MAURA T. HEALEY KATHLEEN E. WALSH
GOVERNOR SECRETARY
KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL CRISTINA AGUILERA
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
May 21, 2024
The Honorable Michael J. Rodrigues The Honorable Aaron Michlewitz
Chair, Senate Committee on Ways and Chair, House Committee on Ways and
Means Means
State House, Room 212 State House, Room 243
Boston, MA 02133 Boston, MA 02133
Dear Chairs Rodrigues and Michlewitz,
Enclosed is the April Resettlement Agency Report, submitted in compliance with item 4003-
0123 of chapter 77 of the acts of 2023. That act, which became law in December of 2023,
appropriated $10 million for resettlement agencies (RAs) that resettle and support refugees and
immigrants under contract with the U.S. State Department. The money is authorized to be
expended by the RAs to “provide services to refugees and other displaced persons eligible for
[RA] services” and “to prevent families from entering the emergency shelter system.”
The Office of Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) entered into contracts with eight resettlement
agencies in early March, and the Administration announced the launch of the new partnership on
March 7. This monthly report, the first one submitted pursuant to the reporting requirements in
chapter 177, reflects activity through April 30, 2024.
I hope you find this document useful and informative. Please feel free to contact Susan Church,
Chief Operating Officer at ORI if you have any questions about the report.
Respectfully,
Cristina Aguilera, Executive Director
 Resettlement Agency Report
Chapter 77 of the acts of 2023, the final supplemental appropriations act for the state’s fiscal year
2023, appropriated $10 million in item 4003-0123 for resettlement agencies (RAs) that resettle
and support refugees and immigrants under contract with the U.S. State Department. The money
is authorized to be expended by the RAs to “provide services to refugees and other displaced
persons eligible for [RA] services” and “to prevent families from entering the emergency shelter
system.”
The $10 million in c. 77 supplemented $500,000 appropriated in the same item in the fiscal year
2024 budget. This $10.5 million, which goes to the same entities for the same purposes, is
addressed in combination in this report.
Chapter 77 requires that monthly reports to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and
Means detail the following information:
(i) a list of recipients of such funds; (ii) the amounts distributed to each recipient; (iii) the
number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient, delineated by municipality;
(iv) a breakdown of the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient,
delineated by individuals: (a) currently residing in the emergency housing assistance
program under section 30 of chapter 23B of the General Laws; (b) who entered said
program as migrants, refugees or asylum seekers as a result of the ongoing humanitarian
crisis; and (c) who are currently on the waitlist for placement into said program; (v) a
breakdown of the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient who have
been resettled into long term housing other than the emergency shelter system; (vi) a
breakdown of the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient who are
currently awaiting federal work authorization versus the number of said immigrants and
refugees who have had their federal work authorization approved; and (vii) a list of all
municipalities served by each recipient of such funds
The status of these items is as follows:
(i) a list of recipients of such funds; (ii) the amounts distributed to each recipient;
Eight RAs receive funds through this item, covering eight geographic regions of the state. ORI
worked with the RAs to assess the number of refugees they serve, and to develop expectations
about the numbers of EA shelter families they can each commit to resettling by the end of
calendar year 2024.
Of the $10.5 million in authorized spending, $2.5 million will be distributed to support each
recipients’ work with their identified caseload of refugees as of January of 2024, when the
contracts were negotiated. These funds are allocated in proportion to the January caseload.
The remaining $8.0 million is committed based on RA’s estimates of the numbers of families
they can rehouse by December 2024.
See Attachment 1 for more detail.
(iii) the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient, delineated by
municipality;
See Attachment 1 for a snapshot estimate of immigrants and refugees served by recipient.
The Administration is developing Interim Emergency Data Manager (IEDM) to track this data
on an ongoing basis. IEDM is expected to go live within the next few months for this data.
(iv) a breakdown of the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient,
delineated by individuals: (a) currently residing in the emergency housing assistance
program under section 30 of chapter 23B of the General Laws; (b) who entered said
program as migrants, refugees or asylum seekers as a result of the ongoing humanitarian
crisis; and (c) who are currently on the waitlist for placement into said program;
We anticipate being able to give a detailed response to this question once IEDM is rolled out.
(v) a breakdown of the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient who
have been resettled into long term housing other than the emergency shelter system;
We anticipate being able to give a detailed response to this question once IEDM is rolled out.
(vi) a breakdown of the number of immigrants and refugees served by each recipient who
are currently awaiting federal work authorization versus the number of said immigrants
and refugees who have had their federal work authorization approved; and
We anticipate being able to give a detailed response to this question once IEDM is rolled out.
(vii) a list of all municipalities served by each recipient of such funds
See attachment 2 for a list of municipalities served by each RA.
Attachment 1. Massachusetts Resettlement Support Program (MRSP) – Distribution of C. 77 Funds
PART 1: DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO SUPPORT REFUGEES
Number of Assured
Agencies Refugees MRSP Distribution
Ascentria (Worcester and West Springfield) 410 $439,914.16
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston 220 $236,051.50
Catholic Charities Agency of Diocese of Springfield 280 $300,429.18
International Institute of New England (Boston and Lowell) 365 $391,630.90
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest 95 $101,931.33
Jewish Family Service of Western MA 375 $402,360.52
Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS) 185 $198,497.85
Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center (Boston and Worcester) 400 $429,184.55
2330 $2,500,000.00
PART 2: ESTIMATED DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO SUPPPORT SHELTER EXIT/APARTMENT
PLACEMENT OF THOSE ON WAITING LISTS FOR EA
# of Families agency will
commit to exit from Distribution of MRSP
Agencies shelter funds by Agency ($8M)
Ascentria (Worcester and West Springfield) 75 $1,500,000.00
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston 50 $1,000,000.00
Catholic Charities Agency of Diocese of Springfield 50 $1,000,000.00
International Institute of New England (Boston and Lowell) 50 $1,000,000.00
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest 25 $ 500,000.00
Jewish Family Service of Western MA 50 $1,000,000.00
Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success (ORIS) 50 $1,000,000.00
Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center (Boston and Worcester) 50 $1,000,000.00
Total 400 $8,000,000.00
Attachment 2. Towns serviced by Resettlement Agencies pursuant to this contract. (As of April 30)
Massachusetts Town Name Resettlement Agency Servicing
Springfield Ascentria Care Alliance
Chicopee Ascentria Care Alliance
Holyoke Ascentria Care Alliance
Leicester Ascentria Care Alliance
Boston Catholic Charities Boston
Malden Catholic Charities Boston
Sturbridge Catholic Charities Springfield
Arlington International Institute of New England
Chelsea International Institute of New England
Great Barrington Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts
Framingham Jewish Family Services of MetroWest
Hudson Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success
Shrewsbury Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success
Westborough Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success
Middleborough Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success
Worcester Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center