$42.5M was included in the State’s FY24 budget for municipality funding of asylum seeker services
Section 570. The sum of $42,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services for grants and administrative expenses associated with legal representation, technological assistance, shelter, transportation, basic health and first aid, food, case management, COVID-19 testing, interpretation and translation services, and workplace readiness for asylum seekers in the approximate amount below:
Definition of “Asylum Seeker”
The definition of “asylum seeker” for the purposes of the $42.5M appropriation is as follows. (This eligibility definition may differ in other contexts.)
“Asylum seeker is defined as “an individual who crossed the Mexico/U.S. border on or after August 1, 2022, with the intent to stay permanently, and who does not possess any permanent or interim U.S. legal status (which does not include being in parole status), such as legal permanent residency, a student or work visa, etc.”
Use of Funds
The $42.5M will be restricted to the following services directly impacting asylum seekers.
- Shelter and Transitional Housing Support
- Food
- Wraparound Services
- Legal Assistance
- Health & Wellness
These funds will be made available to municipalities and/or providers working in partnership with municipalities.
Communities already serving Asylum Seekers will be prioritized as well as cross-sector applications.
Distribution of Funds
In partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus will administer a competitive Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
Eligibility
Only municipal governments receiving asylum seekers are eligible to apply. For the purposes of SMASS funding, municipal governments are defined as any level of public government within the State of Illinois
Lead Municipality Applicant: While grants will be made directly to lead applying municipalities, these funds may be made available to other municipalities and/or organizations (e.g., non-profit organizations, academic institutions, community health centers, etc.) that choose to apply as subgrantee partner(s) to the lead municipality.
o Disbursement of funds to subgrantee partners will be at the discretion and responsibility of the lead municipality. Lead municipalities are not limited in the number of subgrantee partners with whom they can choose to apply.
o Municipalities are encouraged to coordinate with any local “overlapping” units of government who may also be applying (e.g., a county and a town within that county) to ensure that applications for funding for duplicative services are not submitted.
o If municipalities choose to apply in partnership, any municipality involved can choose to apply as the lead municipality. There will be no additional funding or administrative overhead provided for lead municipalities.
☐Grantees must be registered in the Illinois GATA Grantee Portal and must be GATA Pre-Qualified
☐Grantees must complete the FY24 ICQ (Accessed through the Grantee Portal)
Timeline
• NOFO Released: August 21, 2023
• NOFO Info Session: Recording link and presentation slides
• Letter of Intent Due: August 31, 2023 by 5 PM CST
Letters of Intent should be submitted by all municipalities anticipating as applying as Lead Municipality Applicants. Failure to submit an LOI will not result in the inability of a municipality to submit an application for funding. They are for internal planning purposes and are used to inform the application review process. You will receive confirmation of receipt, but a formal invitation pending a Letter of Intent submission is NOT needed to complete the application.
• Application Deadline: September 15, 2023 by 5 PM CST
• Award Announcement: September 29, 2023
• Grant Term: SFY24 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024)
Pre-award allowable expenses can be retroactive to July 1, 2023
• Maximum Grant Amount: Estimated range of awards contingent upon the number of qualified applications and demonstrated need.
Important Information
Complete a Lettet of Intent: Access Online Form
Grant Application: Complete Online
Download and complete to submit with application: Budget form
Information Session will be held virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at 10:00am CST: copy the Zoom meeting link or download calendar information.
NOFO questions can be submitted online: Submit Questions
To submit a question or grant application you will be prompted to create an account on Smart Select; See Sign Up Instructions
Please direct Media inquiries to Rachel Otwell: rachel.otwell@illinois.gov.
MMC contact: Alberto Ortega