TITLE 8 SOCIAL
SERVICES
CHAPTER 119 REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
PROGRAM
PART 100 RECIPIENT POLICIES-DEFINITIONS
AND ACRONYMS
8.119.100.1 ISSUING AGENCY: New Mexico Human Services
Department.
[8.119.100.1
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
8.119.100.2 SCOPE: The rule applies to the general public.
[8.119.100.2
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
8.119.100.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY:
A. The Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) is authorized
under Title IV of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1980. The act designates the federal department of
health and human services (DHHS) as the federal administering agency. RRP
regulations are issued by DHHS in the code of federal regulations, Title 45,
Part 400, which is supplemented by administrative and program instructions
issued by the federal department from time to time.
B. In accordance
with authority granted to the department by NMSA 1978, section 27-1-3(J), and
pursuant to Executive Order No. 80-62, dated 10/01/81, the governor of the state
of New Mexico has designated the human services department (HSD) as the single
state agency responsible for administering the program in New Mexico.
[8.119.100.3
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
8.119.100.4 DURATION: Permanent
[8.119.100.4
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
8.119.100.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: November 1, 2013, unless a later
date is cited at the end of a section.
[8.119.100.5
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
8.119.100.6 OBJECTIVE: The objective of
the RRP is to assist refugees to become self-sufficient by providing a program
of financial and medical assistance, while supportive services are provided, to
ensure the effective resettlement of refugees in the state of New Mexico
through programs designed to assist with integration, promotion of economic
self-sufficiency, and protecting refugees and communities from infectious
diseases and other health related issues.
HSD has agreed to administer this program subject to the receipt of
federal funds. Under the RRP, sponsor(s)
and national voluntary agencies (VOLAGs) work closely with the federal
government to coordinate support services authorized under the program. The RRP includes the provision of refugee
cash assistance (RCA), refugee medical assistance (RMA), refugee social
services (RSS) and additional support services funded by the office of refugee
resettlement (ORR).
[8.119.100.6
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
8.119.100.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. Definitions
beginning with “A”:
(1) Alien: means an individual residing in the U.S.
who does not hold U.S. citizenship.
(2) Application: means a written request for assistance,
on the appropriate ISD form, signed
by or on behalf of an individual or family.
(3) Asylee: means an individual who while in the U.S.
is granted permanent residence under
Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and is unable or
unwilling to return to his or her country
of origin because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on
account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion.
(4) Asylee applicant: means an individual who has applied for,
but not yet received, asylum in the U.S. and who is therefore ineligible for
the RRP.
(5) Authorized representative: means a person aged 18 years or older who
is designated,
in writing, by the applicant and
is sufficiently knowledgeable about the applicant/benefit group’s circumstances
to complete the application form correctly and represent the benefit group.
B. Definitions beginning with “B”: Benefit group: means an individual or group of
individuals authorized to receive cash assistance financed by federal or state
funds.
C. Definitions beginning with “C”:
(1) Case management services: means the determination of appropriate service(s) to refer a refugee,
referral to such services(s), and tracking of the refugee’s participation in such
services(s).
(2) Conditional entrant: means an individual who was admitted to the U.S. under Section 203(a)(7)
of the INA.
(3) Cuban/Haitian entrant: means a citizen of Cuba or Haiti who is admitted to the U.S. under section 212(d)(5) of the INA.
D. Definitions beginning with “D”:
(1) Date of entry: means the date established by the department of homeland security as the date a refugee or Cuban/Haitian
entrant was lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence. For asylees
it means the date on which asylum was granted.
(2) Department: means the human services department.
(3) Documentation of immigration status: means documents issued to the individual by DHS or USCIS that identifies the
individual’s lawful immigration status. The documentation provided by an
individual is copied for the case file.
E. Definitions beginning with “E”:
(1) Earned income: means cash or payments in-kind that are received as wages from employment or payment in lieu of wages; and earnings from self-employment or earnings
acquired from direct provision of services, goods or property, production of
goods, management of property or supervision
of services.
(2) Economic self-sufficiency: means the ability of a refugee to meet
his or her basic needs without the need for cash assistance.
(3) Employability plan: means an individualized written plan for a refugee, registered for
employment services, that sets
forth a program of services intended to achieve the earliest possible
employment of the refugee.
(4) Employability services: means services designed to enable an
individual to attain employment and
to improve the work skills of the individual.
F. Definitions beginning with
“F”: Form I-94:
means the white arrival/departure card issued by the department of homeland
security to each alien entering the U.S. which identifies the date of entry and
the immigration status granted to that person.
G. Definitions beginning with “G”: [RESERVED]
H. Definitions beginning with “H”: [RESERVED]
I. Definitions beginning with “I”:
(1) Individualized employability plan
(IEP): means a written
plan, developed by the refugee and the case manager, or
the actions to be taken by an employable refugee to achieve employment and
economic self-sufficiency.
(2) Institution of higher education: means
any educational institution which normally requires a high school diploma or
equivalency certificate for enrollment, including but not limited to colleges,
universities, and vocational or technical schools at the post-high school level.
J. Definitions beginning with “J”: [RESERVED]
K. Definitions beginning with “K”: [RESERVED]
L. Definitions beginning with “L”:
(1) Local affiliate: means a not-for-profit agency that is
affiliated with a national voluntary agency (VOLAG) and has been approved by
the U.S. department of state to conduct a refugee resettlement program.
