Immigration: case management and social services.

The federal Reception and Placement Program (RPP) under the United States Department of State is established to serve refugees during their first 3 months after arrival in the United States, through contracts with local resettlement agencies to provide various services using federal funds. Existing state law requires the State Department of Social Services, after setting aside the necessary state administrative funds, to allocate federal funds appropriated for refugee social services programs to each eligible county or service provider, as defined, based on the number of refugees receiving aid, or who reside, in the eligible county. If an eligible county or service provider that receives funds declines all or part of those funds, or returns unexpended funds, existing law authorizes the department to exercise its discretion to reallocate the declined or returned funds among eligible counties and service providers. Existing law conditions the applicability of the requirements under these provisions on the availability of federal funds. This bill would make those requirements also applicable if state funds are available subject to an appropriation. Under the bill, if a refugee recipient of refugee social services under RPP completes 90 days of those services and exhausts the federal funds allocated for that recipient, the recipient would be eligible for a 90-day extension of those services using state funds within the first 12 months of arrival in the United States. The bill would require that services covered pursuant to these provisions include (1) English language and employment training and (2) case management services, as specified. The bill would authorize a qualified nonprofit organization, an eligible county, or any office or affiliate of the agencies authorized under RPP to provide these services. The bill would also make conforming changes to related provisions.