Home Study and Post-Release Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children

The Home Study and Post-Release Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children program is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for Children and Families, specifically the Office of Refugee Resettlement. This program supports federal efforts to provide care and oversight for unaccompanied children who enter the United States without legal status and without a parent or legal guardian available to provide care. The Office of Refugee Resettlement has a statutory responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of these children while they navigate immigration proceedings and transition into community settings. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to support services that assess and monitor the safety of home placements for unaccompanied children and to provide ongoing post-release support. Before children are released from federal custody to sponsors, funded organizations conduct home studies to evaluate whether potential placements are safe, stable, and appropriate. Following placement, recipients provide post-release services that help children integrate into their communities, access education and healthcare, maintain safety, and comply with immigration-related obligations. Funding under this opportunity is delivered through cooperative agreements, indicating substantial federal involvement in program implementation and oversight. Awardees are expected to carry out both pre-release assessments and post-release services, ensuring continuity of care. Funds may be used to support staffing, case management, home visits, service coordination, and other programmatic activities necessary to meet federal standards for child welfare and immigration compliance. While specific cost restrictions are not detailed in the forecast, expenditures must align with program goals and federal grant regulations. Eligibility for this opportunity is broad and includes a wide range of entity types such as nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, tribal governments and organizations, and various levels of government including state, county, and local entities. Faith-based and community-based organizations are eligible if they meet the program requirements. However, individuals, federal entities, and foreign organizations are explicitly excluded. Additional eligibility considerations apply to current recipients, particularly regarding whether they are in the final year of their project period and whether proposed services overlap geographically with existing funded activities. The application process is expected to require electronic submission through federal systems by the stated deadline. While the forecast notice does not provide a full breakdown of required application components, applicants should anticipate standard federal grant requirements such as program narratives, budgets, organizational capacity documentation, and compliance assurances. Applications must be submitted by the specified deadline of June 23, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The funding opportunity is forecasted to be posted on May 8, 2026, with awards expected to be issued by September 29, 2026. Evaluation of applications will likely focus on the applicant’s ability to deliver high-quality home study and post-release services, organizational capacity, experience with vulnerable populations, and compliance with federal child welfare standards. The Office of Refugee Resettlement will assess proposals for their effectiveness in ensuring child safety, supporting successful integration into communities, and facilitating compliance with immigration processes. As a cooperative agreement, awardees should expect ongoing monitoring and collaboration with federal program staff. The program is not described as recurring, and no matching or cost-sharing requirement is specified. The estimated total program funding is 258,000,000 dollars, with individual awards ranging from 1,000,000 dollars to 50,000,000 dollars. Approximately 15 awards are expected to be issued. The program is scheduled to begin on September 29, 2026, aligning with the award date. For further information, applicants may contact the program via the provided email address.