Refugee Assistance Program Estimates: ORR-2 Cash and Medical Assistance (CMA) Program Quarterly Financial Report on Expenditures and Obligations
OMB Information Collection Request
0970 - 0407
Supporting Statement Part A - Justification
January 2026
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 required at 8 U.S.C. 1522 and reflected in the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s (ORR) program regulations at 45 CFR §400.11(c), States must submit to the Director, or designee, a financial status report no later than 30 days after the end of each quarter. The ORR-2 Cash and Medical Assistance (CMA) Program Quarterly Report on Expenditures and Obligations serves as this report for the CMA grant.
Purpose and Use of the Information Collection
The ORR-2 is a single-page financial report that allows ORR to collect the necessary data to ensure that funds are adequate for the projected need and thereby meet the requirements of both the Refugee Act and ORR regulations.
ORR reimburses, to the extent of available appropriations, certain non-federal costs for the provision of cash and medical assistance to refugees, along with allowable expenses for the administration of the refugee resettlement program at the state level. States and Replacement Designees (RD) currently submit the ORR-2, which provides aggregate expenditure and obligation data. The ORR-2 collects expenditures and obligations data separately for each of the four CMA program components: refugee cash assistance, refugee medical assistance, cash and medical assistance administration, and services for unaccompanied refugee minors.
This breakdown of financial status data allows ORR to track program expenditures in detail, to anticipate any funding issues and to meet the requirements of ORR regulations at 45 CFR §400.211 to collect these data for use in estimating future costs of the refugee resettlement program. Each year after receipt of its annual appropriation, ORR must implement the methodology at 45 CFR §400.211 to ensure that appropriated funds will be adequate for reimbursement to States for the costs of assistance provided to eligible refugees. The estimating methodology prescribed in the regulations requires the use of actual past costs by program component. If the methodology indicates that appropriated funds are inadequate, ORR must take steps to reduce federal expenses, such as by limiting the number of months of eligibility for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA).
Use of Improved Information Technology and Burden Reduction
This data collection form is and will continue to be completed and submitted through ACF’s online data collection system, GrantSolutions/On-Line Data Collection (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 a financial status report collecting expenditures and obligations separately for each of the CMA program components.
Impact on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities
The information to be collected is the minimum needed to meet the requirements of a financial status report collecting expenditures and obligations for the CMA program components. There will be no impact on small businesses.
Consequences of Collecting the Information Less Frequently
ORR regulations at 45 CFR §400.11(c), mandate that a financial status report no later than 30 days after the end of each quarter. Less frequent collection would not fulfill the regulatory requirement.
Special Circumstances Relating to the Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5
There are no special circumstances pertaining to this form. Respondents will report quarterly. Respondents have up to 30 days after the end of each quarter to prepare responses. The data collection form will be continuously available to recipients, providing them ample time to gather data and apply for the next quarterly submission. 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 September 22, 2025 (90 FR 45386) 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 expenditures and obligations of federal grants, 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 a financial status report on expenditures and obligations. 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-2 quarterly. The report is completed quarterly and the estimated time per response is 90 minutes, based on past experience.
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-2, CMA Quarterly Report on Expenditures and Obligations |
57 |
4 |
1.5 |
342 |
$82.78 |
$28,310.80 |
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.
Annualized Cost to the Federal Government
The cost to the Federal Government is expected to be $25,148.40 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
Minor changes to the names of certain lines on the ORR-2 are proposed to align with changes made in August 2025 to the ORR-1 form (OMB #: 0970-0030). 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. Refugee Resettlement Program Specialists will have access to the forms as submitted and to a 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 | 2025-12-23 |