21224 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

Refugee Resettlement Program:

Proposed Notice of Allocations to

States of FY 2001 Funds for Refugee

Social Services

AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement

(ORR), ACF, HHS.

ACTION: Proposed notice of allocations to

States of FY 2001 funds for refugee

social services.

SUMMARY: This notice establishes the

proposed allocations to States of FY

2001 funds for social services under the

Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP). In

the final notice, allocation amounts

could be adjusted slightly based on final

adjustments in FY 2000 arrivals in some

States.

This notice includes $20.5 million in

two set-aside funding allocations to: (1)

Provide outreach and referral services to

ensure that eligible refugees access the

State Children’s Health Insurance

Program (SCHIP)and other programs for

low income working populations and

provide specialized interpreter training

and the hiring of interpreters to enable

refugees to have equal access to medical

and legal services; and (2) provide

outreach, referral, and social services to

ensure that persons granted asylum

access programs to help them attain

economic self-sufficiency, as needed.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by May 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address written comments,

in duplicate, to: Barbara R. Chesnik,

Office of Refugee Resettlement,

Administration for Children and

Families, 370 L’Enfant Promenade, SW.,

Washington, DC 20447.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Barbara R. Chesnik, Division of Refugee

Self-Sufficiency, (202) 401–4558.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Amounts For Allocation

The Office of Refugee Resettlement

(ORR) has available $143,621,000 in FY

2001 refugee social service funds as part

of the FY 2001 appropriation for the

Department of Health and Human

Services (Consolidated Appropriations

Act, 2001, as enacted into law by

Section 1(a)(1) of Pub. L. No. 106–554).

The FY 2001 House Appropriations

Committee Report (H.R. Rept. No. 106–

645) reads as follows with respect to

social services funds:

The bill provides $143,621,000 for social

services, the same as the fiscal year 2000

appropriation and $305,000 above 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

$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. 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.

The FY 2001 Conference Report on

Appropriations (H.R. Conf. 106–1033)

reads as follows concerning social

services:

The agreement includes $20,000,000 from

carryover funds that are to be used under

social services to increase educational

support to schools with a significant

proportion of refugee children and for the

development of alternative cash assistance

programs that involve case management

approaches to improve resettlement

outcomes. Such support should include

intensive English language training and

cultural assimilation programs.

The agreement also 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.

The Conference report provided

$143,621,000 in social services funds.

ORR proposes to use the $143,621,000

appropriated for FY 2001 social services

as follows:

• $71,927,850 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.

• $12,693,150 will be awarded as

continuation social service discretionary

grants under prior year competitive

grant announcements 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 will be awarded through

continuation awards under a separate

prior year announcement.

• $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.

Continuation awards will be made

through separate prior year

announcements.

• $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 separate

announcements.

• $20,000,000 will be awarded in

prior year funds to increase educational

support to schools with a significant

proportion of refugee children and for

the development of alternative cash

assistance programs that involve case

management approaches to improve

resettlement outcomes. This support

will include intensive English language

training and cultural assimilation

programs. Continuation awards will be

made through a separate prior year

announcement.

In addition, we are proposing to add

$20,500,000 in prior year funds to the

FY 2001 formula social services

allocation as two set-aside allocations as

follows: (1) For outreach and assistance

for low-income refugees and interpreter

capacity building services, and (2) as a

set-aside for outreach, referral, and

services for asylees, increasing the total

amount available for the formula social

services program in FY 2001 to

$92,427,850.

Congress provided ORR with broad

carry-over authority in the FY 2000 HHS

appropriations law (as enacted into law

by section 1000(a)(4) of Public Law 106–

113) to use unexpended FY 1998 and

FY 1999 CMA funds for assistance and

other activities in the refugee program

provided through September 30, 2001.

The appropriations law states:

That funds appropriated pursuant to

section 414(a) of the Immigration and

Nationality Act under Public Law 105–78 for

fiscal year 1998 and under Public Law 105–

277 for fiscal year 1999 shall be available for

the costs of assistance provided and other

activities through September 30, 2001.

