Request for Proposals: 2026-2027 Early Refugee School Impact (ERSI) Grant
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Timeline
- July 16, 2026, 10:00 AM-11:00 AM: Optional Virtual Information Session. Access the video recording and PowerPoint slides here.
- August 14, 2026 by 5:00 PM PST: Proposals are due.
- September 30, 2026: Anticipated date of award notification from School’s Out Washington.
- October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027: Anticipated funding period for projects.
Program Priorities and Services
The Early Refugee School Impact (RSI) Program’s goals are to:
- Support families of young children (ages birth to five and not yet in Kindergarten) as they navigate daycare and preschool systems and remove barriers to child care and preschool access;
- Ensure young children (ages birth to five and not yet in Kindergarten) are prepared to succeed in formal schooling by providing programs that build young children’s academic and social skills; and
- Support parents through engagement activities through parenting classes, peer-support groups, or home visiting services.
Proposals must include direct services to young children and/or parents and must focus efforts on at least one of the following core program areas:
- Support parent engagement, through providing parenting classes or peer support groups that focus on topics such as: healthy early childhood development, developmental milestones, the rights of children with disabilities, school systems, and U.S. child welfare laws, and through home visiting services that enhance a parent’s ability to support early childhood development.
- Facilitate child care and preschool access by supporting families with systems navigation, including the subsidy application process, and helping families enroll their children in day care, Head Start/Early Head Start, the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP)/Early ECEAP, or other appropriate preschool.
- Support the academic and social preparation of young children for formal schooling (preschool or Kindergarten), through providing specialized services that support the cognitive, social, and emotional growth of preschool-aged children, administering developmental screening tools, such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition (ASQ-3), and working with districts to determine special education eligibility.
Eligible Beneficiaries
Participants eligible for this program include Washington State residents who:
- Have legally resided in the U.S. less than 60 months and are not yet a U.S. citizen; and
- Provide acceptable documentation of any of the following immigration statuses:
- Refugee
- Asylee (meaning asylum was approved and is not pending immigration proceedings)
- Cuban/Haitian Entrant
- Amerasian
- Certified Victims of Trafficking
- Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Holder (and their eligible family members)
- Afghan Humanitarian Parolee*
- Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee**
- U.S. born children (ages birth to five not yet in kindergarten) of parent(s) with the above-named immigration statuses***
- Other populations made eligible by ORR
*Afghan Humanitarian Parolee must have a valid/current parole to enroll in new programming and were paroled into the US during these dates:
- Afghans who were paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2023.
- Afghans who were paroled into the U.S. after Sept. 30, 2023 ONLY IF they are:
- A spouse or child of an Afghan Humanitarian Parolee who was paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023, OR
- A parent or legal guardian of an Afghan Humanitarian Parolee who is an unaccompanied child and was paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2023.
**Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee must have a valid/current parole to enroll in new programming* (see note below) and were paroled into the U.S. during these dates:
- Ukrainians or non-Ukrainians who last habitually resided in Ukraine and who were paroled into the U.S. between Feb. 24, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2024.
- Ukrainians who were paroled into the U.S. after Sept. 30, 2024, ONLY IF they are:
- A spouse or child of an Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee who was paroled into the U.S. between Feb. 24, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2024, OR
- A parent or legal guardian or primary caregiver of an Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee who is an unaccompanied child and was paroled into the U.S. between Feb. 24, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2024.
*Note Regarding Ukrainian Re-Parole
A UHP must have a current/valid Humanitarian Parole to enroll in new programming. If the grantee intends to continue services after the parole expires the grantee is required to:
- Ensure the client has filed their re-parole application at least 1 day prior to the expiration. Documentation of this must be kept on file. If the client has not applied for re-parole, they can no longer participate in programming.
- The grantee must reverify that the client is approved for re-parole. Documentation must be kept on file. If re-parole was denied and the client does not have another eligible status (such as asylum), the client must be exited from programming.
***U.S. born children (ages birth to five not yet in kindergarten) of parent(s) with the above-named immigration statuses if:
- The child is in a single-parent family with a parent who is ORR-eligible, or
- The child is in a two-parent family and both parents are ORR-eligible.
- Note: Young children with at least one U.S. parent are ineligible for the ERSI program.
