Refugee Technical Assistance Program

The purpose of ORR’s refugee program is “to provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to assist them to achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.”12 A priority within ORR’s refugee resettlement program is the provision of employment services and English language training.

ORR has the following six service priorities to promote long-term self-sufficiency, integration and well-being:

• Cash and medical assistance to support refugees as they enter the workforce and integrate into their new communities,
• Early employment as a path to self-sufficiency and longer-term integration; economic mobility,
• Intensive strengths-based case management for vulnerable populations,
• Health, mental health, and well-being assessments and services,
• A whole-family approach, including services for children and youth to ensure successful transition to adulthood and integration for the elderly, and
• Foster care for unaccompanied minors.

With this funding opportunity, the goal of RTAP is to build on the existing expertise in the field and continue providing a national one-stop source or hub to deliver responsive, innovative, specialized, trauma-informed, and culturally appropriate TA, training, and resources to refugee service providers so that they are able to effectively help refugees maximize their potential in the United States and become members of American society.

RTAP's project design should be aligned with ORR’s service priorities and be based on a strong and detailed evidence-based theory of change (ToC). A ToC is a type of logic model that shows “if…then” relationships. It highlights causal linkages among activities/approaches, outputs, outcomes, and objectives.

The objectives of the program are to:

1. Promote knowledge management and information-sharing of emerging, promising, innovative, and best practices in refugee service provision across service providers and disciplines;
2. Strengthen the capacity of refugee service providers to provide evidence-and strengths-based services to refugees; effectively address on-going and emerging barriers to refugee self-sufficiency and integration, and to advance equity15 in service provision;
3. Help refugee service providers measure the quality and effectiveness of their programs and services; and
4. Develop and promote communication strategies and messaging around data for refugee service providers to reflect the impact of ORR’s Refugee Program and consult with community service organizations and state and local government agencies to coordinate appropriate services for refugees.

• City or township governments
• County governments
• Independent school districts
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)
• Special district governments
• State governments

Estimated Total Program Funding: