Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Review of Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance Payments

The Refugee Act of 1980 created the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) to help refugees resettle and achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible after arriving in the United States. The Act provides Federal grants to States for cash and medical assistance, social services, and targeted assistance to help qualified refugees. Within HHS, the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), runs the RRP program. ORR provides time-limited benefits and services to eligible refugee populations through Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) grants to States (although non-State entities may serve as grantees under certain circumstances). The RRP reimburses States the cost that they would normally incur to provide refugees cash and medical assistance under existing Federal and State assistance programs. RCA and RMA are available to refugees for up to 8 months immediately following their date of entry into the United States and are only available after a refugee fails to qualify for cash assistance under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or health benefits under Medicaid. In fiscal year 2015, ORR obligated $286 million to States for the RRP program. We will determine whether RCA/RMA payments to beneficiaries made by the State agency or a replacement designee, as applicable, were allowable in accordance with Federal guidelines.

Announced or Revised Agency Title Component Report Number(s) Expected Issue Date (FY)
Completed Administration for Children and Families Review of Refugee Cash and Medical Assistance Payments Office of Audit Services A-04-18-02011;
A-04-18-02017;
A-05-18-00040;
A-04-18-02010;
A-02-18-01011;
W-00-18-31400;
W-00-18-20018		 2020