Refugee Cash & Medical Assistance Program

The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Administration for Children and Families administers the Refugee and Entrant Program, to which we will be referring as Refugee Assistance Program (RAP). The Department of Children and Families submits a state plan to operate the refugee program. Refugee Assistance Program (RAP) consists of Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) which provide temporary assistance to help arriving refugees while they become self-sufficient. "Refugee," unless otherwise indicated, will include refugees, asylees, Cuban-Haitian entrants, certain Amerasians, Victims of Trafficking and any other categories eligible for refugee benefits under federal law.

If you have questions regarding eligibility for these programs, please contact the local W-2 agency, in Milwaukee, the agency providing eligibility determination is MAXIMUS.

RCA is modeled upon the W-2 payment system, and RMA is a part of the Medical Assistance (MA) program, providing an MA card and benefits to refugees who are not eligible for MA due to a lack of categorical eligibility. Refugees receiving RCA are referred to refugee employment and training services.

Refugees generally enter the U.S. without income or assets with which to support themselves during the first few months here. Families with children under age 18 are generally eligible for support under Wisconsin Works (W-2). Refugees who are aged, blind or disabled may receive assistance from the federally administered Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Refugees eligible for these two programs may be enrolled in the Medicaid program, which provides medical assistance for low-income individuals and families.

Refugees who meet the income and resource eligibility standards of the W-2 or Medicaid programs, but are not otherwise eligible—such as single individuals, childless couples, teen parents and two-parent families with no children under 18 years of age—may receive benefits under the special RCA and RMA programs. Eligibility for these special programs is restricted to the first eight months in the U.S., except for asylees and victims of trafficking, from the date a certification or eligibility letter is issued by ORR.