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ORR also provides matching funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis to voluntary resettlement agencies for the provision of comprehensive services in resettling refugees. This Matching Grant Program, funded by Congress since 1979, provides an alternative to the State-administered programs funded by ORR. Federal funds of up to $1,000 per refugee have been provided on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis to voluntary agencies participating in the program. The program's goal is to help refugees attain self-sufficiency within four months after arrival without access to public cash assistance. Refugees in the matching grants program may use publicly funded medical assistance and may access services in addition to those provided by the Matching Grant agency which must include case management and employment. In FY 1990, matching grant programs were operated in at least 80 locations across the U.S. by five participating voluntary organizations. In FY 1991, ORR is providing $39,036,000 to the voluntary resettlement agencies in matching funds for assistance and services.

7. Domestic Initiatives

The Wilson/Fish Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, contained in the FY 1985 Continuing Resolution on Appropriations, enables ORR to develop alternative projects which promote early employment of refugees. It provides to States, voluntary resettlement agencies, and others the opportunity to develop innovative approaches for the provision of cash and medical assistance, social services, and case management.

In the summer of 1985, ORR awarded grants to California and Oregon for demonstration projects designed to decrease refugee reliance on welfare and to promote earlier economic self-sufficiency. The California project was phased out by the State on March 31, 1990. In the summer of FY 1990, ORR approved a grant to United States Catholic Conference for a demonstration project, operated by Čatholic Community Services of San Diego, beginning September 1, 1990.*

The Oregon Refugee Early Employment Project (REEP)

The Oregon project, Refugee Early Employment Project (REEP), began its sixth year of activity in FY 1991. REEP integrates the delivery of cash assistance with case management, social services, and employment services within the private non-profit sector in an effort to increase refugee employment and reduce reliance on cash assistance. REEP encompasses a tri-county area surrounding Portland, where 85 percent of all refugees in Oregon initially settle.

The project serves needy refugees who do not meet the AFDC or SSI categorical requirements (i.e., members of two-parent families, couples without children, and single individuals) during their initial 12 months in the United States. Refugees who normally are eligible for assistance under AFDC continue to be eligible for that program and do not participate in REEP. The Refugee Policy Group (RPG), under contract to the State of Oregon to evaluate the effectiveness of REEP, reported that by the end of the third year of REEP operation, REEP had placed at least 75 percent of employable adults in permanent, full-time employment within 18 months of their

arrival.

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The California Refugee Demonstration Project (RDP)

The State of California's Refugee Demonstration Project (RDP) began on July 1, 1985. The goal of this project was to increase the participation of refugees in employment services and training programs specifically designed for refugees. The RDP allowed refugees a transition into entry-level, full-time employment without immediate forfeiture of the entire cash grant and other benefits and anticipated reduced long-term program costs through grant reductions as a result of employment.

An evaluation of the results of the first three years of the demonstration reported mixed results. RDP participants entered employment at a higher rate than their pre-RDP counterparts, and the waiver of the 100-hour rule resulted in a substantial increase in recipients working more than 100 hours per month. On the other hand, the job duration and wage levels of RDP refugees did not differ significantly from the pre-RDP comparison group, and the gross quarterly earnings were actually lower. With the advent of the California Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program, the State decided to terminate the RDP in FY 1990 and include AFDC- eligible refugees in GAIN.

United States Catholic Conference - San Diego Project

On April 5, 1988, the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) was notified by ORR of the approval of its preapplication for a project to be operated by USCC's affiliate, Catholic Community Services of San Diego. ORR awarded a $25,000 planning grant to USCC on July 26, 1988. The final application was approved and a grant awarded for the period beginning September 1, 1990. Early results look favorable. The project serves USCC-sponsored new arrivals and provides a range of in-house services aimed to increase the rate of refugee self-sufficiency and decrease the average length of time on cash assistance. The project provides cash assistance to project participants at a level comparable to cash assistance from State-administered programs.

Discretionary Social Service Initiatives. ORR discretionary funds support initiatives aimed at aiding refugees to achieve self-sufficiency. The principal programs funded are listed below.

The Key States Initiative (KSI) was established by ORR in FY 1987.
This initiative was undertaken to reduce cash assistance utilization by
refugee families in States with high welfare utilization.

Five States entered into Cooperative Agreements under the auspices
of the Key States Initiative and one of these subsequently dropped
out of the program. In the other four States, implementation of KSI
has involved changes in the State systems for refugee services, as well
as within the system of service providers and the refugee
communities. Approximately $2 million has been awarded annually
for the KSI Initiative. Welfare reductions and terminations are now

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Job Links provides supplementary social service funding to qualifying States in which resettlement of refugees is encouraged, based on the experience of refugees already in those communities, or where a special initiative is proposed to significantly improve the potential for self-sufficiency. The program seeks to link employable refugees with jobs in communities which have good economic opportunities. All States except those with KSI cooperative agreements or targeted assistance grants are eligible to apply. General program objectives include:

Increased employment and self-sufficiency;

Active job development with employers offering job
opportunities at self-sufficiency-supporting wages;

Retention of refugees in communities with good job
opportunities;

• Initial resettlement of refugees in communities with histories of
effective early employment and self-sufficiency; and

Promotion of secondary migration of refugees to these
communities from areas of high refugee impact and high

welfare utilization.

