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Refugee and Entrant Assistance - State Administered Programs

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Needy refugees (and other appropriate individuals) who do not qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Medicaid programs, but who meet the income and resource eligibility standards of these programs, are eligible to receive special refugee cash assistance (RCA) and refugee medical assistance (RMA) through the refugee program during their first eight months in the US. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides funding for a broad range of social services to refugees, both through states and in some cases through direct service grants. The purpose is to help refugees obtain employment, achieve economic self-sufficiency, and adjust socially as quickly as possible.

Needy refugees (and other appropriate individuals) who do not qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Medicaid programs, but who meet the income and resource eligibility standards of these programs, are eligible to receive special refugee cash assistance (RCA) and refugee medical assistance (RMA) through the refugee program during their first eight months in the US. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides funding for a broad range of social services to refugees, both through states and in some cases through direct service grants. The purpose is to help refugees obtain employment, achieve economic self-sufficiency, and adjust socially as quickly as possible.

In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must not be a US citizen who is a refugee who has been granted asylum, who is Haitian, who is Cuban, who is Amerasian, or who is a victim of trafficking.

For more information please visit the ORR website.

Or Contact: Mitiku Ashebir
Director, Division of Refugee Assistance
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Administration for Children and Families
901 D Street, SW
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: 202-401-9246
Fax: 202-401-5487

1-202-401-9246

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