refugee assistance program – refugee school impact

93.576 / REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ASSISTANCE – DISCRETIONARY GRANTS
State Project/Program: / refugee assistance program – REFUGEE SCHOOL IMPACT

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Federal Authorization: / Refugee Act of 1980, Section 412(c) (1) (A) (iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. & 1522(c) (1) (A) (iii).

N. C. Department of Health and Human Services

Division of Social Services

Agency Contact Person – Program
Marlene Myers
Program Chief
(919) 527-6304

Agency Contact Person – Financial
Kathy Sommese
Budget Officer
(919) 527-6415
/ N. C. DHHS Confirmation Reports:
SFY 2016 audit confirmation reports for payments made to Counties, Local Management Entities (LMEs), Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), Boards of Education, Councils of Government, District Health Departments and DHSR Grant Subrecipients will be available by mid-October at the following web address: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/control/auditconfirms.htm. At this site, click on the link entitled “Audit Confirmation Reports (State Fiscal Year 2015-2016). Additionally, audit confirmation reports for Nongovernmental entities receiving financial assistance from DHHS are found at the same website except select “Non-Governmental Audit Confirmation Reports (State Fiscal Years 2014-2016).

The auditor should not consider the Supplement to be “safe harbor” for identifying audit procedures to apply in a particular engagement, but the auditor should be prepared to justify departures from the suggested procedures. The auditor can consider the supplement a “safe harbor” for identification of compliance requirements to be tested if the auditor performs reasonable procedures to ensure that the requirements in the Supplement are current.

The grantor agency may elect to review audit working papers to determine that audit tests are adequate. Auditors may request documentation of monitoring visits by the State Agencies.

I.  PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The central purpose of the Refugee School Impact grant is to assist refugee children with academic performance and social adjustment to schools as well as provide parental support services to parents regarding their participation in their child’s educational progress. Services and activities are aimed at providing activities/assistance that will enable optimal progress in the child’s academic, physical, social, emotional and behavioral development.

Throughout this supplement, the term “refugee” will refer to all groups mentioned below that are eligible for the Refugee School Impact grant. Eligible beneficiaries for the program include: refugees, persons granted asylum, Cuban and Haitian entrants, victims of human trafficking, certain special immigrants from Iraq or Afghanistan and certain Amerasian immigrants, as found in the N. C. Department of Health and Human Service’s (DHHS) Refugee Assistance Program Manual, located at: http://info.dhhs.state.nc.us/olm/manuals/dss/ei-80/man/.

II.  PROGRAM PROCEDURES

The Refugee School Impact Program is administered at the Federal Level by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Funding is awarded by the federal government, based upon review and application submitted by the State. This program is funded completely with federal funds. The central purpose of this grant is to assist refugee children in improving their academic performance and social adjustment to schools. The focus of the services should be on those who need help the most: new arrivals who are making initial adjustments, and those who have been in the country three years or less, and still continue to face serious challenges. Programs should be geared toward school completion, acceptable academic performance, and the creation of opportunities to encourage full participation of refugee children and their parents in a wide range of school activities.

To determine subrecipients, the NC State Refugee Office analyzes arrival statistics of school-aged refugee children from the U. S. Department of State’s data system, the World Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS). Based upon this data, the State Refugee Office determines which county school districts are most impacted by newly-arrived refugee children, and notifies these eligible districts of the availability of funds which they may access and services to be provided, through the State’s contracting process. The State utilizes the DHHS Office of Procurement and Contract Services (OPCS) policies and procedures to award contracts to subrecipients. Federal and State reporting requirements are communicated to subrecipients in the contract. Eligibility requirements are communicated in the Refugee Assistance Program Services Manual, found online at: http://info.dhhs.state.nc.us/olm/manuals/dss/ei-80/man/. Subrecipients are reimbursed through submission of the DSS-1571 III. Administrative Costs Report to the NC DHHS Controller’s Office.

III.  COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS

Crosscutting Requirements

The supplement (DSS-0) Crosscutting Requirements in Section D of the State Compliance Supplement are applicable to this program.

A.  Activities Allowed or Unallowed

Specific, allowable activities include the services and activities described in the contract between the Division of Social Services and the service provider organization or public school system.

