, we have added $15,500,000 in unexpended FY 1997 CMA funds to the FY 1999 formula social services allocation as a set-aside for referral and interpreter services, and $20,000,000 in unexpended FY 1997 CMA funds to the FY 1999 formula social services allocation as part of the standard formula allocation, increasing the total amount available for the formula social services program in FY 1999 to $104,341,500.

Congress provided ORR with broad carry-over authority in the FY 1999 HHS appropriations law to use FY 1997 CMA carry-over funds for assistance and other activities in the refugee program in fiscal years 1998 and 1999. The appropriations law states:

"* * * That funds appropriated pursuant to section 414(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act under Pub.L. 104-208 for fiscal year 1997 shall be available for the costs of assistance provided and other activities conducted in such year and in fiscal years 1998 and 1999."

Refugee Social Service Funds

The population figures for the social services allocation include refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Amerasians from Vietnam, and Kurdish asylees since these populations may be served through funds addressed in this notice. (A State must, however, have an approved State plan for the Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program or indicate in its refugee program State plan that Cuban/Haitian entrants will be served in order to use funds on behalf of entrants as well as refugees.)

The Director is allocating $88,841,500, which includes $20,000,000 in unexpended FY 1997 cash and medical assistance (CMA) funds, to States on the basis of each State's proportion of the national population of refugees who had been in the U.S. 3 years or less as of October 1, 1998 (including a floor amount for States which have small refugee populations).

The use of the 3-year population base in the allocation formula is required by section 412(c)(1)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which states that the "funds available for a fiscal year for grants and contracts [for social services] . . . shall be allocated among the States based on the total number of refugees (including children and adults) who arrived in the United States not more than 36 months before the beginning of such fiscal year and who are actually residing in each State (taking into account secondary migration) as of the beginning of the fiscal year."

As established in the FY 1991 social services notice published in the Federal Register of August 29, 1991, section I, "Allocation Amounts" (56 FR 42745), a variable floor amount for States which have small refugee populations is calculated as follows: If the application of the regular allocation formula yields less than $100,000, then --

(1) a base amount of $75,000 is provided for a State with a population of 50 or fewer refugees who have been in the U.S. 3 years or less; and

(2) for a State with more than 50 refugees who have been in the U.S. 3 years or less: (a) a floor has been calculated consisting of $50,000 plus the regular per capita allocation for refugees above 50 up to a total of $100,000 (in other words, the maximum under the floor formula is $100,000); (b) if this calculation has yielded less than $75,000, a base amount of $75,000 is provided for the State.

The Director is also allocating an additional $15.5 million from FY 1997 carry-over funds as a set-aside to: (1) Provide referral services, including outreach, to ensure that refugees are able to access the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other programs for low income populations; and (2) provide for the hiring of interpreters and special interpreter training to enable refugees to have equal access to medical and certain legal services. Depending upon the existing capacity and need in the community, we encourage States to use the funds equally for both activities. Both types of services are not subject to the 5-year limitation and may be provided to refugees regardless of their length of time in the U.S. See 45 CFR 400.152(b).

Eligible refugee families often are not aware of, or do not know how to access, other Federal support programs available to low income working families in the community. We believe that these programs, including CHIP, Food Stamps, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Medicaid, Head Start, low-income housing, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), child care assistance, adult day care for aged dependents, and other support programs for low-income families, are important for the well-being of working refugees, particularly refugee families, and are necessary to help these refugees maintain employment and move toward full self-sufficiency.

The organizations funded by the set-aside amount are expected to conduct outreach into the community to identify low-income refugees and to help these refugees enroll in and to be familiar with the services available and the participation requirements of these programs. We expect States to fund community-based organizations, to the maximum extent possible, to provide hands-on assistance, which means having the application forms available and helping refugees to fill out the application, accompanying the refugee to the eligibility office, assisting in the communication between the family and the eligibility worker, closely following the application process until the family has been found eligible, and then helping the family effectively use the service or support program in which they have been enrolled. For example, there may be different levels of medical coverage available to a family, depending on the ages of the children and the income level of the family, each with different requirements. It is important for the caseworkers/advocates funded through this initiative to understand the program requirements (such as a co-payment structure) in order to help the family make decisions and fully participate.

The organizations funded under this set-aside should develop effective ways to provide an on-going link between these services, the population they serve, and the targeted low income programs. Methods might include: partnering with schools to identify refugee children who may be eligible for CHIP by virtue of their eligibility for the school lunch program; connecting with local Head Start programs to help identify refugee children who are eligible for CHIP and other health care programs; arranging to have Medicaid eligibility workers visit the Mutual Assistance Association (MAA) or other participating organization on a scheduled basis; and working with other groups serving low income families, such as hospitals, WIC programs, low-income housing programs, and food assistance programs to make these services widely known to the refugee community being served.

