In April, FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) co-hosted virtual listening sessions with stakeholders to discuss program requirements for the new Shelter & Services Program. To follow are notes with relevant information for stakeholders from one of the Listening Sessions.

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Omnibus established the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) to support sheltering and related activities provided by non-federal entities to relieve noncitizen migrant (NCM) overcrowding in short-term holding facilities operated by CBP. The funding will go towards supporting governmental and nonprofit organizations to fund eligible costs of providing temporary shelter and related to services to individuals released from Department of Homeland Security custody.

Important to note:

• The main purpose of this funding is to help with decompression and overcrowding and to help migrants get to their final destination. This funding is not to help beyond that or subsidize other parts of the program.
• This is all pre-decisional.
• There is no separate application for government agencies and NGOs, the application is the same.
• Obligations sent in September (obligations are when the grants are actually awarded).
• DHS will not be sharing AA codes back to non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

• States, local units of government, tribal nations, NGOs.
• Funding is split between bordering and interior states.
  • Border states include entities within Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Texas.

Allowable Costs:

• When applying, applicants must include at least one primary service in their application.
• Primary services include:
  • Food, shelter, initial transportation, acute medical care, personal hygiene supplies, labor for primary services.
• Secondary costs include:
  • Onward destination transportation, relocation and modifications, translation services, clothing, outreach information, management and administration, IT assistance, database and tracking systems creation.

How will applications be evaluated? (Eight ways to earn points):

• Proportion of total organization humanitarian services budget in comparison to requested funding for Noncitizen Migrant (NCM) services.
• You receive more points the higher your shelter capacity is to service NCMs per day.
• Those who request shelter, food, transportation, and labor will receive the most points. With medical and personal hygiene with the second highest points.
• Portion of secondary services requested for funding compared to total number of services.
  • For example: 3/9 services = 33 percent X 100 = 33 points
• 100 points if you currently (within the last 30 days) service NCM after their release from DHS custody.
• 100 points if you currently (within the last 30 days) service NCM within 24 hours of their release from DHS custody.
• Border states receive different amount of points:
  • Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico = 100
  • Puerto Rico and Florida = 50
  • Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi = 10 points
• Interior states receive different amounts of points:
  • New York = 100
  • Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania = 75
  • DC, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Indiana, and Colorado = 50
  • All other states = 25

Next steps for applicants:

*It is recommended that you complete these four weeks before the actual submission deadline*

• Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.
  • To receive grant funding from the federal government an organization must have an UEI.
  • It is an alphanumeric value assigned to organizations through the System for Award Management (SAM).
  • If your organization was previously assigned a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number then it should have automatically been replaced by a new UEI value.
• Obtain a valid Employer Identification Number (EIN).
  • If your organization has not previously applied for federal assistance you must obtain an EIN and register at SAM.gov. Once registered your organization will be assigned a UEI.
• Create an account with login.gov.
• Register in SAM or update SAM registration (SAM.GOV).

Have additional questions?

• Contact [email protected]