(2) Local resettlement agency: means a local affiliate of a VOLAG that has
entered into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with the U.S.
department of state to provide initial reception and placement services to refugees.
(3) Local sponsor: means an individual, church, or civic
organization that has agreed to assist
a refugee to resettle in a specific community.
M. Definitions beginning with “M”:
(1) Match grant: means a program sponsored by the office
of refugee resettlement (ORR) that provided matching funds to voluntary
agencies and local affiliates to provide cash assistance and services to
refugees for no more than six months after their lawful arrival in the U.S.
(2) Medicaid: means medical assistance under Title XIX
of the Social Security Act, as
amended.
(3) Minor unmarried parent: means an unmarried parent, who is under
the age of 18
years, or is age 18 and enrolled in high school.
N. Definitions beginning with “N”:
(1) National voluntary agency
(VOLAG): means one of the national resettlement agencies that has entered
into a contract, or cooperative agreement with the U.S. department of
state or other federal agency to provide for the resettlement of refugees and
to oversee the work of a national network or local affiliates.
(2) New Mexico works: means the federally funded temporary
assistance for needy families (TANF)
program that carries a 60 month term limit for adults
in the state of New Mexico and requires participation in a variety of job
search and skill development activities to maintain eligibility.
O. Definitions beginning with “O”: [RESERVED]
P. Definitions beginning with “P”: Payment:
means the amount of the cash assistance benefit.
Q. Definitions beginning with “Q”: [RESERVED]
R. Definitions beginning with “R”:
(1) Reception and placement grant: means a grant
provided by the U.S. department of state or U.S. department of justice that is
intended to assist refugees to meet their basic needs during the first 30 to 90 days after admission to the U.S.
(2) Recipient: means a person receiving cash assistance benefits.
(3) Refugee: means any person who is admitted into the
U.S. under Section 207 of the INA
and is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of origin because of
persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
(4) Resources: means tangible assets and property owned by
the applicant with the exception of assets and property in the refugee’s country of
origin and assets and property given to the refugee as part of the reception
and placement program.
(5) Refugee cash assistance
(RCA): means a one hundred percent
federally funded cash assistance
program for non-TANF, non-SSI, eligible needy refugees during their first 12
months in the U.S.
(6) Refugee medical assistance
(RMA): means a one hundred percent
federally funded medical assistance program for non-Medicaid eligible needy
refugees during their first 12 in the U.S.
S. Definitions beginning with “S”:
(1) Secondary migrant: means a refugee who was initially resettled in another state but who has relocated their residence to
New Mexico.
(2) Spend down: means to deduct incurred medical expenses
from countable income, thereby lowering the amount of countable income to a
level that may meet the financial eligibility
standard.
(3) Standard of deed: means a maximum cash benefit amount that
is based on federal regulation for
TANF standard of need.
(4) Supplemental security income
(SSI): means monthly cash payments
to income eligible persons over the
age of 65 or who are determined to be disabled under the authority of Title XVI
of the Social Security Act.
T. Definitions beginning with “T”: [RESERVED]
U. Definitions beginning with “U”: Unearned
income: means income from one of
these sources: old age, survivors
and disability insurance payments (social security); railroad retirement
benefits; veteran’s administration compensation or pension payments; military
retirement and allotments; pensions, annuities and retirement benefits; lodge
or fraternal benefits; other public or private disability or retirement
benefits or pensions; shared shelter payments; individual Indian money (IIM);
royalty or lease payments for land or property owned by a benefit group member;
settlement payments resulting from insurance or litigation; worker's
compensation benefits; child support; unemployment compensation benefits; union
benefits paid in cash; gifts and contributions; and real property income.
V. Definitions beginning with “V”: Victim of human trafficking: means an individual who has received
certification from ORR as a victim of human
trafficking.
W. Definitions beginning with “W”: [RESERVED]
X. Definitions beginning with “X”: [RESERVED]
Y. Definitions beginning with “Y”: [RESERVED]
Z. Definitions beginning with “Z”: [RESERVED]
[8.119.100.7 NMAC - N, 11/01/2013; A, 11/1/2022]
8.119.100.8 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS:
A. AFDC: aid to families
with dependent children
B. DHS: (U.S)
department of homeland security
C. DOJ: (U.S.)
department of justice
D. DOS: (U.S.)
department of state
E. DWS: department of workforce solutions
F. EID: earned income disregard
G. HHS: (U.S.)
department of health and human services
H. HSD:
human services department
I. ICE: (U.S.)
immigration and customs enforcement
J. IEP:
individual employability plan
K. INA:
Immigration and Nationality Act
L. IRU:
incapacity review unit
M. ISD:
income support division
N. MAD:
medical assistance division
O. NMDWS:
New Mexico department of workforce solutions
P. NMW:
New Mexico works
Q. ORR:
office of refugee resettlement
R. RCA:
refugee cash assistance
S. RMA:
refugee medical assistance
T. RRP:
refugee resettlement program
U. RSS:
refugee social services
V. SSI:
supplemental security income
W. TANF:
temporary assistance for needy families
X. USCIS: (U.S.)
citizenship and immigration service
Y. VOLAG:
national voluntary agency
[8.119.100.8
NMAC - N, 11/01/2013]
HISTORY OF 8.119.100 NMAC: [RESERVED]