Unaccompanied Children Lived Experience and Youth Engagement Program | HHS 2024 ACF ORR ZU 0086

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACF ORR ZU 0086

The Unaccompanied Children Lived Experience and Youth Engagement Program (LEYEP) is a forecasted discretionary funding opportunity from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), offered as a cooperative agreement (HHS 2024 ACF ORR ZU 0086; CFDA 93.676). The program is designed to fund one recipient to establish, manage, and evaluate two connected lived-experience bodies: a Lived Experience Council and a Youth Leadership Academy that operates as a subgroup of the Council. These groups are meant to be made up of former unaccompanied children who were served through the ORR Unaccompanied Children Program, as well as individuals who served as sponsors for children released from ORR care. The central idea is to ensure that program design and policy improvement are informed directly by the people who have firsthand experience with ORR services and with post-release realities in the United States.

A major expectation of the grant is that the recipient will actively recruit, identify, orient, and train lived-experience experts who represent broad demographic diversity (such as age and language) and a range of circumstances and experiences. Examples specifically called out include pregnant or parenting youth and survivors of human trafficking, reflecting an intent to include participants with varied vulnerabilities and needs. Because of this, applicants with a proven track record in building programming that centers lived experience and youth voice, and/or in supporting unaccompanied children, sponsors, and reunified families, are viewed as especially well suited for the work.

The program has two primary objectives. First, it aims to generate research and reporting on best practices for engaging and partnering with people who have lived experience with the ORR Unaccompanied Children Program, focusing on integration in the United States and post-release outcomes. This includes identifying practices that better protect unaccompanied children from trafficking and other forms of victimization, exploitation, or harmful/criminal activity. Second, the program is intended to directly benefit Council members themselves by building their leadership skills and capacity to serve as leaders within their communities, not only as advisors to government but as community-level change agents.

The funded organization is expected to provide the operational backbone needed to make the Council and Leadership Academy function effectively and safely. Key task areas include developing an implementation plan for the Council and creating the Leadership Academy curriculum; building a web-based application (likely for outreach, intake, and/or engagement); establishing a fair selection process and placing eligible candidates into the appropriate body; and providing ongoing project management. The recipient must also ensure meaningful access for multilingual participants by offering interpretation and translation services, including during community meetings, and must supply secure technology so members can participate in virtual meetings and webinars. Another practical requirement is identifying and addressing barriers to participation, such as child care responsibilities, so involvement is feasible for participants with real-world constraints.

A notable engagement component is the requirement to coordinate and implement "Washington Weeks," where Council members convene to meet with government leaders and other relevant stakeholders. The program also emphasizes dissemination: the recipient must share feedback and insights gathered through the lived-experience bodies with ORR-funded residential and post-release service provider networks, and with broader partners such as state and local government agencies, school districts, healthcare providers, and social services providers. In other words, the Council is not meant to be purely advisory in isolation; its lessons learned are meant to be translated into actionable guidance across systems that interact with unaccompanied children and reunified families.

Funding details indicate an award ceiling of $1,800,000 and an expectation of a single award. The original closing date listed is 2024-12-20, and the opportunity was created on 2024-08-26. Eligibility is broad and includes various levels of government, tribal governments and tribal organizations, public and private institutions of higher education, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and other entity types as specified. However, individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are explicitly ineligible and will be disqualified from merit review. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible if they meet requirements, and ACF notes it will not discriminate based on religious character or affiliation, consistent with applicable federal protections and regulations (including 45 CFR Part 87 and related law).

• The Administration for Children and Families - ORR in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Unaccompanied Children Lived Experience and Youth Engagement Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.676.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-08-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-20. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,800,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for HHS 2024 ACF ORR ZU 0086

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