It is also important that States provide as high a standard as possible in interpretation to non-English speaking and to Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) refugees, particularly in regard to medical and legal issues. As mentioned earlier, we are therefore including funding in the set-aside for States to improve the availability and quality of interpreter services for refugees in their communities. The set-aside funds are to be used by States: (1) to fund specialized interpreter training for medical and legal services; and (2) to pay for the hiring and employment of these trained interpreters by MAAs, voluntary agencies, and other community-based organizations serving refugees, to the maximum extent possible, in order to increase the number of skilled interpreters in the community.

Interpretation requires a great deal of skill -- interpreters need to be fluent in English and the language spoken by the refugee. They must have the ability to quickly understand the message and terminology, if technical, in one language and to express it as quickly and correctly in another language. In addition to fluency in two languages, interpreters must have the skills to handle confidential client information and to deal with a variety of professionals in the medical, legal, law enforcement, social services, and other fields.

States should use qualified training programs or trainers to provide the interpreter training. Several strategies may be employed, e.g., the direct training of interpreters in a group setting, paying the course tuition and associated expenses for individuals at a community college or university, and the training of trainers in order to establish and maintain an efficient training capacity in the community. To the extent possible, we would expect States to use an established curriculum rather than incurring costs to develop a new one. Funding of interpreter services should be directed to areas of greatest need and to the most linguistically isolated communities.

States must determine a community’s capacity to ensure refugee access to medical and other services, and then examine how best to fund and maintain interpreter services for refugees based upon the need and size of refugee population. For example, an interpreter bank with dedicated interpreters may be a preferred option if the needs of the community can justify full-time interpreters. However, because the provision of interpreter services may not fully occupy funded staff in some locations or in certain languages, States may choose to train bilingual caseworkers at voluntary resettlement agencies, MAAs and refugee service providers. States may also consider cross-training of interpreters so that they may also assist, for example, in enrolling clients in CHIP, Medicaid, or other services for low-income clients, and/or serve as case managers or in other staff positions. Staff with both bilingual interpreter skills and knowledge of the family services network, such as child protective services and the domestic violence system, are also highly desirable.

We also encourage States to set up creative ways to maintain and expand the availability of interpreter services in the community, such as seeking reimbursement for services from the courts, hospitals, and agencies which may be able to pay for interpreter services but have been otherwise hindered in providing these services by the lack of available and appropriately trained individuals. Fees from low-income refugee clients, however, may not be sought.

In light of the unique position that refugee MAAs have in the communities where refugees reside, we are asking that States give special consideration to MAAs in using the set-aside amount, where possible, to provide these services to refugee families. However, qualified community based organizations with refugee experience, voluntary resettlement agencies, or refugee service providers may be funded as well.

Population to be Served

Although the allocation formula is based on the 3-year refugee population, in accordance with the current requirements of 45 CFR Part 400 Subpart I -- Refugee Social Services, States are not required to limit social service programs to refugees who have been in the U.S. only 3 years. However, under 45 CFR 400.152, States may not provide services funded by this notice, except for referral and interpreter services, to refugees who have been in the United States for more than 60 months (5 years).

In accordance with 45 CFR 400.147, States are required to

provide services to refugees in the following order of priority, except in certain individual extreme circumstances: (a) all newly arriving refugees during their first year in the U.S., who apply for services; (b) refugees who are receiving cash assistance; (c) unemployed refugees who are not receiving cash assistance; and (d) employed refugees in need of services to retain employment or to attain economic independence.

ORR funds may not be used to provide services to United States citizens, since they are not covered under the authorizing legislation, with the following exceptions: (1) Under current regulations at 45 CFR 400.208, services may be provided to a U.S.-born minor child in a family in which both parents are refugees or, if only one parent is present, in which that parent is a refugee; and (2) under the FY 1989 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 100-461), services may be provided to an Amerasian from Vietnam who is a U.S. citizen and who enters the U.S. after October 1, 1988.

Service Priorities

In the past, a number of States have focused primarily on serving refugee cash assistance (RCA) recipients because of the need to help these refugees become employed and self-sufficient within the 8-month RCA eligibility period. Now, with the passage of welfare reform, refugee recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) also face a time limit for cash assistance and need appropriate services as quickly as possible to become employed and self-sufficient. In order for refugees to move quickly off TANF, we believe it is crucial for these refugees to receive refugee-specific services that are designed to address the employment barriers that refugees typically face. We are pleased with the efforts that State Refugee Coordinators have made to date to develop agreements with their State TANF program to utilize the existing refugee service system in a State for refugee TANF participants. We encourage States to continue their efforts in this regard.

