A State must use its targeted assistance funds primarily for employability services designed to enable refugees to obtain jobs with less than one year's participation in the targeted assistance program in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Targeted assistance services may continue to be provided after a refugee has entered a job to help the refugee retain employment or move to a better job. Targeted assistance funds may not be used for long-term training programs such as vocational training that last for more than a year or educational programs that are not intended to lead to employment within a year.

A State must plan its targeted assistance program and allocate its targeted assistance funds in such a manner that services are provided to refugees in the following order of priority, except in certain individual extreme circumstances:

(a) Cash assistance recipients, particularly long-term recipients;

(b) Unemployed refugees who are not receiving cash assistance; and

(c) Employed refugees in need of services to retain employment or to attain economic independence.

(a) For purposes of determining eligibility of refugees for services under this subpart, the same standards and criteria shall be applied as are applied in the determination of eligibility for refugee social services under §§ 400.150 and 400.152(a).

(b) A State may not provide services under this subpart, except for referral and interpreter services, to refugees who have been in the United States for more than 60 months, except that refugees who are receiving employability services, as defined in § 400.316, as of September 30, 1995, as part of an employability plan, may continue to receive those services through September 30, 1996, or until the services are completed, whichever occurs first, regardless of their length of residence in the U.S.

A State may provide the same scope of services under this subpart as may be provided to refugees under §§ 400.154 and 400.155, with the exception of § 400.155(h).

In providing targeted assistance services to refugees, a State must adhere to the same requirements as are applied to the provision of refugee social services under § 400.156.

Eligible grantees are those agencies of State governments which are responsible for the refugee program under 45 CFR 400.5 in States containing counties which qualify for targeted assistance awards. The use of targeted assistance funds for services to Cuban and Haitian entrants is limited to States which have an approved State plan under the Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program (CHEP).

(a) A State with more than one qualifying targeted assistance county may allocate its targeted assistance funds differently from the formula allocations for counties presented in the ORR targeted assistance notice in a fiscal year only on the basis of its population of refugees who arrived in the U.S. during the most recent 5-year period. A State may use welfare data as an additional factor in the allocation of targeted assistance funds if it so chooses; however, a State may not assign a greater weight to welfare data than it has assigned to population data in its allocation formula.

(b) A State must assure that not less than 95 percent of the total award to the State is made available to the qualified county or counties, except in those cases where the qualified county or counties have agreed to let the State administer the targeted assistance program in the county's stead.

This subpart sets forth requirements concerning formula allocation grants to States under section 412(c)(2) of the Act for targeted assistance.

For purposes of this subpart—

“Targeted assistance grants” means formula allocation funding to States for assistance to counties and similar areas in the States where, because of factors such as unusually large refugee populations (including secondary migration), high refugee concentrations, and high use of public assistance by refugees, there exists and can be demonstrated a specific need for supplementation of available resources for services to refugees.

A State must provide any individual wishing to do so an opportunity to apply for targeted assistance services and determine the eligibility of each applicant.