FY 2016 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program: Citizenship Instruction

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The Office of Citizenship (OoC), within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is charged with promoting instruction and training on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. USCIS recognizes that naturalization is an important milestone in the civic integration of immigrants. Naturalization requirements, such as knowledge of English and of U.S. history and civics, encourage civic learning and build a strong foundation upon which immigrants can exercise their rights and responsibilities. Through preparing for naturalization, immigrants will gain the tools to become successful citizens—ready to exercise their rights and meet their responsibilities as United States citizens. USCIS acknowledges the valuable role that local service provider community-based organizations play in immigrant communities. Due to the strong relationships these agencies often have with immigrants in the local area, these organizations can assist USCIS in its effort to reach underserved populations. The goal of the Citizenship Instruction grant is to provide support to community-based organizations in their efforts to establish new citizenship instruction programs or expand the quality and reach of existing citizenship instruction programs. Through this funding, USCIS will fund community-based organizations striving to professionalize and increase services to immigrants in the area of citizenship instruction. Verifiable experience in the provision of English as a Second Language (ESL) programming is required to qualify for this funding opportunity. Applicants are required to use existing expertise in ESL instruction to provide citizenship instruction. Applicants are required to include a copy of the citizenship curriculum and to provide the name of the corresponding textbook intended for use to guide the citizenship instruction throughout the program’s period of performance. OoC reserves the right to suggest changes to curriculum and educational materials after reviewing the applicant’s program during the negotiation period or the first quarter of the funding period. Grant recipients will be required to enroll at least 125 citizenship instruction students and provide a minimum of 40 hours of instruction to each student during the period of performance. DHS will consider applications that include the cost of Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) training for staff with the ultimate objective of obtaining BIA accreditation. The Citizenship Instruction grant addresses the following DHS mission as specified in the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR): Mission 3: Enforce and Administer Our Immigration Laws Goal 3.1: Strengthen and Effectively Administer the Immigration System • Promote lawful immigration; • Effectively administer the immigration services system; and • Promote the integration of lawful immigrants into American society.

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