Refugee Social Service Funds

The population figures for the formula

social services allocation include

refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, and

Amerasians from Vietnam. (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 proposing to allocate

$71,927,850 to States on the basis of

each State’s proportion of the national

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21225

population of refugees who had been in

the U.S. 3 years or less as of October 1,

2000 (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 proposing to

allocate an additional total of $20.5

million from prior year carry-over funds

as two set-aside allocations as follow:

(1) $10.5 million to (a) provide

referral services, including outreach, to

ensure that refugees are able to access

the State Children’s Health Insurance

Program (SCHIP) and other programs for

low income populations; and (b) expand

the capacity of communities to provide

interpretation services for refugees

through special training and hiring of

interpreters to enable refugees to have

equal access to medical, social, and

certain legal services.

(2) $10 million to provide outreach,

referrals, and social services to

individuals granted asylum. The need

for outreach to asylees is greatest

immediately after asylum is granted and

the services for asylees may be provided

only during the 5-year period following

the date that asylum was granted.

Outreach, referral and interpretation

services are not subject to the 5-year

limitation and may be provided to

refugees and asylees regardless of their

length of time in the U.S. See 45 CFR

400.152(b).

Regarding the first set-aside

allocation, 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

SCHIP, Food Stamps, Low Income

Home Energy Assistance Program

(LIHEAP), Medicaid, Head Start, lowincome 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 first

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

SCHIP 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 SCHIP 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, lowincome 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

language interpretation to non-English

speaking and to Limited-EnglishProficient (LEP) refugees, particularly

with regard to medical and legal issues.

We are therefore including funding in

the first 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, legal, and social 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. All interpreters should be

working under a recognized code of

ethics.

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

21226 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

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. These workers are frequently

called upon to interpret and should

receive interpreter training. States may

also consider cross-training of

interpreters so that they may also assist,

for example, in enrolling clients in

SCHIP, 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 lowincome refugee clients, however, may

not be sought.

Regarding the second set-aside

allocation, individuals granted asylum

do not have voluntary agency

caseworkers to bring them into the

network of refugee program and

benefits. They often are unaware of the

benefits to which they are entitled.

Outreach activities under the second

set-aside allocation should be

conducted with the goal of providing

information to asylees or of providing

information to the agencies and

organizations that traditionally have

contact with asylees and may be able to

assist them in accessing needed services

and benefits. For example, outreach

through organizations and agencies may

include training seminars on benefits

eligibility conducted for attorneys that

represent asylum seekers, monthly

liaison meetings with the District Office

of the Immigration and Naturalization

Service to establish effective contacts, or

provision of benefits and eligibility

materials to local English as a Second

Language (ESL) programs for

distribution to students. This set-aside

amount may also be used to provide

social services to asylees. Although the

formula social services funds are

available to serve asylees, States may

augment this funding using these setaside funds for those agencies who are

already serving, or expect to serve,

refugees and asylees. Or, States may

elect to hold a separate competition for

the funds, depending upon State

administrative procedures and

programmatic need. As for refugees,

services to asylees are those covered in

45 CFR 400.154 and 400.155.

A State that can demonstrate that the

total amount of set-aside funds awarded

is not needed to provide the services

described above may submit a written

request to the Director to use a portion

of the funds for another nonemployment service. This request must

fully describe how the need for the

specified set-aside services is already

being met in the State, as well as a

description of the additional service

proposed, why it is needed, and how it

will be provided.

In using the set-aside amount, funds

should be directed to refugee specific

organizations, where possible, such as

refugee MAAs, qualified community

based organizations with refugee

experience, voluntary resettlement

agencies, or refugee service providers.

Population To Be Served and Allowable

Services

Eligibility for refugee social services

includes persons who meet all

requirements of 45 CFR 400.43 (as

amended by 65 FR 15409 (March 22,

2000). (Note: ORR State Letter No. 00–

12 clarifies that effective June 15, 2000,

persons granted asylum are eligible for

refugee benefits and services from the

date that asylum was granted.)

Services to refugees must be provided

in accordance with the rules of 45 CFR

Part 400 Subpart I—Refugee Social

Services. Although the allocation

formula is based on the 3-year refugee

population, 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 and citizenship and

naturalization preparation services, to

refugees who have been in the United

States for more than 60 months (5

years).

