crossthreaded

Matching Grant (MG) is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and it is meant to help refugees achieve self-sufficiency within four to six months of arrival in the U.S. Refugee resettlement agencies in 43 states receive money from ORR to run a Matching Grant program in their communities.

Community assistance is vital for the successful implementation of the MG program. Volunteers that help with job readiness coaching, in-kind donations of household goods, food, etc. are all examples of ways that resettlement offices can raise money to match the grant from ORR. Every volunteer hour right now is valued at about $19.50 or so an hour (Check out Independent Sector’s website for more information.), so even a couple of hours of volunteer help makes a big difference. The more volunteer hours a resettlement office can present to ORR, the more refugees can be resettled in that office the next year. Volunteers show ORR that the community is not only willing to accept refugees, but to actively support them in their new homes and lives as well.

 ORR states that “For Calendar Year 2007, the program achieved 80% self sufficiency for the 28,137 participants. In CY 2008, ORR funded $60 million to the Match Grant Program With a per capita of $2,200; the MG program will serve 27,272 clients through 230 local affiliates of the Voluntary Agencies.” MG is not the only program available as an alternative to the public assistance program for refugees. There are eligibility requirements to meet before a refugee is placed in MG, as another program may be more suitable for his or her needs. Each resettlement office is assigned a certain number of refugees it can place in that program each year.

MG provides access to job readiness coaching, job training, English language lessons, and monetary assistance to families who have arrived in the country within the last 4-6 months. Employment specialists and coordinators help refugees in MG to navigate their job searches, and help them find and maintain suitable employment.

For more information, check out:

http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1199

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/programs/match_grant_prg.htm

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