H.F. 286 Section 1. REFUGEE ASSISTANCE —— GRANTS. 1 1. As used in this section: 2 a. “Eligible agency” means an agency that has contracted 3 with the United States department of state under 8 U.S.C. 4 §1522(c) to provide initial resettlement and case management 5 services to refugees or a nonprofit entity providing legal or 6 case management services. 7 b. “Refugee” means all of the following: 8 (1) A person paroled as a refugee or asylee under section 9 212(d)(5) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. 10 (2) A person admitted as a refugee under section 207 of the 11 federal Immigration and Nationality Act. 12 (3) A person granted asylum under section 208 of the 13 Immigration and Nationality Act. 14 (4) Cuban and Haitian entrants, in accordance with 15 requirements in 45 C.F.R. pt. 401. 16 (5) Certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to 17 the United States as immigrants pursuant to section 584 of 18 the federal Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 19 Programs Appropriations Act, 1988, as the definition is 20 contained in section 101(e) of Pub. L. No. 100-202 and amended 21 by the ninth proviso under Migration and Refugee Assistance 22 in Tit. II of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and 23 Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1989, Pub. L. No. 100-461, 24 as amended. 25 (6) Certain alien immigrants who are victims of a severe 26 form of trafficking who have been certified by the United 27 States department of health and human services pursuant to 28 section 107(b) of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection 29 Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386, division A, 114 Stat. 1464 30 (2000). 31 (7) Iraqi and Afghan aliens granted special immigrant 32 status under section 101(a)(27) of the federal Immigration and 33 Nationality Act. 34 (8) A person admitted for permanent residence, provided 35 -1- LSB 1292YH (9) 90 pf/rh 1/ 5

H.F. 286 the individual previously held one of the statuses identified 1 above. 2 2. The department of health and human services shall award 3 grants to eligible agencies to provide the following services 4 to refugees residing in this state, for up to twenty-four 5 months: 6 a. Services including but not limited to all of the 7 following to assist refugees with department programs: 8 (1) Referring refugees to the department within three days 9 of the refugee’s arrival in this state. 10 (2) Transporting refugees to initial appointments with the 11 department. 12 (3) Providing to the department all necessary eligibility 13 information known to the eligible agency. 14 (4) Coordinating services of the department with other 15 social services agencies. 16 b. Services including but not limited to all of the 17 following to assist refugees: 18 (1) Navigating the health care and mental health systems, 19 including providing assistance in applying for medical 20 assistance. 21 (2) Accessing housing assistance and finding stable 22 housing. 23 (3) Setting up utilities and paying utility bills. 24 (4) Advising on issues with landlords. 25 (5) Navigating legal or criminal issues including services 26 for victims of crime. 27 (6) Accessing in-home services including parenting 28 assistance, English as a second language instruction, and 29 medical and psychosocial support. 30 (7) Navigating the culture of the United States. 31 c. Providing transportation to appointments. 32 d. Advocating on behalf of refugees regarding domestic 33 violence, federal laws, and hate crimes. 34 e. Providing refugees with interpretation services and 35 -2- LSB 1292YH (9) 90 pf/rh 2/ 5

H.F. 286 assistance with access to language services. 1 f. Providing referrals for refugees to culturally specific 2 support groups and services, including religious organizations. 3 g. Identifying the employment skills of refugees and 4 providing referrals to employment skills training and other job 5 support services. 6 h. Coordinating medical services for refugees including 7 referring to and coordinating with agencies that determine 8 eligibility for disability benefits. 9 i. Providing family preservation services, legal services, 10 and social services support for domestic violence and child 11 welfare issues. 12 j. Assisting newly arrived refugee children in accessing 13 services to strengthen the children’s academic performance and 14 successful integration into the community. 15 k. Providing extended case management services for 16 twenty-four months for newly and recently arrived refugees. 17 l. Other services necessary to assist refugees in accessing 18 programs administered by the department and attaining success 19 as full participants in the community. 20 Sec. 2. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT SERVICES —— GRANTS —— 21 APPROPRIATION. In addition to and not in lieu of any other 22 appropriation, there is appropriated from the general fund of 23 the state to the department of health and human services for 24 the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 25 2024, the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, 26 to be used for the purposes designated: 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 10,000,000 28 1. Of the funds appropriated in this section, $420,000 29 shall be used by the department to administer a grant program 30 to provide access to international resources to Iowans and 31 new Iowans to provide economic and leadership development 32 resulting in Iowa being a more inclusive and welcoming place 33 to live, work, and raise a family. The program shall provide 34 supplemental support services for international refugees to 35 -3- LSB 1292YH (9) 90 pf/rh 3/ 5

H.F. 286 improve learning, English literacy, life skills, cultural 1 competencies, and integration in a county with a population 2 over 450,000 as determined by the 2020 federal decennial 3 census. The department shall utilize a request for proposals 4 process to identify the entity best qualified to implement the 5 program. 6 2. Of the funds appropriated in this section, $400,000 7 shall be used for the Iowa commission on volunteer services 8 and the RefugeeRISE AmeriCorps program for member recruitment 9 and training to improve the economic well-being and health of 10 economically disadvantaged refugees in local communities across 11 Iowa. 12 3. Up to $400,000 shall be used for child care business 13 development by establishing new child care locations in Iowa 14 as well as providing technical assistance through expansion 15 of refugee child care business development programs based on 16 those offered in Polk and Linn counties that sustain and grow 17 child care entrepreneurship and address child care shortages 18 in refugee communities. 19 4. Of the funds appropriated in this section, after 20 allocation of the funds under subsections 1, 2, and 3, the 21 remaining funds shall be used by the department to fund grants 22 to supplement the funding received by eligible agencies from 23 the United States department of state under 8 U.S.C. §1522 to 24 provide services as described in section 1 of this Act. 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 This bill relates to refugees and refugee resettlement, and 29 provides an appropriation. 30 The bill provides definitions for “eligible agency” and 31 “refugee” for purposes of the bill. 32 The bill requires the department of health and human 33 services (HHS) to award grants to eligible agencies to provide 34 a number of services to refugees residing in the state, for 35 -4- LSB 1292YH (9) 90 pf/rh 4/ 5

H.F. 286 up to 24 months, including services that assist refugees with 1 department programs as well as other services. 2 The bill appropriates $10 million, in addition to and not 3 in lieu of any other appropriation, from the general fund of 4 the state to HHS for FY 2023-2024 to provide refugee support 5 services for refugees residing in this state. 6 Of the funds appropriated, $420,000 shall be used by HHS to 7 administer a grant program to provide access to international 8 resources to Iowans and new Iowans to provide economic and 9 leadership development resulting in Iowa being a more inclusive 10 and welcoming place to live, work, and raise a family. The 11 department shall use a request for proposals process to select 12 the best qualified entity to administer the program in a county 13 with a population over 450,000. 14 Of the funds appropriated, $400,000 shall be used for the 15 Iowa commission on volunteer services and the RefugeeRISE 16 AmeriCorps program for member recruitment and training to 17 improve the economic well-being and health of economically 18 disadvantaged refugees in local communities across Iowa. 19 Of the funds appropriated, $400,000 shall be used to 20 develop new child care locations as well as provide technical 21 assistance through expansion of refugee child care business 22 development programs. 23 Of the funds appropriated, the remaining funds shall be 24 used as grants to supplement the funding received by eligible 25 agencies to provide services as described in the bill. 26 -5- LSB 1292YH (9) 90 pf/rh 5/ 5