Citizenship and Integration Grant Program: Regional Hub Program 2023 (US)

Deadline: 28-Jul-23

The Office of Procurement Operations – Grants Division is inviting applications for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program: Regional Hub Program.

OCPE is charged with promoting instruction and training on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. USCIS recognizes that naturalization is a key milestone in the civic integration of immigrants. Naturalization requirements, such as knowledge of English and U.S. history and government, encourage civic learning and build a strong foundation upon which immigrants can fully integrate into American society. Through preparing for naturalization, immigrants gain tools to become successful citizens and meet their responsibilities as United States citizens.

The goal of the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program (CIGP) is to expand the availability of high-quality citizenship preparation services for immigrants across the nation and to provide opportunities for immigrants to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate into the fabric of American society.

The Regional Hub funding opportunity is designed to build community and organizational capacity to identify, support, and prepare LPRs for citizenship. To achieve this goal, recipients will help create or expand citizenship networks and provide technical assistance to individual network members that offer citizenship instruction and naturalization application services. Through a hub and spoke funding model, the Regional Hub grant will more holistically support LPRs on the pathway to citizenship and encourage the integration of LPRs into their receiving communities.

Objectives

In fiscal year (FY) 2023, up to $4 million in federal funding is available for eligible organizations to build community and organizational capacity to identify, support, and prepare LPRs for citizenship. Regional Hub applicants must propose to achieve both of the following objectives:
- Objective 1: Create or expand a city, county, state, or regional citizenship network dedicated to helping LPRs understand, prepare, and apply for naturalization.
The principal applicant will be responsible for leading this network, which will help build community capacity to prepare LPRs for citizenship by stimulating interorganizational collaboration, sharing knowledge and expertise, conducting joint outreach, developing cross-referral systems, and co-hosting community citizenship events.
Objective 2: Provide expert-level technical assistance to organizations that currently offer citizenship preparation services.
- The principal applicant will provide (or contract a qualified organization to provide) expert-level technical assistance to a minimum of three proposed subrecipient organizations that would benefit from assistance in the following areas:
  - Citizenship Instruction Services: Educational services that provide enrolled LPRs with the skills and knowledge needed to prepare for citizenship, including instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), U.S. history and government, and the naturalization process; and
  - Naturalization Application Services: Within the scope of the authorized practice of immigration law, organizations prepare and submit Form N-400, Application for Naturalization and Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative on behalf of qualified LPRs. Organizations also provide on-going case management and help LPRs prepare for the naturalization interview.

Funding Information

Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
Period of Performance: 24 months

Program Phases

Under the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, all awards are issued for a twoyear performance period divided into eight quarters of three months each. Under the
Regional Hub program, these eight quarters will be organized into three phases:
- Phase 1: Start-up
- Phase 2: Implement and Expand
- Phase 3: Achieve and Sustain

Eligibility Criteria

Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
County governments
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Independent school districts
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
State governments
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
City or township governments
Private institutions of higher education
Special district governments
Eligibility Criteria for Citizenship Network Lead
- The Citizenship Network Lead must be an organization listed under “eligible applicants” and must have:
  - Experience with and knowledge of the immigrant community to be served;
  - Experience collaborating with community stakeholders that engage in citizenship preparation and immigrant integration in the public and private sectors;
  - Experience managing federal grants and/or complex projects with timelines and deliverables; and
  - An office that is located and operates in the defined city, county, or state where the network will be located.
Eligibility Criteria for Technical Assistance Lead
- The Technical Assistance Lead must be an organization listed under “eligible applicants” and must have:
  - A minimum of five years of experience within the past ten years providing citizenship instruction in a classroom setting that follows a curriculum and utilizes a textbook (note: experience providing only ESL instruction does not qualify for this funding opportunity; organization must have experience specifically with citizenship instruction);
  - A minimum of one qualified citizenship instructor on staff, who has a degree in education (K-12 Social Studies, English Language Arts, History, Linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, or Adult Education) or at least one year of experience as the lead teacher in a class of adult immigrants;
  - Experience administering nationally normed standardized ESL assessments;
  - A minimum of five years of experience within the past ten years preparing and filing Forms N-400 and G-28 on behalf of qualified LPRs within the authorized practice of immigration law;
  - A minimum of one qualified legal service provider on staff. A qualified legal service provider includes one of the following:
    - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative serving a DOJ Recognized Organization. Partial accreditation is permitted; or
    - An on-staff attorney with training in immigration law.
      - Contracted or volunteer attorneys, or those who concurrently work for a private practice or law firm, do not qualify.
  - An office that is located and operates in the defined city, county, state, or region where the citizenship network will be located.
Eligibility Criteria for Proposed Technical Assistance Sub recipients
- The proposed sub recipients that will receive technical assistance must be a type of organization listed under “eligible applicants” and must have:
  - An existing citizenship preparation program with a demonstrated need for technical assistance;
  - A minimum of one year of experience within the past three years providing citizenship preparation services, which must include citizenship instruction and/or naturalization application services;
  - A minimum of one qualified legal service provider on staff at the time the application is submitted. A qualified legal service provider is defined as:
    - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited Representative serving a DOJ Recognized Organization. Partial accreditation is permitted; or
    - An on-staff attorney with training in immigration law.
      - Contracted or volunteer attorneys, or those who concurrently work for a private practice or law firm, do not qualify.
  - An office that is located and operates in the defined city, county, state, or region where the citizenship network will be located; and
  - Current or planned membership in the citizenship network.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.