Allowable social services are those

indicated in 45 CFR 400.154 and

400.155. Additional services not

included in these sections which the

State may wish to provide must be

submitted to and approved by the

Director of ORR (§ 400.155(h)).

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 selfsufficient 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.

Some States are doing remarkably

well in helping refugees achieve selfsufficiency. For this reason, this may be

a good time for these States to reexamine the range of services they

currently offer to refugees and expand

beyond employment services to address

the broader needs that refugees have in

order to successfully integrate into the

community.

States should also expect that these

funds will be made available 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)).

II. (Reserved for Discussion of

Comments in Final Notice)

III. Allocation Formulas

Of the funds available for FY 2001 for

social services, $71,927,850 is allocated

to States in accordance with the formula

specified in A. below. In addition, $20.5

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21227

million in set-aside funds are allocated

in accordance with the formulas

specified in B. and C. below.

A. A State’s allowable formula

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, and Amerasians

from Vietnam 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, 2000,

adjusted for estimated secondary

migration.

The calculation above yields the

formula allocation for each State.

Minimum allocations for small States

are taken into account.

B. A State’s allowable first set-aside

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, and Amerasians

from Vietnam 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, 2000,

adjusted for estimated secondary

migration.

C. A State’s allowable second setaside 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 asylees who

were granted asylum in FY 2000 by the

INS asylum corps (22,809), the asylum

judges of the Executive Office of

Immigration Review (12,763), and the

Bureau of Immigration Appeals (1,402).

The calculations in B. and C. above

yields the set-aside formula allocations

for each State.

Adding the results for A., B., and C.

above yields the total formula allocation

for each State.

IV. Basis of Population Estimates

The population estimates for the

allocation of funds in FY 2001 for the

proposed formula social service

allocation and the first set-aside are

based on data on refugee arrivals from

the ORR Refugee Data System, adjusted

as of October 1, 2000, for estimated

secondary migration. The data base

includes refugees of all nationalities—

Amerasians from Vietnam, and Cuban

and Haitian entrants.

For fiscal year 2001, ORR’s proposed

formula social service allocations for the

States are based on the numbers of

refugees, Amerasians, and entrants in

the ORR data base. The numbers are

based upon the arrivals during the

preceding three fiscal years: 1998, 1999,

and 2000.

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, 2000. 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 are included

in the refugee figures. Havana parolees

(HP’s) are enumerated in a separate

column in Table 1, below because they

are tabulated separately from other

entrants. For FY 2000 and FY 1999,

Havana parolee arrivals for all States are

based on actual data. For FY 1998,

Florida’s HP’s (10,183) are based on

actual data, while HP’s in other States

(3,258) are prorated according to the

State’s proportion of the three-year

entrant populations.

If a State does not agree with ORR’s

population estimate and wishes ORR to

reconsider its numbers, it should submit

written evidence to ORR, including a

list of refugees identified by name, alien

number, date of birth, and date of

arrival. Listings of refugees who are not

identified by their alien number will not

be considered. Such evidence should be

submitted separately from comments on

the proposed allocation formula no later

than 30 days from the date of

publication of this notice and should be

addressed to: Loren Bussert, Division of

Refugee Self-Sufficiency, Office of

Refugee Resettlement, 370 L’Enfant

Promenade, SW., Washington, DC

20447, Telephone: (202) 401–4732.

The proposed second set-aside is

based on the number of asylees granted

asylum in FY 2000, according to data

received from the Department of Justice

for cases approved by the Asylum

Corps, the immigration judges of the

Executive Office of Immigration Review,

and the Bureau of Immigration Appeals.

These data show the asylee’s zip code

of record. Because we are asking States

to set up systems to identify and serve

those asylees in need of services, we

have added this second set-aside

amount to the total allocation for States.

During the next year, ORR intends to

revise the ORR–11 and seek OMB

approval to capture the number of

asylees and secondary migrants

accessing services at the county level.

ORR will adjust the social services

formula 3-year population based on

these data.

Table 1, below, shows the estimated

3-year populations, as of October 1,

2000, of refugees (col. 1), entrants (col.

2), Havana parolees (col. 3); total

refugee/entrant population, (col. 4); the

proposed formula amounts which the

population estimates yield, (col. 5); the

proposed allocation amounts after

allowing for the minimum amounts (col.

