U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program – Refugee and Asylee Assimilation Program

The Refugee and Asylee Assimilation Program (RAAP) will provide individualized programming to lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who entered the United States under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) or were granted asylum, to attain the skills and knowledge required for successful citizenship and to foster a sense of belonging and attachment to the United States. Lawful permanent residents who entered the United States as Cuban Haitian entrants or on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) are not eligible for services under this program. This grant strives to promote long term civic assimilation of those LPRs who have identified naturalization as a goal, yet may need additional information and instruction to attain it.

Applicants are required to demonstrate in depth experience with and extensive knowledge of the particular community they propose to serve, and describe how the proposed program design will address the identified assimilation needs of this population. Applicants are required to propose a program that provides a suite of assimilation services to LPRs who were resettled as refugees or granted asylum that will promote long term civic assimilation. Through individual client needs assessments, completion of client assimilation plans for each enrolled client, provision of information and guidance on available assimilation services, provision of civics-based literacy and civics-based English language, and citizenship instruction to prepare for naturalization, former refugees and asylees will gain the tools to become successful citizens.

Applications must propose a detailed plan to assess each LPR and develop and monitor the implementation of an individual assimilation plan for those served under the program. Submission of the proposed assimilation plan template is required as an attachment to this application. As part of each individual client’s assimilation plan, applicants must make referrals to the following assimilation services based on the LPR’s specific identified needs, when applicable:

• Community orientation
• Referrals and interactions with local government and public institutions
• Referrals to employment training
• Referrals to appropriate sources of information for updating or renewing previously held foreign professional credentials

In addition to the proposed assimilation services, the cornerstone of the program design must include civics-based literacy, civics-based English as a Second Language (ESL), citizenship instruction, and free naturalization legal services within the authorized practice of immigration law. Naturalization legal services cannot be provided to individuals who have not undergone the initial assimilation assessment and have a completed assimilation plan. The primary applicant or a sub-awardee must directly provide either the citizenship instruction or the naturalization legal services. Civics-based literacy and civics-based ESL instruction may be provided by the applicant, sub-awardee, or a community based partner. Other required assimilation services may be provided through systemic and documented referral to other local community service providers with whom the primary applicant has a pre-existing and well established relationship. Grant recipients will be required to develop and monitor the implementation of an individual assimilation plan for a minimum of 200 LPRs who have identified naturalization as a goal.

Amount: Approximately $1,000,000 is available to make up to four awards ranging up to $250,000 each for a project period of two years.

Eligibility: City or township governments; county governments; independent school districts; Native American tribal governments; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status; public and state controlled institutions of higher education; special district governments; and state governments.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=318937

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