Refugee social service funding should be used to assist refugee families to achieve economic independence. To this end, States 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.

Some States are doing remarkably well in achieving refugee self-sufficiencies. For this reason, this may be a good time for these States to re-examine the range of services they currently offer to refugees and expand the range of services beyond employment services to address the broader needs that refugees have in order to successfully integrate into the community.

Reflecting section 412(a)(1)(A)(iv) of the INA, and in keeping with 45 CFR 400.145(c), States must ensure that women have the same opportunities as men to participate in all services funded under this notice, including job placement services. In addition, 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, particularly in the case of large families. States are expected to make every effort to assure the 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 refugee social services program. Refugees who are participating in employment services or have accepted employment are eligible for day care services for children. For an employed refugee, day care funded by refugee social service dollars should be limited to one year after the refugee becomes employed. States are expected to use day care funding from other publicly funded mainstream programs to the maximum extent possible and are expected to work with service providers to assure maximum access to other publicly funded resources for day care.

In accordance with 45 CFR 400.146, social service funds must be used primarily for employability services designed to enable refugees to obtain jobs within one year of becoming enrolled in services in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Social 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. Social service 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 45 CFR 400.156(e), refugee social services must be provided, to the maximum extent feasible, in a manner that is culturally and linguistically compatible with a refugee's language and cultural background. 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 (45 CFR 400.156(d)).

English language training must be provided in a concurrent, rather than sequential, time period with employment or with other employment-related activities (45 CFR 400.156(c)).

When planning State refugee 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 (45 CFR 400.156(b)).

In order to provide culturally and linguistically compatible services in as cost-efficient a manner as possible, ORR encourages States and counties to promote and give special consideration to the provision of refugee social services through coalitions of refugee service organizations, such as coalitions of mutual assistance associations (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.

States should also expect to use funds available under this notice to pay for social services which are provided to refugees who participate in Wilson/Fish projects. Section 412(e)(7)(A) of the INA provides that:

The Secretary [of HHS] shall develop and implement alternative projects for refugees who have been in the United States less than thirty-six months, under which refugees are provided interim support, medical services, support [social] services, and case management, as needed, in a manner that encourages self-sufficiency, reduces welfare dependency, and fosters greater coordination among the resettlement agencies and service providers.

This provision is generally known as the Wilson/Fish Amendment. The Department has already issued a separate notice in the Federal Register with respect to applications for such projects (64 FR 19793, April 22, 1999).

The Use of MAAs

ORR believes that the use of qualified refugee mutual assistance associations in the delivery of social services helps to ensure the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services as well as increasing the effectiveness of the overall service system. Therefore, we expect States to use MAAs as service providers to the maximum extent possible. We strongly encourage States when contracting for services, including employment services, to give consideration to the special strengths of 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 expects States to continue to assist MAAs in seeking other public and/or private funds for the provision of services to refugee clients.

States may use a portion of their social service grant, either through contracts or through the use of State/county staff, to provide technical assistance and organizational training to strengthen the capability of MAAs to provide employment services and other social services, particularly in States where MAA capability is weak or undeveloped.

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.

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II. Discussion of Comments Received

We received one letter of comment in response to the notice of proposed FY l999 allocations to States for refugee social services. This comment is summarized below and followed by the Department's response.

Comment: The commenter expressed concern about the proposal to allocate $15.5 million as a set-aside to provide referral services to ensure that refugees are able to access the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and other programs for low income populations; and (2) provide for the hiring of interpreters and special interpreter training to enable refugees to have equal access to medical services and certain legal services. The commenter believes that refugees are able to adequately access public assistance and medical assistance programs. Instead, the commenter recommended that the set-aside funds be allocated to States based upon the estimated number of refugees who have been in the country for over seven years who are losing eligibility for Federal Food Stamps. The commenter recommended that States should be given the discretion on how to use the funds in providing food assistance, employment services, or naturalization services in order to mitigate the loss of Federal Food Stamp eligibility. The commenter also recommended that the funds should be used by states to translate notices and information relating to programs and services which refugees need because translation is more cost-effective and efficient than interpreter services. And lastly, the commenter indicated that the President's budget for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2000 includes $40 million to increase and expand the use of TANF funds for the current Medicaid outreach program to include children newly eligible for CHIP and therefore the ORR set-aside would be duplicative of this initiative.

