ForecastedOpportunity HHS-2026-ACF-ORR-ZU-0045

Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children

Administration for Children and Families - ORR · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children is a forecasted federal cooperative agreement opportunity from the Administration for Children and Families - ORR (Department of Health and Human Services). The agency's forecast estimates an application due date of December 8, 2026; forecast dates can change. Individual awards are listed as $2M – $5.6M, with about 50 awards expected and $280M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts and 9 more. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 93.676 (Unaccompanied Alien Children Program).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Sep 2, 2026Forecast posted
Sep 30, 2026 (est.)Full notice expected
Dec 8, 2026 (est.)Application deadlinenext date
Apr 1, 2027 (est.)Est. award date

Posted: Sep 2, 2026
Est. close date: Dec 8, 2026
Est. award date: Apr 1, 2027
Award floor: $2,000,000
Award ceiling: $5,600,000
Est. total funding: $280,000,000
Expected awards: 50
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Cooperative Agreement
Opportunity category: Discretionary
Fiscal year: FY2026

Who can apply

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public colleges & universities
Federally recognized tribal governments
Public & Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations
501(c)(3) nonprofits
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
Private colleges & universities
For-profit organizations (not small businesses)
Small businesses

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

Current RecipientsCurrent recipients in the final year of their project period must check when their project period ends. If the project period end date aligns with this funding opportunity"s projected award date, and the current recipient wants to apply to continue providing services, they must apply for this funding opportunity.Current recipients who are not in the final year of their project period and want to apply for this funding opportunity must propose services in a new facility and new location from where they are currently funded. ACF does not fund multiple projects that offer the same type of service in the same location. Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships), federal entities, and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from the merit review and funding under this funding opportunity. Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible for awards under this funding opportunity.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children funding opportunity is intended to support organizations that can provide high-quality, child-centered care that promotes children's safety and well-being. Funded providers must offer services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have the capacity to accept children at any time, when it is safe to do so and consistent with state licensing requirements. Although children in ORR care are in the federal government's legal custody due to their immigration status, care providers are responsible for their day-to-day physical care. At the time of application, providers must be licensed, in accordance with state requirements, to provide group home, shelter, or transitional foster care services for children, including any required child placement or related licenses.

ORR is particularly interested in projects that provide residential facility beds and transitional foster care in states and localities near the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

Standard ORR care providers must be licensed by an appropriate State agency, or meet the State's licensing requirements if located in a State that does not allow State licensing of programs providing or proposing to provide care and services to unaccompanied children. See 45 C.F.R. 410.1302(a).

Additional information from the agency ↗

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Watch for the full noticeThe agency estimates posting it around September 30, 2026. Save this grant to track changes.
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyYolanda Barnes · UCBgrants@acf.hhs.gov Open ↗
Submit before December 8, 2026Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on the listed application due date. Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

93.676Unaccompanied Alien Children ProgramProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 93.676

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$3.54B

FY25

$3.18B

FY26

$2.87B est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.676. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 93.676

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 550 grant awards had funding actions under Unaccompanied Alien Children Program, with 2,717 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

SOUTHWEST KEY PROGRAMS INC$1.03B
COMPASS CONNECTIONS$616M
U.S. COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS, INC.$206M
LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICE INC$193M
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF THE SOUTH, INC$130M

Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

Yolanda Barnes
UCBgrants@acf.hhs.gov
UCBgrants@acf.hhs.gov

Quick answers

Is “Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children” open for applications yet?

Not yet. It is a forecast — an agency's advance notice of an expected opportunity. The agency estimates posting the full notice around September 30, 2026. Forecast details and dates can change.

Who is eligible to apply for “Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children”?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, Public & Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, Private colleges & universities and 2 more. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through “Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as $2m – $5.6m, total estimated program funding is $280,000,000 and the agency expects to make about 50 awards.

How do I apply for “Residential Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity HHS-2026-ACF-ORR-ZU-0045), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

OpenDeadline extendedALN 93.676