6); first proposed set aside allocation,

(col. 7); the 1 year asylee population

(col. 8); the second proposed set-aside

amount, (col. 9); and the total proposed

allocation (col. 10).

V. Proposed 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 2000:

21228 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices

TABLE 1.—ESTIMATED THREE-YEAR REFUGEE/ENTRANT/PAROLEE POPULATIONS OF STATES PARTICIPATING IN THE REFUGEE

PROGRAM—PROPOSED SET-ASIDES, AND PROPOSED SOCIAL SERVICE FORMULA AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION FOR FY 2001

State Refugees 1 Entrants Havana

Parolees 2

Total

population

Proposed

formula

amount

Proposed

allocation

Proposed

set-aside

($10.5

million)

Asylees 3

Proposed

asylee

set-aside

($10

million)

Total

proposed

allocation

Alabama ................................ 456 5 59 520 $126,497 $126,497 $18,568 33 $8,925 $153,990

Alaska 4 .................................. 0 0 0 0 0

Arizona .................................. 7,402 433 190 8,025 1,953,272 1,953,272 286,717 306 82,761 2,322,750

Arkansas ............................... 29 9 8 46 11,286 75,000 1,657 21 5,680 82,337

California ............................... 29,322 53 379 29,754 7,242,172 7,242,172 1,063,065 13,573 3,670,958 11,976,195

Colorado ................................ 3,316 3 5 3,324 809,058 809,058 118,760 262 70,861 998,679

Connecticut ........................... 3,427 28 102 3,557 865,737 865,737 127,080 194 52,469 1,045,286

Delaware ............................... 122 11 1 134 32,609 75,000 4,787 50 13,523 93,310

Dist. of Columbia ................... 968 1 9 978 238,032 238,032 34,940 296 80,056 353,028

Florida ................................... 13,465 11,984 34,836 60,285 14,673,438 14,673,438 2,153,886 5,313 1,436,956 18,264,280

Georgia .................................. 11,189 33 118 11,340 2,760,068 2,760,068 405,145 559 151,187 3,316,400

Hawaii .................................... 93 0 0 93 22,754 75,000 3,340 24 6,491 84,831

Idaho 5 ................................... 2,076 0 3 2,079 506,031 506,031 74,279 5 1,352 581,662

Illinois .................................... 10,808 14 190 11,012 2,680,373 2,680,373 393,447 526 142,262 3,216,082

Indiana ................................... 1,831 4 13 1,848 449,909 449,909 66,041 101 27,316 543,266

Iowa ....................................... 5,271 0 3 5,274 1,283,691 1,283,691 188,430 41 11,089 1,483,210

Kansas .................................. 727 1 8 736 179,233 179,233 26,309 44 11,900 217,442

Kentucky 6 .............................. 3,596 1,171 396 5,163 1,256,780 1,256,780 184,480 34 9,196 1,450,456

Louisiana ............................... 1,486 104 78 1,668 406,080 406,080 59,608 41 11,089 476,777

Maine ..................................... 869 0 0 869 211,516 211,516 31,048 14 3,786 246,350

Maryland ................................ 3,073 10 34 3,117 758,763 758,763 111,377 1,582 427,868 1,298,008

Massachusetts ...................... 6,360 102 78 6,540 1,591,910 1,591,910 233,673 682 184,454 2,010,037

Michigan ................................ 7,777 713 191 8,681 2,113,084 2,113,084 310,175 411 111,159 2,534,418

Minnesota .............................. 10,212 2 7 10,221 2,487,900 2,487,900 365,194 555 150,105 3,003,199

Mississippi ............................. 68 5 8 81 19,680 75,000 2,889 34 9,196 87,085

Missouri ................................. 8,312 6 22 8,340 2,029,937 2,029,937 297,971 26 7,032 2,334,940

Montana ................................ 12 0 2 14 3,408 75,000 500 1 270 75,770

Nebraska ............................... 2,641 3 22 2,666 649,024 649,024 95,269 36 9,737 754,030

Nevada 6 ................................ 1,192 734 341 2,267 551,717 551,717 80,986 181 48,953 681,656