Activities allowed include:

·  English as a Second Language;

·  Utilization of school curricula that encourage optimum learning and acquisition of necessary skills;

·  After-school tutoring programs focused on helping refugee students understand and complete assignments;

·  After-school/summer programs that support remedial work or promote school readiness;

·  Parental involvement programs;

·  Mentoring programs;

·  Interpreter services for parent/teacher meetings and conferences;

·  Bilingual/bi-cultural counselors and aides;

·  Training staff on refugee culture and use of special teaching materials;

·  Utilization of modern technology deemed to speed up English language acquisition and other related skills;

·  Utilization of special educational materials proven to help children with learning disabilities; and

·  Programs enhancing linguistic and cultural competence in service provision.

B.  Allowable Costs/CostS Principles

All grantees that expend State funds (including federal funds passed through the N. C. Department of Health and Human Services) are required to comply with the cost principles described in the N. C. Administrative Code at 09 NCAC 03M .0201.

E.  Eligibility

Individuals with the following immigration statuses are eligible for services under this grant:
1) Refugees; 2) Asylees; 3) Cuban and Haitian entrants; 4) Certain Amerasians from Vietnam; 5) Victims of a severe form of human trafficking who receive certification or eligibility letters from ORR and certain other specified family members of human trafficking victims; 6) Children classified as Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs) receiving services from the ORR-funded Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) programs; and 7) Iraqi and Afghan children with Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) parents. Definitions and acceptable documents for these statuses can be found in the Refugee Assistance Program Manual online at the following web address: http://info.dhhs.state.nc.us/olm/manuals/dss/ei-80/man/.

G.  Matching, Level of Effort, Earmarking

There are no cost sharing, matching or earmarking requirements.

H.  Period of Availability of Federal Funds

Current federal funds are available for a 24-month period with two 12-month budget periods with a non-competing continuation after the first budget period. The award is subject to funding availability and the requirements of the Health and Human Services Grants Policy.

I.  Procurement Suspension Debarment

Procurement

All grantees that expend federal funds (received either directly from a federal agency or passed through the N. C. Department of Health and Human Services) are required to conform to federal agency codifications of the grants management common rule accessible on the Internet at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/.

All grantees that expend State funds (including federal funds passed through the N. C. Department of Health and Human Services) are required to comply with the procurement standards described in the North Carolina General Statutes and the North Carolina Administrative Code. Nongovernmental subrecipients shall maintain written Procurement policies that are followed in procuring the goods and services required to administer the program.

Suspension and Debarment

Compliance Requirement – Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred or whose principals are suspended or debarred.

Audit Objective – To determine that no contract was awarded to any party that has been suspended or debarred or whose principals have been suspended or debarred.

Suggested Audit Procedures:

1)  Test a sample of contracts and ascertain if the required suspension and debarment certifications were received for subawards and covered contracts.

2)  Test a sample of contracts to the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement Programs, issued by the general services administration and ascertain if contracts were awarded to suspended or debarred parties.

L.  Reporting

This program is required to report federal financial data on form SF-425 on a semi-annual basis. Additionally, program performance data is reported on form SF-PPR OMB Approval Number: 0970-0406 on a semi-annual basis.

M. Subrecipient Monitoring

Subrecipient monitoring is conducted in accordance with the requirements of 2CFR, Part 200 and the DHHS Policy and Procedure Manual for Monitoring of Programs. The DHHS Policy and Procedure Manual for Monitoring of Programs can be obtained from the DHHS Controller’s Office, Dorothea Dix Campus/McBryde Building, 1050 Umstead Drive, 2019 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-2019. In addition, the N. C. Division of Social Services prepares a monitoring plan for monitoring subrecipient compliance with Federal and State awards. A copy of the NC Division of Social Services’ monitoring plan can be obtained from the Budget and Contracts Office of the NC Division of Social Services, 325 N. Salisbury Street, MSC 2415, Raleigh, NC 27699-2415, telephone (919) 334-1027.

Monitoring forms, related verification information, compliance findings, corrective action plans, follow-up documentation and related correspondence will be maintained in the NC Refugee Assistance Program Office located in the Hargrove Building/Dorothea Dix Campus, 820 S. Boylan Avenue, Raleigh, NC. Such records will be maintained according to the State’s record retention policy.

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