Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children
Forecasted
Funds organizations providing round-the-clock residential or transitional foster care for unaccompanied children, with particular interest in services near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Funder: Administration for Children and Families - ORR
Due Dates (Anticipated): January 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: $2,000,000–$5,600,000 per award; estimated $280 million across 50 cooperative agreements
Summary: Supports providers delivering round-the-clock, child-centered residential care for unaccompanied children in federal custody.
Key Information: Providers must meet state licensing requirements at application, including required child placement or related licenses.
Description
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within the Administration for Children and Families, supports organizations providing high-quality, child-centered residential care for unaccompanied children. The program promotes children’s safety and well-being through group home, shelter, and transitional foster care services. Children remain in federal legal custody because of their immigration status, while funded providers are responsible for their day-to-day physical care.
Providers must operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with capacity to accept children at any time when safe and consistent with state licensing requirements. ORR is particularly interested in residential facility beds and transitional foster care in states and localities near the U.S. southern border with Mexico. ORR incorporates child welfare principles and children’s best interests into placement, clinical, case management, and discharge decisions.