Response: With the continuing increase in diversity among newly arriving refugee groups, and the increased ability of these groups to become employed soon after arrival, we believe that there is a strong need for refugees to receive specially directed assistance to help them access medical and other assistance programs for low-economic populations. We believe this assistance is critical to helping refugees make the transition from the entry and low level jobs which are obtained soon after arrival, when families are struggling to adjust to their new lives, jobs, and communities, to becoming self-sufficient members of the community.

We also believe that it is vital to have appropriate interpreter services available so that the diverse newly arriving populations receive the services necessary for their well-being and integration into their new communities. While both interpreter and translation services are currently allowable social services for States to fund under ORR regulations, it is our understanding that newly arriving refugees would particularly benefit from having additional interpreter services available in the community. In many communities, it is no longer possible for each local resettlement provider to have on staff a bilingual worker for each arriving refugee group. New strategies and means of addressing the diverse population must be found. It is our intent that the set-aside funds will support that need. And finally, while funding to augment access to CHIP may be provided under the FFY 2000 budget, and we would certainly encourage States to do whatever possible to ensure that refugee populations are served if these funds are included in the final appropriations legislation, we do not believe this to be a duplication because refugee program funds would have been available to serve refugees before next year's appropriation is made available to States.

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III. Allocation Formulas

Of the funds available for FY 1999 for social services, $88,841,815 is allocated to States in accordance with the formula specified below. In addition, $15.5 million in set-aside funds are allocated in accordance with the formula specified below. A State's allowable allocation is calculated as follows:

1. The total amount of funds determined by the Director to be available for this purpose; divided by --

2. The total number of refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Amerasians from Vietnam, and Kurdish asylees who arrived in the United States not more than 3 years prior to the beginning of the fiscal year for which the funds are appropriated, as shown by the ORR Refugee Data System. The resulting per capita amount is multiplied by --

3. The number of persons in item 2, above, in the State as of October 1, 1998, adjusted for estimated secondary migration.

The calculation above yields the formula allocation for each State. Minimum allocations for small States are taken into account.

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IV. Basis of Population Estimates

The population estimates for the allocation of funds in FY 1999 are based on data on refugee arrivals from the ORR Refugee Data System, adjusted as of October 1, 1998, for estimated secondary migration. The data base includes refugees of all nationalities, Amerasians from Vietnam, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Kurdish asylees.

For fiscal year 1999, ORR's formula allocations for the States for social services are based on the numbers of refugees, Amerasians, Kurdish asylees, and entrants who arrived during the preceding three fiscal years: 1996, 1997, and 1998, based on arrival data by State. Therefore, estimates have been developed of the numbers of refugees and entrants with arrival or resettlement dates between October 1, 1995, and September 30, 1998, who are thought to be living in each State as of October 1, 1998.

The estimates of secondary migration were based on data submitted by all participating States on Form ORR-11 on secondary migrants who have resided in the U.S. for 36 months or less, as of September 30, 1998. The total migration reported by each State was summed, yielding in- and out-migration figures and a net migration figure for each State. The net migration figure was applied to the State's total arrival figure, resulting in a revised population estimate.

Estimates were developed separately for refugees and entrants and then combined into a total estimated 3-year refugee/entrant population for each State. Eligible Amerasians and Kurdish asylees are included in the refugee figures.

With regard to Havana parolees, in the absence of reliable data on the State-by-State resettlement of this population, we are crediting each State that received entrant arrivals during the 3-year period from FY 1996 through FY 1998 with a prorated share of the 13,442 parolees reported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to have come to the U.S. directly from Havana in FY 1998. In addition, we have credited each State with the same share of FY 1996 and FY 1997 Havana parolees that they were credited with in the final FY 1997 and FY 1998 social service notices. The allocations in this notice reflect these additional parolee numbers.

Table 1, below, shows the estimated 3-year populations, as of October 1, 1998, of refugees (col. 1), entrants (col. 2), Havana parolees (col. 3); total refugee/entrant population, (col. 4); the formula amounts which the population estimates yield (col. 5); the allocation amounts after allowing for the minimum amounts (col. 6); the set-aside amount (col.7); and the total allocation (col. 8).

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V. Allocation Amounts

Funding subsequent to the publication of this notice will be contingent upon the submittal and approval of a State annual services plan that is developed on the basis of a local consultative process, as required by 45 CFR 400.11(b)(2) in the ORR regulations. The following amounts are for allocation for refugee social services in FY 1999:

Final Social Service Allocations

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VI. Paperwork Reduction Act

This notice does not create any reporting or recordkeeping requirements requiring OMB clearance.

[Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.566 Refugee Assistance--State Administered Programs]

Dated:

Lavinia Limon, Director
Office of Refugee Resettlement

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