ACYF Administration on Children, Youth and Families	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families
	1. Log No. ACYF-IM-HS-98-12	2. Issuance Date: 08/31/98
	3. Originating Office: Head Start Bureau
	4. Key Word: Eligibility Criteria

INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

TO: Head Start Grantees and Delegate Agencies

SUBJECT: Guidance on the Interpretation of Federal Public Benefit

SUMMARY: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), P.L. 104-193, restricts access to "Federal public benefits" to "qualified aliens". Aliens who are not qualified aliens are not eligible for Federal public benefits.head Start programs (including Early head Start programs) have been determined not to provide Federal public benefits as defined in PRWORA and therefore are not required to implement new requirements for verifying the immigration and citizenship status of families applying to enroll. Noncitizens, regardless of their alien status, should not be banned from head Start based solely on their alien status.

INFORMATION: In an August 4, 1998 Federal Register notice (Volume 63, Number 14, pages 41657-41661), the Department of Health and Human Services identified 31 programs that provide Federal public benefits (see attachment). With a number of exceptions, these programs are required to verify the immigration and citizenship status of applicants in order to assure that only qualified aliens receive the programs' benefits and services. Although head Start is not among these programs, other programs with which many head Start programs collaborate with are included, such as programs receiving the Child Care and Development Fund.

We have also attached a list of programs, including head Start, within the Administration on Children and Families (ACF) that do not provide Federal public benefits.

The PRWORA defines a qualified alien as (1) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (the "Act"); (2) an alien granted asylum under section 208 of the Act; (3) a refugee admitted to the United States under section 207 of the Act; (4) an alien paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the Act for a period of at least one year; (5) an alien whose deportation is being withheld under section 243(h) of the Act as in effect prior to April 1, 1997, or whose removal is being withheld under section 241(b)(3) of the Act; (6) an alien granted conditional entry under section 203(a)(7) of the Act as in effect prior to April 1, 1980; (7) an alien who is a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980; or (8) an alien who (or whose child or parent) has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States and otherwise satisfies the requirements of 8 U.S.C. 641(c).

The Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on August 4, 1998, Verification of Eligibility for Public Benefits (Volume 63, Number 149, pages 41662-41686), that may also be of interest. Comments on the NPRM are being accepted through October 6, 1998.

Information about the HHS notice and the Department of Justice NPRM can be found on the Federal Register On-line via GPO Access. [www.access.gpo.gov/su-docs/aces/acesl40.html]

FOR FURTHER CLARIFICATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Edward Perez, Policy and Program Coordinator
Administration on Children, Youth and Families
P.O. Box 1182
Washington, D.C. 20013
(202) 205-8802

/S/
James A. Harrell
Deputy Commissionerr
Administration on Children, Youth and Families

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HHS PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE "FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFITS"
Adoption Assistance
Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD)--State
Developmental Disabilities Councils (direct services only)
ADD--Special Projects (direct services only)
ADD--University Affiliated Programs (clinical disability assessment services only)
Adult Programs/Payments to Territories
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Dissertation Grants
Child Care and Development Fund
Clinical Training Grant for Faculty Development in Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Foster Care
Health Profession Education and Training Assistance
Independent Living Program
Job Opportunities for Low Income Individuals (JOLI)
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Medicare
Medicaid (except assistance for an emergency medical condition)
Mental Health Clinical Training Grants
Native Hawaiian Loan Program
Refugee Cash Assistance
Refugee Medical Assistance
Refugee Preventive Health Services Program
Refugee Social Services Formula Program
Refugee Social Services Discretionary Program
Refugee Targeted Assistance Formula Program
Refugee Targeted Assistance Discretionary Program
Refugee Unaccompanied Minors Program
Refugee Voluntary Agency Matching Grant Program
Repatriation Program
Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option (REACH)
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
State Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

ACP Programs not defined as Federal public benefits and therefore not required to verify.

Abandoned Infants Assistance Program
ADD--University Affiliated Programs (non-clinical disability assessment services)
ADD--Protection and Advocacy
ADD--State Developmental Disabilities Councils (non-direct service components)
ADD--Special Projects (non-direct service components)
Administration for Native American Programs
Adoption opportunities
Child Welfare Training
Child Support Enforcement Program
Child Welfare Services State Grants
Child Abuse and Neglect State Grants
Child Abuse Discretionary Activities
Community-Based Family Resource Program
Community Economic Development Grants
Community Food & Nutrition
Community Schools Youth Services and Supervision
Community Services Block Grant
Domestic Violence Hotline
Education & Prevention Grants to Reduce Sexual Abuse
Family Preservation and Support
Family Violence Prevention & Services Program
head Start and Early head Start
National Youth Sports Program
Runaway and Homeless Youth
Rural Community Facilities
Transitional Living for Homeless Youth