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STATE OF VERMONT
AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES
REFUGEE OFFICE
REFUGEE SERVICES GRANT OPPORTUNITY
The Office of the State Refugee Coordinator is interested in receiving proposals to provide social services to eligible refugees in the State of Vermont, including new arrivals, secondary migrants and asylees, to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency as early as possible.
Who can apply?
Public agencies and private non-profit corporations and institutions that have experience providing employability or social services to refugees.
Funding
At this time, approximately $21,000 is available for these services. The contract period starts October 1st, 2013 for a maximum of one year.
INFORMATION ON SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED
The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement (DHHS/ACF/ORR) provides funds to states to assist eligible refugees, entrants, asylees, and other designated populations to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency.
The scope of services allowable under refugee social services funding is included in Title 45, Parts 400 and 401 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
The State of Vermont resettles approximately between 300 and 350 refugee new arrivals every year. The majority of the eligible refugees reside in Chittenden County, with the most recent arrivals being resettled only in Chittenden County.
Who is eligible for refugee services?
Persons who are entitled to Refugee Resettlement Program benefits and services include refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, asylees, Vietnamese Amerasians and certified victims of human trafficking.
In order to be eligible, clients must be 16 years of age or older and not be full time students in elementary or secondary school, except in order to obtain part-time or temporary employment (e.g. summer) while a student or full-time permanent employment upon completion of schooling. Only refugees not currently enrolled in the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program (VRRP) Match Grant program are eligible to participate in employability services.
To be eligible for refugee services, a person must have been granted one of the following immigration statuses:
· A refugee, admitted under Section 207 of INA, for the first five years (60 months) from the date the person entered the United States as a refugee.
· An asylee, granted asylum status under Section 208 of INA, for the first five years (60 months) from the date the asylee was granted status.
· A Cuban or Haitian entrant (as defined in Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980) for a period of five years (60 months) from the date such status was granted.
· An alien admitted into the United States as a Vietnamese Amerasian immigrant as described in Section 402(a)2(A)(I)(V) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)2(A) for the period of five years (60 months) from the date the person was admitted into the United States.
· Individuals who are victims of trafficking, are provided a “T” visa and thus certified as eligible for refugee services, for the first five years (60 months) from the date the person entered the United States or was granted such status.
NOTE: For the purpose of this document, eligible persons will hereafter be referred to as “refugees.”
Countries of origin of largest eligible groups:
During federal fiscal year 2013 and as of June 30, 2013, the vast majority of refugees resettled in Vermont are from Bhutan. From federal fiscal year 2009 to 2013, the largest groups that came to Vermont were, in descending order, from Bhutan, Burma, Somalia, Iraq and the Congo.
Scope of Services:
Services 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. 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. Services must be provided in a manner that is culturally and linguistically compatible with a refugee’s language and cultural background.
Employability services include development of a family self-sufficiency plan and an individual employability plan, world-of-work and job orientation, job club, job workshops, job development, referral to job opportunities, job search, and job placement and follow-up. It can include translation and interpreter services and transportation, when necessary in connection with employment acceptance or retention or participation in an employability service, and case management services for refugees who are considered employable, if such services are directed toward a refugee’s attainment of employment as soon as possible after arrival in the United States. Vocational training is also allowable, when provided as part of an individual employability plan. Refugees who are participating in the Match Grant Program are not eligible for these services.
Other allowable services
1. Information and referral services.
2. Activities designed to familiarize refugees with available services, to explain the purpose of and facilitate access to these services.
3. Emergency services as follows: Assessment and short-term counseling to persons or families in a perceived crisis, referral to appropriate resources, and the making of arrangements for necessary services.
4. Home management services as follows: Formal or informal instructions to individuals or families in management of household budgets, home maintenance, nutrition, housing standards, tenants’ rights, and other consumer education services.
5. Case management services, when necessary for a purpose other than in connection with employment.
6. Transportation and interpreter services, when necessary for a purpose other than in connection with employment or participation in an employability service.
7. Citizenship and naturalization preparation services.
The service provider will:
1. Work closely and collaboratively with other service providers in coordination of services and referrals.
2. Maintain properly documented case files and financial reports. Assure maintenance and recording of documentation of the refugee or secondary migrant. The provider must have in place a system for identifying and removing duplicate entries. At a minimum, the service provider must provide the name, the Alien Number, social security number, date of arrival in the U.S. or in Vermont and date of birth.
3. Develop a self-sufficiency plan for each family, including an employability assessment and employment plan if employability services are provided.
4. Provide periodical reports on program outcomes to the State Refugee Coordinator, documenting refugees’ progress toward achieving self-sufficiency performance targets identified in their self-sufficiency and/or employment plans.
How to apply
For an application kit, email
Application due: Must be submitted electronically to and received no later than August 19, 2013, by 4:00 p.m. No exceptions or extensions will be granted.
The State Refugee Office reserves the right to make multiple awards under this grant announcement and to award all or part of the allocations.