New Hampshire ..................... 1,718 0 0 1,718 418,163 418,163 61,381 25 6,762 486,306

New Jersey ........................... 4,363 265 818 5,446 1,325,618 1,325,618 194,585 765 206,902 1,727,105

New Mexico ........................... 433 330 229 992 241,393 241,393 35,434 10 2,705 279,532

New York ............................... 22,435 1,113 526 24,074 5,859,658 5,859,658 860,128 6,865 1,856,710 8,576,496

North Carolina ....................... 4,662 15 57 4,734 1,152,281 1,152,281 169,141 219 59,231 1,380,653

North Dakota ......................... 1,545 0 0 1,545 376,055 376,055 55,200 0 431,255

Ohio ....................................... 4,613 5 28 4,646 1,130,930 1,130,930 166,007 203 54,903 1,351,840

Oklahoma .............................. 403 0 8 411 100,135 100,135 14,699 62 16,769 131,603

Oregon .................................. 4,667 460 170 5,297 1,289,303 1,289,303 189,254 132 35,701 1,514,258

Pennsylvania ......................... 7,710 166 158 8,034 1,955,475 1,955,475 287,040 656 177,422 2,419,937

Rhode Island ......................... 596 1 8 605 147,362 147,362 21,631 87 23,530 192,523

South Carolina ...................... 189 1 21 211 51,337 89,166 7,536 37 10,007 106,709

South Dakota 6 ...................... 1,257 0 0 1,257 305,955 305,955 44,911 10 2,705 353,571

Tennessee ............................. 3,180 7 118 3,305 804,448 804,448 118,083 267 72,213 994,744

Texas ..................................... 13,246 831 459 14,536 3,538,020 3,538,020 519,339 788 213,123 4,270,482

Utah ....................................... 3,422 0 2 3,424 833,524 833,524 122,351 48 12,982 968,857

Vermont ................................. 981 0 0 981 238,777 238,777 35,050 9 2,434 276,261

Virginia .................................. 4,836 111 72 5,019 1,221,716 1,221,716 179,333 1,340 362,417 1,763,466

Washington ........................... 17,297 0 36 17,333 4,218,836 4,218,836 619,275 382 103,316 4,941,427

West Virginia ......................... 8 0 0 8 1,947 75,000 286 4 1,082 76,368

Wisconsin .............................. 1,665 2 4 1,671 406,813 406,813 59,715 120 32,455 498,983

Wyoming 4 .............................

Total ............................... 235,326 18,736 39,822 293,884 71,531,705 71,927,850 10,500,000 36,974 10,000,000 92,427,850

1 Includes: refugees and Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam adjusted for secondary migration.

2For FY 1999 and FY 2000, Havana Parolee arrivals for all States are based on actual data. For FY 1998, Florida’s HP’s are based on actual data, while Havana

Parolees in other States are prorated according to the State’s proportion of the three-year entrant population. 3 Includes individuals granted asylum in FY 2000 by the INS asylum corps (22,809), the immigration judges of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (12,763),

and the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (1,402). These numbers were not used for the social services allocation. See narrative for their use in the $10 million asylee

set-aside. 4Alaska and Wyoming no longer participate in the Refugee Program.

5The allocation for Idaho is expected to be awarded to the State replacement designee.

6The allocations for South Dakota, Kentucky, and Nevada are expected to be awarded to Wilson/Fish projects.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2001 / Notices 21229

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: April 20, 2001.

Carmel Clay-Thompson,

Acting Director, Office of Refugee

Resettlement.

[FR Doc. 01–10443 Filed 4–26–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

Refugee Resettlement Program;

Proposed Availability of Formula

Allocation Funding for FY 2001

Targeted Assistance Grants for

Services to Refugees in Local Areas of

High Need

AGENCY: Office of Refugee Resettlement

(ORR), ACF, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed availability

of formula allocation funding for FY

2001 targeted assistance grants to States

for services to refugees in local areas of

high need.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

proposed availability of funds and

award procedures for FY 2001 targeted

assistance grants for services to refugees

under the Refugee Resettlement Program

(RRP). These grants are for service

provision in localities with large refugee

populations, high refugee

concentrations, and high use of public

assistance, and where specific needs

exist for supplementation of currently

available resources.

