Refugee Assistance Program Estimates:
Cash and Medical Assistance (CMA) – ORR-1
OMB Information Collection Request
0970 - 0030
Supporting Statement Part A - Justification
May 2025
Type of Request: Revision
Submitted By:
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Circumstances Making the Collection of Information Necessary
As mandated by Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) regulations at 45 CFR § 400.11(b), recipients must submit annual estimates for reimbursable costs under the Cash and Medical Assistance (CMA) programs, categorized by expense type, along with a justification statement in support of the estimates. To meet this requirement, recipients must submit the ORR-1 CMA Program Estimates form annually as part their application for the CMA program, which funds cash assistance, medical assistance, services to unaccompanied refugee minors, and related administrative costs. A budget justification in support of the CMA estimates must be submitted along with the ORR-1 form. However, ORR does not currently provide a standardized budget justification template. As a result, submissions vary widely in format, content, and level of detail, making it challenging to extract and standardize information. This increases the burden on both ORR reviewers and recipients.
This request is to extend approval of the ORR-1 with revisions to include a standardized format for submission of the budget justification. This new process will require States and Replacement Designees (RD) to submit budget justifications in a standardized format via a Microsoft Excel workbook (ORR-1 Instructions and Budget Workbook) with each tab of the justification in alignment with a specific line on the ORR-1. The ORR-1 form has been updated with minor revisions, including updated column and line titles that reflect current terminology, and a simplified structure that replaces unit cost estimates with total cost estimates. These revisions are a result of the standardization of the budget justification.
The revised instructions, which are now embedded within the standardized budget justification, provide guidance to recipients on how to fill out each section of the standardized budget justification.
Purpose and Use of the Information Collection
The ORR-1 Instructions and Budget Workbook will be used by recipients to draft responses to the ORR-1 form and a standardized budget justification. The recipients will work through corresponding sections of the instructions and budget justification, and the standardized format makes clear what information is needed and at what level of detail. Upon completion of the budget justification, the values needed to populate the ORR-1 form are automatically calculated, and recipients are instructed to transfer specific data from the budget justification to the ORR-1 form in ACF’s online data collection system, the Grant Solutions On-Line Data Collection (OLDC).
The information collected through the ORR-1 CMA Program Estimates is used by ORR for three purposes: (1) To serve as the annual application for the CMA program, as required by ORR regulation; (2) To provide estimated CMA costs for the fiscal year; and (3) To provide baseline information for fiscal monitoring of recipients.
Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction
This data collection form will be completed and submitted through ACF’s online data collection system, GrantSolutions/OLDC. Recipients already use this online data collection system to report financial data for CMA grants.
Efforts to Identify Duplication and Use of Similar Information
No similar information collection exists that could be substituted as an application form for the CMA program. There is also no other information collection form for States’ and RDs’ to submit their annual cost estimates. Additionally, the CMA program does not currently have a standard budget justification template in place.
Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities
The information to be collected is the minimum needed to meet the requirements of an application form that will provide relevant cost projections and justifications for the CMA program. There will be no impact on small businesses.
Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently
This information collection form is to be the annual application form for quarterly awards under the CMA program. The ORR regulations at 45 CFR 400.11(b) mandate that States and RDs submit an application form that provides cost estimates and justifications annually. Less frequent collection would not fulfill the regulatory requirement of an annual application.
Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5
There are no special circumstances pertaining to this form. Respondents will report annually. Respondents have more than 30 days to prepare responses since the form may be submitted at any time up to 45 days prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year. The data collection form will be continuously available to recipients, providing them ample time to gather data and apply for the next year’s grant. Respondents submit forms electronically through ORR’s online data collection system, Grant Solutions/OLDC. Respondents do not need to retain records for more than three years. There is no requirement for confidential information. The data collection is not a statistical survey.
Comments in Response to the Federal Register Notice and Efforts to Consult Outside the Agency
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), ACF published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s intention to request an OMB review of this information collection activity. This notice was published on December 27, 2024 (89 FR 105609) and provided a sixty-day period for public comment. ORR did not receive comments.
Explanation of Any Payment or Gift to Respondents
There will be no payment or gift to respondents.
Assurance of Confidentiality Provided to Respondents
Since the respondents are grant recipients, rather than individuals, and the reporting pertains to cost estimates and justifications for federal grant reimbursements, no assurance of confidentiality will be provided; and no Privacy Act System of Records will be established.
Justification for Sensitive Questions
There are no sensitive questions in this data collection. The data collection is an application requiring grant recipients to submit cost estimates and justifications. No personal identification numbers are required.
Estimates of Annualized Burden Hours and Costs
There will be approximately 57 respondents. The respondents consist of the State agencies and, RDs, that implement refugee resettlement programs. Respondents complete the ORR-1 and accompanying budget justification annually. Based on initial feedback on proposed revisions, the estimated time to complete this request has been reduced from .6 hours to .5 hours.
The cost to respondents was calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) job code for 11-9151 Social and Community Service Managers, and wage data from May 2024, which is $41.39 per hour. To account for fringe benefits and overhead, the rate was multiplied by two for a total of $82.78. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm
Information Collection Title |
Total Number of Respondents |
Annual Number of Responses Per Respondent |
Average Burden Hours Per Response |
Annual Total Burden Hours |
Average Hourly Wage |
Total Annual Cost |
ORR-1, CMA Program Estimates |
57 |
1 |
0.5 |
28.5 |
$82.78 |
$2,359.23 |
Estimates of Other Total Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers
It is not anticipated that there will be any Other Annual Cost Burden to Respondents and Record Keepers. The actual cost data on which the estimates in the ORR-1 will be based are already collected and reported on the ORR-2 Federal Financial Report.
Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
The cost to the Federal Government is expected to be $6,287.10 annually. This assumes each respondent’s submission is reviewed for 1 hour, at an average wage of $51.57, This was calculated using the BLS job code for 13-1111 Management Analysts, and wage data from May 2024, which is $55.15 per hour. To account fr fringe benefits and overhead, the rate was multiplied by two for a total of $110.30.
Explanation for Program Changes or Adjustments
Burden estimates have been reduced to reflect the improved instructions and the inclusion of a standard template for the budget justification. Minor revisions were made to the form. Additionally, Wilson Fish agencies previously responded to this request but due to changes in the structure and purpose of that program no longer fall under this request.
Plans for Tabulation and Publication and Project Time Schedule
There are no plans to publish these data. These data are for internal use only as an application for grant awards. These data will be entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and tracked by program component and total estimated cost. Refugee Resettlement Program Specialists will have access to the forms as submitted and to the program-wide spreadsheet to assist them in financial monitoring of the States and RDs for which they are project officers.
Reason(s) Display of OMB Expiration Date is Inappropriate
The OMB Expiration Date will be displayed on the information collection.
Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
No exceptions.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Jones, Molly (ACF) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-07-01 |