FY 2019 Youth Mentoring Set-Aside

Date: July 25, 2019

Dear Colleague:

ORR is pleased to announce the Refugee Support Services (RSS) Youth Mentoring (YM) “Set-Aside” for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. This letter specifies formulation and allocation details and is a supplement to a Youth Mentoring Policy Letter (PL 19-02) which identifies program goals, eligibility, and reporting and monitoring requirements.

Background

Many refugee youth and young adults (henceforth referred to as refugee youth) arrive to the United States after protracted periods of displacement in, or proximate to, conflict zones. As a result, they have often suffered or witnessed trauma, been victims of violence, and experienced the loss of, or separation from, family members, homes and communities. Refugee youth arrive with unique individual strengths, aspirations, and dreams for their futures; however, the nature of their refugee experience can hinder integration into the local community. Refugee youth may arrive to the United States with limited English proficiency and often without social connections or family ties.

Without adequate social support to encourage integration into their new communities and to advance their educational and vocational goals, some refugee youth may become disillusioned about their future, and may engage in anti-social behavior and activity or become at-risk for depression or social isolation. Connecting refugee youth to caring and supportive members of their community can provide invaluable support as they adjust to their communities and learn to identify, and strive to achieve, their educational or vocational goals, ultimately facilitating integration and economic self-sufficiency.
 

To ensure a positive path towards social and economic integration, ORR has prioritized the formulation of a Youth Mentoring Set-Aside program. The primary goals of this program are to 1) promote positive civic and social engagement and to 2) support individual educational and vocational advancement.

FY 2019 Allocations

The FY 2019 allocations to states, Wilson-Fish programs, and replacement designees are based on the number of ORR-eligible individuals ages 15-24 who were served by the state in the previous fiscal year (FY 2018¹) as reported in the ORR-5 and that was verified against the ORR Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS).

States that received over 70 ORR-eligible individuals between the ages of 15-24 qualify for funding. The chart below documents the number of eligible served populations by each state in FY 2018 and the corresponding funding allocations for the YM program for FY 2019. The proposed allocations are based on availability of federal funding and will be included in the 4th quarter FY 2019 RSS allocation as a set-aside.

ORR plans to continue funding states for three years before needing to requalify. FY 2019 is considered year two of the three year period. As a result and as noted in the chart below, three states that were funded in FY 2018 will continue to be funded in FY 2019 even though their client population fell below the total served floor of 70.

As with all funding, the Youth Mentoring RSS set-aside is based on the availability of federal funding and the priorities of the ORR Director. As required under ORR regulation §400.210, these funds must be obligated by September 30, 2020 and must be liquidated by September 30, 2021.