This notice continues the eligibility of

those 50 counties located in 29 States

that previously qualified for and

received targeted assistance program

(TAP) grants beginning in FY 1999 as a

result of the three-year qualification

process. The FY 2001 TAP formula

allocations are based on the same

formula as in FY 1999, updated to

reflect arrivals during the five-year

period from FY 1996 through FY 2000.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by May 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address written comments,

in duplicate, to: Gayle A. Smith, Office

of Refugee Resettlement, Administration

for Children and Families, 370 L’Enfant

Promenade, SW., Washington, D.C.

20447.

Application Deadline: The deadline

for applications will be established by

the final notice. Applications should not

be sent in response to this notice of

proposed allocations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gayle Smith, Director, Division of

Refugee Self-Sufficiency, (202) 205–

3590, e-mail: gsmith@acf.dhhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Purpose and Scope

This notice announces the proposed

availability of funds for grants for

targeted assistance for services to

refugees in counties where, because of

factors such as unusually large refugee

populations, high refugee

concentrations, and high use of public

assistance, there exists and can be

demonstrated a specific need for

supplementation of resources for

services to this population.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement

(ORR) has available $49,477,000 in FY

2001 funds for the targeted assistance

program (TAP) as part of the FY 2001

appropriation for the Department of

Health and Human Services

(Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001,

as enacted into law by section 1(a)(1) of

Pub. L. No. 106–554).

The Director of the Office of Refugee

Resettlement (ORR) proposes to use the

$49,477,000 in targeted assistance funds

as follows:

• $44,529,300 will be allocated to

States under the five-year population

formula, as set forth in this notice.

• $4,947,700 (10 percent of the total)

will be used to award discretionary

grants to States under separate

continuation grant awards.

The purpose of targeted assistance

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.

The targeted assistance program

reflects the requirements of section

412(c)(2)(B) of the Immigration and

Nationality Act (INA), which provides

that targeted assistance grants shall be

made available ‘‘(i) primarily for the

purpose of facilitating refugee

employment and achievement of selfsufficiency, (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 is made available to the county

or other local entity.’’

II. Authorization

Targeted assistance projects are

funded under the authority of section

412(c)(2) of the Immigration and

Nationality Act (INA), as amended by

the Refugee Assistance Extension Act of

1986 (Pub. L. No. 99–605), 8 U.S.C.

1522(c); section 501(a) of the Refugee

Education Assistance Act of 1980 (Pub.

L. No. 96–422), 8 U.S.C. 1522 note,

insofar as it incorporates by reference

with respect to Cuban and Haitian

entrants the authorities pertaining to

assistance for refugees established by

section 412(c)(2) of the INA, as cited

above; section 584(c) 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), insofar as it incorporates by

reference with respect to certain

Amerasians from Vietnam the

authorities pertaining to assistance for

refugees established by section 412(c)(2)

of the INA, as cited above, including

certain Amerasians from Vietnam who

are U.S. citizens, as provided 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).

III. Use of Funds

Targeted assistance funding must be

used to assist refugee families to achieve

economic independence in accordance

with regulations at 45 CFR part 400. The

term ‘‘refugee’’ includes persons who

meet all requirements of 45 CFR 400.43

(as amended by 65 FR 15409 (March 22,

2000)). In addition to the statutory

requirement that TAP funds be used

‘‘primarily for the purpose of facilitating

refugee employment’’ (section

412(c)(2)(B)(i)), funds awarded under

this program are intended to help fulfill

the Congressional intent that

‘‘employable refugees should be placed

on jobs as soon as possible after their

arrival in the United States’’ (section

412(a)(1)(B)(i) of the INA). Therefore, in

accordance with 45 CFR 400.313,

targeted assistance funds must be used

primarily for employability services

designed to enable refugees to obtain

jobs with less than one year’s

participation in the targeted assistance

program in order to achieve economic

self-sufficiency as soon as possible.

Under 45 CFR 400.316, a State may

provide the same scope of services

under targeted assistance as may be

provided to refugees under 45 CFR

400.154 and 45 CFR 400.155, with the

exception of 45 CFR 400.155(h).

Targeted assistance 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. Targeted assistance funds may not

be used for long-term training programs

such as vocational training that last for