Refugee Support Services

What this funds

The Refugee Support Services (RSS) program provides services to address barriers to employment, and job placement and retention services. Services are provided within a five-year eligibility period. The program issues quarterly formula grants to states based on the number of qualified entrants in the most recent fiscal years. Secondary migration of the populations from the state of initial resettlement is also considered in reaching the final numbers for formula allocations. These eligible populations include selected Iraqi or Afghan Special Immigrants, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and certain Afghan and ACFC requires the development and maintenance of a holistic Family Self-Sufficiency Plan (FSSP) for each qualified entrant receiving RSS employability services and all their family members. Through the FSSP, providers assess their needs and develop a strategy to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Defined standards and data collection for the FSSP strengthen program oversight and ensure that all members of refugee families are accessing services to advance on their path to self-sufficiency and longer-term RSS includes competitive grants awarded to public and private non-profit agencies to address current issues facing refugees and other eligible populations. The Placement and Coordination Program, formerly referred to as the Preferred Communities Program, provides services to eligible individuals and families to support the Program of Initial Resettlement. The objective of the program is to coordinate state-level resettlement capacity and to provide tiered levels of direct services, material support, and direct assistance to eligible refugees in accordance with program guidelines. Examples of services being provided include airport pickups, assistance in transportation needs, initial housing and furnishings, food, coordination of critical medical care and medication, and cash assistance in accordance with the level of support determined by ACFC. As with the previously awarded Preferred Communities Program, grantees can also propose to provide extended case management for eligible individuals who need additional In FY 2025, Congress appropriated $6.4 billion to the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account through the FY 2025 full-year continuing resolution, of which ACFC allocated $421 million to RSS. ACFC estimates that, in total, the funding for RSS supported services for approximately 164,213 arrivals in FY 2025, in addition to those continuing to receive services within the five-year eligibility period. This funding supported employment services and programs to help refugees achieve self-sufficiency. The RSS program receives funding from Congress that is available for obligation over a three-year period, allowing unused funds in one year to be carried over and obligated in the next two years. From FY 2025 to FY 2026, ACFC carried over a portion of the funding provided in the FY 2025 full-year Administration for Children, Families, and Communities Page 23 Funding for the RSS program - net of any authorized changes such as transfers or reprogramming - for Funding for this program is also used to pay for information technology support, grants paneling, and 2026 level. This request will support the Program of Initial Resettlement for direct assistance, as well as local and national administrative costs, consistent with Presidential Determinations and all applicable Administration for Children, Families, and Communities Page 24

Extracted from Administration for Children, Families, and Communities, p. 9. Verbatim; nothing here is paraphrased.

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