Public vs. private

The purpose of ORR’s Matching Grant Program supposedly is to place refugee clients in appropriate jobs which will enable the household unit to attain self-sufficiency within 120 to 180 days without accessing public cash assistance (although apparently it is anticipated that refugees will still need to access food stamps, section 8, etc.). Approximately 30% of all refugees are enrolled in MG.  

Resettlement agencies must give support adequate to meet the subsistence needs of refugees. Maintenance assistance includes food or food subsidies, suitable housing, cash allowance, and transportation assistance throughout the first 120 days from the refugee client’s date of eligibility.  

While most refugees/clients entering the US — including those not enrolled in MG – are expected to achieve self-sufficiency within a short time, MG supposedly works to speed up the process by offering programs, support, and incentives to refugees which can make the transition faster and easier. 

Why is the program called “matching” grant? Participating agencies agree to match the ORR grant with cash and in-kind contributions of goods and services from the “community”. The ORR awards $2 for every $1 raised by the resettlement agency from non-federal sources, including state and local support, United Way contributions, and in-kind support from other local and volunteer organizations, up to a maximum of $2,200 in federal funds per client. Of this match – an uneven public/private match – Volags and local affiliates only need to give 20 percent of the match in cash; the balance may be in cash, in-kind services, or donated goods. Donated items that are worn-out, dirty, broken, or otherwise useless are euphemistically called “Junk-for-Jesus”, and its unknown exactly how much of this junk resettlement agencies try to pass off in the MG program. What is known is that the ORR rarely inspects resettlement agencies, and refugees typically have no idea who to complain to even when they are able to overcome their fear of retaliation by resettlement agencies. (I have personally seen quite a bit of this junk passed on to refugees even at resettlement agencies considered in good standing by the ORR and the State Department.) 

Beginning upon enrollment and continuing until income from employment makes the refugee case self-sufficient, resettlement agencies must give refugees a minimum of $200 cash allowance per month ($50 per week), or the maximum amount that will not affect Medicaid eligibility, to all adult clients, and $40 per month ($10 per week) to each minor in the case. Refugee clients must use this minimum cash allowance to buy personal items as necessary and not for basic maintenance assistance. Resettlement agencies may also sanction refugee clients who fail to comply with an agreed-upon resettlement plan and/or agency directive involving attendance at counseling, training sessions, or English classes, or who refuse to be interviewed for or accept an appropriate job offer. Sanctions can include reducing the refugee’s MG cash allowance, or even cutting off services entirely. Refugees know not to disagree with resettlement agencies unless they wish to risk swift and serious retaliation.  

The ORR requires resettlement agencies to make refugees accept the first “appropriate” job offered, yet what type of job is appropriate and who gets to make that decision? Resettlement agencies make that decision, regardless of refugees’ opinions. The ORR evaluates resettlement agencies according to the percentage of refugees who become employed within 4-6 months, and then awards the agencies more or less MG slots the following year based on that evaluation. Resettlement agencies therefore have a strong incentive to place refugees in any job available, irrespective of its appropriateness for the refugee. In other words, there exists a conflict-of-interest here. Furthermore, after 180 days no one keeps track of refugee job retention rates.  

What is the average hourly wage for refugees placed in jobs via the MG program? According to the ORR’s CY 2007 figures the MG program “boasted” an average hourly wage of $8.47. Yet, are $8 an hour jobs “appropriate” to support families? Alternatively, refugees who are not enrolled in MG, and not required to take the first job offered, are eligible for up to 8-months of refugee cash assistance, a time during which they can look for higher-paying jobs. Refugees enrolled in MG are not given that chance.  

How are refugees chosen for the MG program? From as much as we can tell in talking to refugees at dozens of refugee resettlement agencies across the country, resettlement agencies are most likely to place refugees in the program who are the most employable, i.e. those with education, work-related skills, and English language capabilities. Which brings us to this question: what then is the significance of the high self-sufficiency rate reported by the program? According to a study by the IRC and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 2008 MG helped 80% of MG participants to secure economic self-sufficiency as defined by ORR. Without a control group to compare these refugee to, however, we really have no idea to what degree the program, with its greatly increased public costs, increases refugees’ rates of employment.  

Certainly, Congress should not make increases in spending on the program until neutral third-party investigators figure out the answer to that question.