RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Click on the links below for more information about BRYCS resource development projects.

• Child Welfare Standards
• Community Conversations
• Cross-Service Training Guide
• Guardianship for Refugee Children
• Needs Assessment Findings
• Needs of Public Child Welfare Staff in Serving Newcomer Populations
• Refugees and Foster Care
• Separated Children
• Strengthening Services for Refugee Parents

For more information on these or other BRYCS technical assistance projects, email TA@brycs.org.

Watch for updates to the BRYCS publications list.

Child Welfare Standards

Research on existing laws, regulations, professional standards, and promising practices that guide public child welfare in U.S. revealed existing standards with relevance for practice with refugees, as well as some gaps. View our child welfare standards summary.

Community Conversations Project

BRYCS held conversations with recently arrived refugee communities in three cities, as well as with refugee-serving and public child welfare agencies. The refugee communities included Liberians, Sudanese, and Somalis in Baltimore, MD; Omaha, NE; and Seattle, WA, respectively.

Through this exploratory project two significant findings were identified:

1. Often a disconnect exists between public child welfare and refugee serving agencies in working knowledge of their counterparts’ respective operating structures and service delivery to families and children.

2. The idea that the main role of child protective services is to "take children away" assumes mythic proportions in refugee communities. This has a significant impact on refugee parents and affects how they perceive their role as parents in the U.S.

Link to the Community Conversations summary of themes and service recommendations.

Cross-Service Training Guide

Building Bridges: A Cross-Service Training Guide
In 2001 and 2002, BRYCS brought together service providers from child welfare agencies, refugee-serving agencies, and refugee community organizations for four cross-service trainings, to discuss strategies for strengthening service delivery to refugee families. This guide, based on lessons learned in Atlanta and St. Louis, takes the reader through a detailed, step-by-step process for local service communities to plan, develop, and host their own cross-service trainings.

See BRYCS newsletter for more background information on these cross-service trainings.

Guardianship for Refugee Children

To create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on guardianship for refugee children resettling or reunifying with caregivers who are not their biological parents, BRYCS reviewed existing resources and regulations. BRYCS also held discussions with local resettlement organizations in several states, as well refugee community associations, family and probate courts, and legal and social services experts. View our guardianship FAQ, and for quick reference, the two-page FAQ summary. See the section on Separated Children for related information.

Needs Assessment Findings

Directions in Service Provision: Findings From Needs Assessments of Refugee Youth, Children, and Parents
This report combines findings and recommendations from needs assessments conducted by BRYCS in Georgia, Ohio, and Missouri during 2001-2002. Various service agencies and community representatives were involved in implementing each assessment, bringing together a detailed picture of local challenges. The report identifies critical issues and challenges confronting refugee youth, children, and parents, and includes important recommendations for service provision based on lessons learned. Through this report, BRYCS urges local service providers to consider how they may can conduct needs assessments in their communities.

Needs of Public Child Welfare Staff in Serving Newcomer Populations

BRYCS conducted an online assessment in the Spring 2003 which was distributed to child welfare administrators in all 50 states. The focus of the assessment was to find out more about the challenges public child welfare staff have in providing services to newcomer families. We received a total of 141 responses from directors, supervisors, and caseworkers from over 16 different states and the District of Columbia.

The data is useful in that it identifies specific challenges facing public child welfare service providers that serve newcomer populations. Overall, respondents expressed a strong need for more resources and information regarding newcomer cultures. Please take a moment to look at the preliminary findings.

Refugees and Foster Care

BRYCS is conducting research on efforts to recruit, train, license, and retain refugee foster families, as well as other efforts to meet the unique needs of refugee children in foster care. Resources will include information on promising practices and will address the context of public child welfare agencies.

Separated Children

BRYCS is looking into international and domestic services for children separated from their parents, and will produce a paper on service issues regarding refugee children resettling or reunifying with family members who are not their biological parents. View a set of Suitability Assessment Tips for such cases. The section on Guardianship for Refugee Children has related information.

Strengthening Services for Refugee Parents

NEW BRYCS PUBLICATION Strengthening Services for Refugee Parents: Guidelines and Resources

This comprehensive manual was developed to assist agencies that work with refugee parents. BRYCS interviewed 28 agencies from 13 states across the U.S. to learn more about service strengths and challenges in their work with refugee parents. Read the Executive Summary. Or view and download the full report in PDF format. The manual includes:

Due to popular demand, hard copies are sold out. Please let us know here (TA at brycs.org) if you would like to order a hard copy at the cost of printing ($35). If demand is high, we will re-print the manual in an attractive loose-leaf binder and make it available to you.

Watch for updates to the BRYCS publications list.