Planned Secondary Resettlement (PSR) Program. This program provides an opportunity for unemployed refugees and their families to relocate from areas of high welfare dependency to communities in the U.S. that offer favorable employment prospects. Secondary resettlement assistance and services are provided to refugees who participate in a planned relocation. Eligibility is limited to refugees who have lived in the United States for 18 months or more and who have experienced continuing unemployment.

Eligible grantees include States and public and private non-profit organizations that have had demonstrated experience in the provision of services to refugees, such as refugee mutual assistance associations (MAAs) and national and local voluntary agencies. As of the end of FY 1990, there were nine PSR grantees: five mutual assistance associations, three voluntary agencies, and one State agency.

The average cost of resettling families through the PSR program is less than $10,000 per family while average welfare cost savings to the government are estimated at $987 per month per family. At this rate, PSR families, on average, repay the cost to the government in just 10 months.

Amerasians: A high priority of ORR is to assist in the successful resettlement of Amerasians and family members expected to arrive in the United States; 17,500 Amerasian arrivals are expected in FY 1991, and 18,500 in FY 1992.

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ORR will extend its participation in a national planning effort for clustering free cases in selected locations. This planning effort involves coordination with the Department of State, national

voluntary agencies, State refugee coordinators, refugee leaders, and various other organizations.

ORR will again make funding available in localities with significant Amerasian populations. The purpose of the funding is to encourage community coordination and to provide counseling and case management services to deal with family disruption and social adjustment problems that may occur in the Amerasian community.

Former Reeducation Camp Detainees: About 19,000 former Vietnamese reeducation detainees and their families are expected to arrive during FY 1991, with more expected in future years. This population is expected to have a variety of special problems, creating a need for special social services beyond the initial resettlement period.

In a special initiative, ORR made $1 million in discretionary grants available to support local community efforts to enhance the services provided to former reeducation detainees from Vietnam and their families. The grants, to 16 States and counties expecting to receive large numbers of former detainees, are designed to provide enhanced orientation, peer support, peer counseling, referral, employment services and vocational English, short term vocational training, and mental health services. Although the grants are awarded to States and counties, they are required to contract with Mutual Assistance Associations where possible for the actual delivery of services.

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III. DOMESTIC IMPACT OF REFUGEES

A. DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT

Population Composition. The demographic characteristics of refugees to be admitted to the United States in FY 1992 are likely to be similar to those of refugees admitted in FY 1990 and 1991 while varying somewhat from those of refugees admitted in the 1980s. For example, the higher proportion of Soviet refugees in the flow since 1989 has meant more adults and fewer children compared to the 1980s, when refugees from Asia predominated. At the same time, refugee populations will continue to vary in age and sex composition from the resident American population as well as from each other.

Indochinese refugees, for example, are younger on average than the resident U.S. population. The median age of the Indochinese arrivals from 1975 through 1990 was between 20 and 21 years. Nearly 40 percent were under age 15, compared to 23 percent of the American population. In this same period, the percentage who were age 65 and over remained roughly constant at less than two percent. About 55 percent of the arriving Vietnamese in recent years were males, in contrast to the general U.S. population in which about 49 percent are males. Because of the large proportion of children among the Indochinese refugees, the ratio of dependents will continue to be higher than in the general U.S. population, although the low proportion of elderly Indochinese is a significant mitigating factor. The young age structure means that a large number of young children from these refugee families will be entering the schools each year for some years to come.

Soviet refugees were the largest single nationality group to arrive in FY 1990 and one of the oldest, with a median age of 31. New refugees from Ethiopia and Eastern Europe averaged in their middle twenties in 1990, while those from Afghanistan were only twenty on average. Cuban refugees were the oldest, with a median age in FY 1990 of 35. Male refugees outnumber females in most groups, but the Soviets are an exception, with a slight female majority.

Because these nationality groups differ from each other in their background characteristics, any change in the source countries of the refugee flow means a corresponding change in the demographic impact of the refugee population.

B. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

During the first six months of FY 1991, 71 percent of newly arrived refugees and Amerasians have been placed in ten States. The same ten States received 73 percent of the FY 1990 placements (Table III). Five of these ten States are receiving a higher

share of the arrivals in FY 1991 than in FY 1990. The most notable trend is the decline from 19 to 13 percent in the proportion of refugees going to New York coupled with the increasing share going to California. The California proportion fell from 45.6 percent in FY 1988 to 29.1 percent in FY 1989 and to 25.3 percent in FY 1990, but it has risen to 29.4 percent during the first half of FY 1991. Much of this change occurred because the large numbers of Soviet Armenians who arrived in FY 1988 and settled near relatives in the Los Angeles area have been replaced by Soviet Jews settling in New York and other cities in the East. Together, California and New York continue to receive more than 40 percent of all newly arriving refugees.