Sub-grant Applications
All applicants and their subcontractors, if applicable, must meet the following minimum qualifications:
- Have a current State of Washington business license;
- Be registered as either a nonprofit charitable organization with a 501(c)3 status, have a federal employer identification number, or submit under an appropriate fiscal sponsor that has a federal tax identification number;
- Have at least two years of experience within the past five years providing services to immigrants or refugees.
- Have at least two years of experience within the past five years providing services to children ages birth to five, or services similar to those being proposed.
- Have a service location and space that is accessible to refugees and immigrants with disabilities and conveniently located near public transportation.
- Have the capacity to serve eligible participants in their primary language and in culturally appropriate ways.
Organizations may either apply on their own or within a consortium, but not both in the same county. For example, an organization cannot apply as a primary contractor in King County and be a consortium member for another primary contractor in King County. An organization may apply as a primary contractor in Snohomish County and be a consortium member for another primary contractor in King County.
Schools, school districts, and educational districts may not apply. Religious organizations may apply. Funds to religious organizations may not support religious programming or materials.
Funding Availability
This funding opportunity is made available through a grant from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services’ Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (DSHS/ORIA). DSHS/ORIA anticipates the availability of approximately $1.3 million total. Award amounts will typically range from $100,000 to $250,000 for individual applicants, and up to $300,000 for applicants applying in consortium. Grant funding from School’s Out Washington (SOWA) is contingent upon SOWA receiving a 2026-2027 contract from ORIA for Program Administration of the Early Refugee School Impact (ERSI) Program.
Funding Requirements
Funded grantees will be required to implement at least one direct service to young children (ages birth to five and not yet in Kindergarten) and/or their parents. Funded grantees will need to measure and report results on one client outcome, provide narrative and financial reports, submit background check results for staff/volunteers working directly with clients, provide individualized client demographic data and copies of Department of Homeland Security immigration documentation verifying that participants are eligible, maintain Commercial General Liability Insurance or Business Liability Insurance (including coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and contractual liability), and comply with federal regulations (see below).
Federal Regulations
Since this is federal funding, funded organizations must comply with federal regulations. This award is subject to the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) General Terms and Conditions – Mandatory, Formula, Block and Entitlement Grant Programs. These requirements may be found at Mandatory GENERAL TERMS and CONDITIONS – 2021 Update.pdf (hhs.gov)
- Grantees must agree to comply with the Administrative Requirements of the General Terms and Conditions.
- In order to receive funding, the grantee must not presently be debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded by any Federal department or agency from participating in transactions (debarred).
- Funded grantees must:
- Maintain records that identify, in its accounts all federal awards received and expended and the federal programs under which they were received;
- Maintain internal controls that provide reasonable assurance that federal awards are managed in compliance with laws, regulations, and provisions of contracts or grant agreements that could have a material effect on each of its federal programs;
- Prepare appropriate financial statements, including a schedule of expenditures of federal awards;
- Procure and pay for a single audit or a program-specific audit for that fiscal year if $1,000,000 or more in federal awards from any and/or all sources are expended in any fiscal year.
Funding Restrictions
- Funding cannot be used to serve children who are in Kindergarten or aged six or above.
- Funding cannot be used to serve parents who do not have children ages birth to five.
- Funding cannot be used to pay for or create child care or preschool programs.
- Funding cannot be used to serve ineligible clients. Ineligible clients cannot benefit from programs solely funded through this grant. Any program that serves both eligible and ineligible clients must have proportional non-ERSI funding.
- Funding cannot be used for stand-alone field trips or recreational activities. Field trips and recreational activities can only be offered in conjunction with a core program. A client must be enrolled in a core program in order to participate in a field trip or a recreational activity.
- Grant funds cannot be used for:
- creating child care or preschool programs;
- teaching a language other than English;
- participant stipends (money paid to individuals for participating in programs);
- driver’s license or permit fees;
- parents’ English classes or job search activities;
- case management and resource/referral services related to families’ basic needs;
- construction/renovation; and
- lobbying.
- ERSI activities may not duplicate services already funded by ORIA or another funder.
- Services rendered and reported under ERSI may not be billed to other funding sources.
- These ERSI services must either be different from the RSIP-District and RSIP-School-Age CBO services or serve individuals not participating in RSIP-District or RSIP-School-Age CBO services.
- Administrative costs are limited to 15% or your organization’s federally approved indirect rate.
Resources
Questions
Please contact Pang Chang at pchang@schoolsoutwashington.org