Alameda County supervisors seek emergency funding as federal pause leaves hundreds of refugees without services

The Alameda County Social Services Committee on Jan. 27 was told that a recent State Department stop-work notice and broader federal policy changes have left local resettlement agencies unable to use federal funds to provide housing deposits, casework and other immediate supports for hundreds of refugees who recently arrived in the county.

Committee chair Supervisor Miley said the situation amounts to an urgent local crisis and asked the committee to recommend that the Board of Supervisors direct the County Administrator to assemble emergency funding options and interagency resources for short-term assistance.

Why it matters: Resettlement agencies typically rely on federal reception-and-placement funds to cover initial administrative costs and direct assistance, including security deposits and short-term housing. With federal payments paused, agencies say they face immediate unpaid client needs and potential furloughs, exposing newly arrived families to homelessness, delayed school enrollment and interrupted access to health care.

What presenters told the committee: Mitch Margolis, acting director of the International Rescue Committee in Oakland, said IRC has about 191 individuals resettled in the last 90 days in Alameda County and estimated roughly $200,000 in unmet direct-assistance obligations plus about $200,000 in near-term staffing costs if work continues without federal funding. "We've essentially been told by the administration we can't do it," Margolis said, describing a sudden stop to the State Department-funded reception and placement work.

Robin Mentor, CEO of Jewish Family and Community Services East Bay, said JFCS East Bay currently has 45 active clients affected by the stop-work order and JFS Silicon Valley has about 60 active clients in Alameda County. Mentor said the agencies will "continue to do all we can to make sure that our active clients continue to receive the services that they deserve," but added that the agencies expect a likely litigation pathway to recover federal payments and do not expect immediate reimbursement.

Staff numbers and county request: County Social Services staff presented an earlier, agency-informed one-year funding request for scheduled arrivals of $4,068,670 to support four to six months of unmet housing, transportation and case-management needs. Staff also outlined a reduced three-month estimate of $3,012,147 for the same cohort and described how that $4.07 million total was apportioned among partners (IRC Oakland $2,358,075; JFCS East Bay $1,007,850; JFS Silicon Valley $702,745). Staff said unscheduled arrivals were not included in the county’s recommended request because they are not eligible for federal reception-and-placement funds.

County options and next steps: Chair Miley proposed the committee ask the Board to direct the County Administrator to work with departments to identify emergency funding and interagency options. He suggested an initial short-term figure in the ballpark of $100,000 for a 90-day period to cover staffing and immediate assistance, and discussed a larger emergency contingency of up to $800,000 to support roughly 300 active clients while agencies pursue federal billing and potential litigation.

Supervisors and staff discussed multiple potential funding sources, including county general funds, health-and-housing allocations and philanthropic contributions. County staff said some housing funds administered by county health housing programs do not explicitly exclude refugees and that state flexibility (e.g., allowing up to 30% of certain refugee-program budgets to be used for housing) might offer additional options for some groups; however, staff cautioned that eligibility rules and timing—particularly enrollment in public-assistance programs—limit when federal or state pots can be used.

What the committee recommended: Committee members signaled support for directing the County Administrator to work with the Social Services Agency, Health and Housing and other county partners to identify short-term emergency resources and return recommendations to the Board at the Feb. 4 meeting. The committee did not take a formal roll-call vote on a funding appropriation at this meeting; instead, members agreed to return a recommendation to the Board for consideration.

Voices from providers: "We can't disperse direct assistance from the State Department to pay security deposits," Margolis said, adding agencies are looking to foundations and local funding to bridge gaps. Robin Mentor said agencies anticipated billing the federal government but warned of a "long likely, litigious effort to get there."

What happens next: The County Administrator was asked to prepare emergency funding options for the Board’s Feb. 4 meeting and to coordinate with county housing and health managers on whether existing county housing funds could be used to support resettled families. Agencies will continue to press for federal reimbursement; county staff will return with concrete funding and coordination proposals.

Ending: The committee framed the matter as an immediate humanitarian need for clients already in Alameda County and asked county administrators to pursue rapid, short-term financial support while exploring longer-term options and potential reimbursement from federal sources.