Child Care For Refugee Parents
In The United States

Within a few months of their arrival, refugees arriving in the United States are required to become self-sufficient. Usually, minimum or low-wage work is the first option, which means as many family members as can do so need to work to provide income. Since a large percentage of refugees, many of them single mothers, arrive with children, child care becomes an immediate concern.

Among all the other cultural adjustments and compromises a refugee family must make, refugees often are used to family roles very different than those they may see on TV, in schools, or on the street in the United States. Expectations in U.S. culture and laws of what is expected of parents toward children may be very different, and often seems baffling in the context of their own culture. Most refugees are not accustomed to spending so much time away from their children while at work, and many balk at having a stranger care for their children, as happens in most licensed day care centers.

Although child care remains an ongoing challenge for most families, refugee parents tend to use a range of options. Some are able to rely on other family members or friends in the community to care for their children while they are away. There may be an informal child care provider in the apartment building or in the neighborhood who will provide ongoing care for children at low cost. Some refugee parents are able to access more formal child care, including such subsidized programs as Head Start.

Once refugees have been in this country for some time, creating their own business opportunities becomes more feasible. For some, providing licensed in-home child care can allow them the chance to contribute to the family’s income, while covering their own child care needs.

Our guest Spotlight this month, by Maria Hein and John Else of the Institute of Social and Economic Development (ISED), an ORR Technical Assistance provider explores some of the considerations that refugees starting their own day care business would want to take into account.

Since 1991, ISED Solutions has provided technical assistance to states and community-based organizations that have received grants from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The technical assistance has focused primarily on program design, organizational capacity building, and performance measurement. ISED Solutions' work has focused on several ORR initiatives: microenterprise development, subsidized employment programs, Individual Development Accounts, ethnic community grants, and preferred communities. In addition, ISED Solutions prepared a report on the effects of 9/11 on refugees and the U.S. refugee program, and is currently conducting an assessment of Wilson-Fish projects in ten states. Most of the content of this article is drawn from an ISED Solutions publication Home-Based Child Care: Assessing the Self-Sufficiency Potential—with special reference to refugees (Maria Hein, Reva Allen, John Else, Washington, DC: ISED, 1999).  The accompanying featured search provides additional resources about child care for refugee communities.

The BRYCS project is acquiring and centralizing resources concerning refugee children, youth, and families. The resources are often accompanied by descriptions from BRYCS, and include, when available, the full text on the BRYCS website.  BRYCS will continue to update the clearinghouse as new materials are acquired, reviewed, and included. Please join us in making this possible by suggesting relevant resources. Click on the “Suggest a Resource” link on the BRYCS homepage, or call toll-free 1-888-572-6500—press #3 after the prompt. Or send an e-mail to Outreach & Information Coordinator Charles Evans at clearinghouse@brycs.org.

Last month's spotlight addressing child development issues is available in the BRYCS archive. The accompanying featured search is also available through the BRYCS archive, along with past resource lists.