2026 voluntary agencies matching grant

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Inc. (operating as Global Refuge) $6.614 million under the Refugee and Entrant Assistance State/Replacement Designee Administered Programs (CFDA 93.566) formula grant on October 1, 2025.

Global Refuge delivered refugee support services including employment assistance, case management, and language instruction to newly admitted refugees, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, trafficking victims, and eligible special immigrant populations during their initial resettlement period. The award runs through May 28, 2027, with place of performance in Maryland.

The Refugee and Entrant Assistance program funds employment and other social services for eligible populations for up to five years after arrival or eligibility determination. The program reimburses states and replacement designees for cash and medical assistance, unaccompanied refugee minors care, and related recipient administrative costs during the first four months after arrival, and provides formula funding for longer-term refugee support services. Recipients submit annual service plans and cash and medical assistance program estimates to qualify for awards.

Global Refuge, a Baltimore-based nonprofit, operates as a designated replacement designee within the federal refugee resettlement system, delivering refugee reception, placement, and integration services across multiple jurisdictions. The organization also provides unaccompanied alien children residential care, trauma-informed mental health services, refugee cash and medical assistance, and microenterprise development programming.