Announcement of the Intent To Award a Single-Source Cooperative Agreement to the Welcoming Initiative for Newcomers in San Diego, California

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The ACF, ORR announces the intent to award a single-source cooperative agreement in the amount of up to $3,500,000 to the Welcoming Initiative for Newcomers (WIN) in San Diego, California, for the next phase of the State Capacity and Readiness Initiative. Building on the nationwide baseline assessment and related readiness products completed under WIN's prior cooperative agreement, the proposed project will support an updated assessment of state capacity, support development of training and technical assistance resources, support for pilot implementation and learning, and engagement with states not participating in the pilots. The project will also identify service and capacity gaps and provide recommendations concerning additional grants, contracts, technical assistance, or other resources ORR may need to support a state-centered refugee resettlement model.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 214 (Friday, November 6, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 214 (Friday, November 6, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70088-70089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22676]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[Assistance Listing Number: 93.576]


Announcement of the Intent To Award a Single-Source Cooperative 
Agreement to the Welcoming Initiative for Newcomers in San Diego, 
California

AGENCY: Refugee Program Bureau, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), 
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of issuance of a single-source cooperative agreement.

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SUMMARY: The ACF, ORR announces the intent to award a single-source 
cooperative agreement in the amount of up to $3,500,000 to the 
Welcoming Initiative for Newcomers (WIN) in San Diego, California, for 
the next phase of the State Capacity and Readiness Initiative. Building 
on the nationwide baseline assessment and related readiness products 
completed under WIN's prior cooperative agreement, the proposed project 
will support an updated assessment of state capacity, support 
development of training and technical assistance resources, support for 
pilot implementation and learning, and engagement with states not 
participating in the pilots. The project will also identify service and 
capacity gaps and provide recommendations concerning additional grants, 
contracts, technical assistance, or other resources ORR may need to 
support a state-centered refugee resettlement model.

DATES: The proposed period of performance is November 1, 2026, through 
October 31, 2027.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miro Marinovich, Office of Refugee 
Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, 330 C Street 
SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: (202) 729-3638; Email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a7f5e5c1d5c8c9d3c8c1c1cec4c2e7c6c4c189cfcfd489c0c8d1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="57051531253839233831313e343217363431793f3f2479303821">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ORR intends to undertake the next phase of 
the State Capacity and Readiness Initiative to support implementation 
of a state-centered refugee resettlement

[[Page 70089]]

model. Under a prior cooperative agreement, WIN conducted a nationwide 
baseline assessment of state readiness and capacity and developed 
related assessment and planning products. The proposed award will build 
on that foundational work by moving the initiative from baseline 
assessment to implementation support, pilot learning, and state and 
local capacity building.
    Under the proposed cooperative agreement, WIN will conduct a 
nationwide assessment of local resettlement partners and identify the 
support they will need from states, ORR, training and technical 
assistance providers, and other entities to deliver services 
effectively. WIN will also update the assessment of state capacity and 
readiness to reflect current infrastructure, staffing, partnerships, 
service-delivery capabilities, and implementation needs.
    WIN will collaborate with Switchboard, or another ORR-designated 
training and technical assistance provider, to inform the development 
and delivery of training, tools, templates, and other resources that 
strengthen state readiness and implementation capacity. WIN will 
support ORR's pilot activities by recommending approaches for 
information collection and pilot assessment, coordinating regular 
engagement with participating states and partners, documenting 
implementation experience, and synthesizing findings and lessons 
learned. WIN will develop a national data dashboard to support capacity 
planning.
    For states not participating in the pilots, WIN will support ORR 
and ORR regional staff with meeting coordination, agenda development, 
briefing materials, and other state-engagement activities. WIN will 
also identify service gaps, capacity limitations, and unmet 
implementation needs and provide recommendations concerning additional 
federal assistance that may be needed to support broader implementation 
of the state-centered model.
    Expected project products will include updated state and local 
capacity findings, analyses of service and support gaps, pilot-learning 
summaries, recommendations for training and technical assistance 
resources, state-engagement materials, and recommendations to inform 
future ORR program and funding decisions.
    ORR will be substantially involved in the project by refining the 
work plan, identifying priority questions, coordinating engagement with 
pilot and non-pilot states, reviewing assessment tools and project 
products, and determining how findings will inform implementation and 
future federal assistance. This level of federal participation supports 
use of a cooperative agreement.
    ORR proposes to issue the single-source cooperative agreement to 
WIN because WIN was the recipient of the prior cooperative agreement 
and developed the baseline assessment, readiness products, analytical 
approaches, and stakeholder relationships upon which the proposed work 
will directly build. Through that work, WIN acquired detailed knowledge 
of the initiative's methodology, findings, implementation context, and 
state and local capacity needs.
    WIN's institutional knowledge and established relationships with 
state and local refugee-resettlement stakeholders will allow the next 
phase to begin without requiring ORR and its partners to reconstruct 
project history, reestablish working relationships, or repeat 
previously completed engagement and data-gathering activities. 
Selecting WIN will preserve continuity between the assessment and 
implementation phases, reduce duplicative start-up activities and 
information requests, and support timely use of Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 
pilot findings in FY 2028 program and resource planning.
    The proposed project will strengthen federal, state, and local 
coordination; provide practical implementation support to states and 
local resettlement partners; and help ORR target future grants, 
contracts, and technical assistance toward demonstrated service and 
capacity needs.
    Statutory Authority: Under section 8 U.S.C. 1522(b)(1) of the 
Refugee Act, ORR is authorized to make grants to and contracts with 
public or private nonprofit agencies for the initial resettlement of 
refugees in the United States. This action further advances the intent 
of 8 U.S.C. 1522(a)(2) by creating mechanisms through which ORR can, to 
the maximum extent possible, incorporate state recommendations into 
refugee placement and capacity planning decisions.

Elizabeth A. Leo,
Grants Policy Branch Chief, Office of Grants Policy, Office of 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2026-22676 Filed 11-5-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-89-P


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