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A minimal fee is paid by the Center for each visit. Eligibility is restricted to those qualifying for cash assistance grants under the program described on a later page. The American Red Cross has distributed personal kits to newly arrived refugees since the start of the refugee program. Certification slips for used clothing issued by the voluntary agencies are redeemable at several church depots in the Miami area. Supplies of clothing have been received from New York and other cities serving as collection centers for clothing drives. Under Federal auspices. broad scale aid for Cuban refugees in the United States began late in 1960 when. after a review of the situation. President Eisenhower inaugurated a program to deal with the most urgent needs. Subsequently. President Kennedy recognized the Cuban refugee problem as one of national responsibility and beyond the means and scope of the individual States or the combined efforts of voluntary agencies. Accordingly. on January 27. 1961. the President issued a formal instruction to the then Secretary of Health. Education. and Welfare. Abraham Ribicoff. saying. in part: I want you to make concrete my concern and sympathy for those who have been forced from their homes in Cuba and to assure them that we shall seek to expedite their voluntary return as soon as conditions there facilitate that. After a further personal evaluation of the refugee problem in the Miami area. a comprehensive program was formulated by the HEW Secretary. who assigned the Social Security Commissioner to coordinate the efforts of all Federal agencies affected by the Presidents directive. In January 1963. the Cuban refugee relief program was placed under the newly constituted Welfare AdministrationDr. Ellen Winston. Commissioner of Welfare. Director of the Cuban refugee program. based in Washington. Is John Frederick Thomas. By Presidential authority. $5 million had been allocated to the support of cooperative programs relating to the health. education. and welfare of Cuban refugees in the United States. for the period ending June 30. 1961. These funds were part of the money appropriated by Congress to the Mutual Security Contingency Fund and they represent the first expenditure of such funds within the continental borders of the United States. During the fiscal year ending June 30. 1962. the program was carried out with $38.5 million made available under authorities In the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. On June 28. 1962. Public Law 87510Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962was enacted which provided a legislative base for assistance to Cuban and other refugees from nations of the Western Hemisphere. and authorized appropriations for such assistance. Funds appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30. 1963. amounted to $70.110.000. Besides the Federal. State. and local agencies. support for the refugees has come from private firms and individuals as well as from educational. religious. cultural. and philanthropic agencies. All their efforts symbolize the Presidents personal concern and attest to his leadership in promoting the welfare of the refugees. Through agreements with the Department of Health. Education. and Welfare. Federal funds are being used to administer a wide variety of programs: Operation of the Cuban Refugee Center and the maintenance of records. Resettlement of refugee families in communities offering employment opportunities. A transitional grant to resettling refugees who receive public assistance in Miami at the time of their resettlem..nt-$100 for a family. $60 for an individual. Financial assistance to needy families in the Miami area and to resettled families in other areas. Consultations and advisory services to voluntary agencies with contractual responsibilities. Hospitalization and medical care for the sick. The care and protection of unaccompanied children. Distribution of surplus food commodities to needy refugees. Emergency welfare services for American nationals repatriated from Cuba. Educational loans to needy and deserving Cuban students enrolled In American colleges and universities. An adult education program. as well as an elementary and secondary education program for refugee children. The retraining of refugee physicians. attorneys. and other professionals. The establishment and operation of a Cuban refugee research project. The Florida State Department of Public Welfare is the principal contract agency for administering immediate relief to the refugees in the form of financial assistance. child welfare services. and in the distribution of surplus food commodities. Professional social workers interview and screen the refugees and certify their eligibility to receive monthly financial assistance checksa maximum of $100 per family and $60 per single caseand inhospital care for acute illness. Child welfare specialists in the Center look after the welfare and education of unaccompanied refugee children. Through an agreement between the Florida State Department of Public Welfare and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. surplus Federal food commodities are distributed to needy families. this distribution is in addition to other grantsinaid. Beside the public and private welfare agencies. aid to the refugees is administered by organizations representing the principal religious faiths of the refugees. Late in 1959 the Catholic diocese of Miami opened the Centro Hispano Catolico to serve the needs of refugees arriving from Cuba as well as from other Latin American countries. The centros services include medical outpatient care. food. and used clothing distribution. and home visits for the sick. The Catholic Welfare Bureau of Miami provides a variety of other services to refugees on referral from the Centro Hispano Catolico or from the Catholic relief offices in the center. The Protestant Latin Refugee Center was established by the Protestant Latin American Emergency Committee to supplement the assistance given through the Federal program. Jewish refugees from Cuba receive various forms of assistance from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. a national organization. Hardship cases are helped at eight denominational centers. Refugees with technical skills and professional training receive special consideration. Lawyers. doctors. and engineers are being retrained to fit them for professional service In the United States. most of the retraining work is carried on with Federal aid by the University of Miami. Cuban college and university students may receive education grants enabling them to resume their studies in the United States.