State Letter 13-06

To:  State Refugee Coordinators

From: Eskinder Negash
Director
Office of Refugee Resettlement

Subject: FY 2013 Targeted Assistance Formula Allocations

Attached is the Federal Register Notice (PDF), published on August 21, 2013, that announced the FY 2013 Targeted Assistance formula awards.  The FY 2013 Targeted Assistance formula grants are incrementally funded with both FY 2013 and FY 2014 funding.  The amount of FY 2013 funds being allocated is 24,545,134.  Subject to funds availability, the FY 2013 Targeted Assistance grants will receive additional funding in FY 2014.

The attached tables (DOCX) show the FY 2013 Targeted Assistance County and Targeted Assistance Area allocations (Table 1) and State allocations (Table 2) and the population figures used to determine the allocations.  The population figures are based on FY 2011 and FY 2012 arrivals data (October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2012) in the ORR Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS) and data for the same time period that States submitted to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and that ORR matched against the data in RADS.

The purpose of Targeted Assistance formula grants is to provide, through a process of local planning and implementation, direct services intended to result in the economic self-sufficiency and reduced welfare dependency of refugees through job placements.  Section 412(c)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that Targeted Assistance grants shall be made available "(i) primarily for the purpose of facilitating refugee employment and achievement of self-sufficiency, (ii) in a manner that does not supplant other refugee program funds and that assures that not less than 95 percent of the amount of the grant award be made available to the county or other local entity."

In accordance with 45 C.F.R. 400.314, States are required to provide Targeted Assistance services to refugees in the following order of priority, except in certain individual extreme circumstances: (a) refugees who are cash assistance recipients; (b) unemployed refugees who are not receiving cash assistance; and (c) employed refugees in need of services to retain employment or to attain economic independence.

Pursuant to 45 C.F.R. 400.210(b), Targeted Assistance funds must be obligated by the State no later than one year after the end of the federal fiscal year in which the grant is awarded.  Funds must be liquidated within two years after the end of the federal fiscal year in which the grant is awarded.  A State’s final SF-425 Federal Financial Report on Targeted Assistance expenditures must be received no later than 90 days after the end of the liquidation period.  If final reports are not received on time, any unexpended funds, including any unliquidated obligations, will be de-obligated on the basis of the State’s last filed report.

Reporting

States are required to submit (1) the ORR-6 Performance Reports on a trimester basis and (2) Standard Form (SF) 425 Federal Financial Reports on a quarterly basis.

Performance Reports are submitted using Schedule A and Schedule C of the ORR-6 (OMB Clearance Number 0970-0036).  The ORR-6 Performance Reports are submitted to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.  The ORR-6 Performance Report may be found at:  /programs/orr/resource/report-forms.

Beginning October 1, 2013, grantees must submit the SF-425 Federal Financial Report through ACF’s On-Line Data Collection (OLDC) system.  

If you have any questions about the Targeted Assistance allocations, please contact Henley Portner at (202) 401-5363 or Henley.Portner@acf.hhs.gov.