BRYCS - Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Prevention Researcher, a quarterly journal that highlights current developments in adolescent behavioral research and successful prevention strategies, just released their November issue on “Immigrant and Refugee Youth”. Dr. Rowena Fong, BRYCS Consultant, leads the issue with an examination of migration journeys and cultural values, while Dr. Dina Birman, BRYCS Consultant, discusses effective strategies for prevention through the schools. BRYCS’ Director, Lyn Morland, concludes this issue with her article, Promising Practices in Positive Youth Development with Immigrants and Refugees, which promotes the role of community-based organizations in prevention and draws a number of principles, with examples, from an analysis of BRYCS’ current collection of 60 successful programs. See the November 2007 edition of The Prevention Researcher for more information.

Immigrant Families and Public Child Welfare: Barriers to Services and Approaches for Change, written by BRYCS consultant Ilze Earner, was published in the July/August 2007 issue of Child Welfare League of America's (CWLA) Child Welfare Journal. The article describes the results of two focus groups of immigrant parents who recently experienced child protective investigations in New York City, identifies service barriers, and offers recommendations. (Description summarized from source.)

Child Welfare and the Challenge of the New Americans, a feature article in the current issue of CWLA’s Children’s Voice, demonstrates how growing immigrant populations are creating questions for child welfare policy and practice. Written by BRYCS consultant Dr. Ilze Earner and colleagues Sonia Velazquez and Yali Lincroft, this article explains how as the immigrant population continues to grow nationwide, the child welfare field has an increased need to effectively intersect with immigration practices, policies, and laws. (Description summarized from source.)

Responding to Immigrant Families and Children: Rising to the Challenge presents highlights from a forum on child welfare and newcomer families in rural Minnesota, organized by the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work. BRYCS Consultants Susan Schmidt and Dr. Ilze Earner presented on: “Separated and Unaccompanied Children;” and “Immigrant Families and Child Welfare: Barriers to Services and Approaches to Change.”

EVENTS

The multidisciplinary Beyond the Bench XVIII Conference will be in San Diego, California on December 12-14, 2007. The conference is devoted to children and families in the juvenile court system and will address issues of juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, substance abuse, education, community engagement, and more. Beyond the Bench brings together a wide range of professionals in judicial and social services. Ken Borelli, BRYCS consultant, will be part of an all day Dialogue on the Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare. For more information including a preliminary agenda and presenter biographies, click here.

CWLA’s 2007 National Adoption and Foster Care Training Conference Shared Beliefs, Shared Values: Achieving Excellence in Adoption and Foster Care will take place on December 10-12 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Representatives of foster care programs for foreign-born children, along with an immigration attorney, will present on “Undocumented Children in Foster Care: Needs and Resources.” Speakers will explore the interaction between multiple systems, such as family courts and immigration legal services, and issues related to children who have suffered abuse or neglect in their country of origin.

FUNDING

There is a new Intergenerational Shared Site Best Practices Recognition Program from Generations United (GU). GU is honoring the best intergenerational programs across the country – programs that focus on building mutually beneficial relationships among the generations. If your program works to strengthen the connection between refugee and immigrant youth and their elders, consider applying. GU will select up to five shared site programs as grand prize winners to receive a cash award of $2,500. The application deadline is December 31, 2007.

The Charles A. Frueauff Foundation provides funding on education, social services, and health to programs with 501(c)3 status in the South, Midwest, or Northeast. Review a list of currently funded youth programs and consider applying. They accept letters of inquiry twice a year, next occurring January 3 through February 20.

The Communities Program of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funds programs in 26 communities across the U.S., focusing on education, the well-being of children and families, and four other program areas. Visit their Web site to fill out an online letter of inquiry. There is no deadline.

FOR REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT YOUTH

Living in the United States: A Guide for Immigrant Youth, published by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, is a helpful 31-page guide written in a simple, easy-to-read format to assist all immigrant youth in understanding their rights in the United States. Topics include immigration status, green card guidelines, family adjustment, and higher education.

Resource Guide for Immigrant and Refugee Youth is a helpful and easy to follow tool to assist immigrant youth in their everyday adjustment to a new culture. Though it is for Canada, this resource may be useful to refugees and immigrants in the U.S. because it includes a number of photos. The topics covered include transportation, schools, libraries, community centers, settlement services, and employment resources.

Gloria and Joseph Mattera National Scholarship Fund for Migrant Children assists migrant youth who have the potential and the desire to further their education to achieve their personal and career goals. Eligible applicants must be entering or enrolled in four-year college or other types of post-secondary programs. Grants range from $150 - $500.

RESOURCES

Integration

Out of the Many, One: Integrating Immigrants in New Jersey by Nick Montalto, Ph.D., of the National Immigration Forum, includes a large section on educational opportunities for children and youth and explores parental involvement, bilingual education, the impact of No Child Left Behind, high school exit exams, and more. Though written about New Jersey, it provides useful information for teachers, service providers, and policy-makers in other states.

Arab Detroit: From Margin to Mainstream, edited by Nabeel Abraham and Andrew Shryock, discusses the Arab community in Detroit and may be particularly useful to those working with Iraqis. Sections relevant to BRYCS’ audience include “life journeys” and “ethnic futures.” For other resources on Iraqi refugees, see BRYCS’ List of Highlighted Resources on this population.

Refugees' Experiences of Integration, a report from Refugee Council UK, presents findings from a two-year qualitative study of the social aspects of integration across different groups of refugees and asylum seekers in two British communities. (Description summarized from source.) Though the study reports on Great Britain, it may also be useful to those working with refugees and immigrants in the U.S.

Cultural Orientation

The Domestic Service Provider Toolkit provided by the Cultural Orientation Resource Center (CAL/COR) includes lesson plans, promising practices, and program development resources developed for and by resettlement agency staff. Relevant resources for those working with children, youth, and families cover topics such as the U.S. educational system and refugee parents and U.S. schools. In addition, CAL/COR has produced its own lesson plans, which are in Cultural Orientation for Refugees: A Handbook for U.S. Trainers, and can be ordered online.

A resource on Refugees from Burma in Thailand and Malaysia was recently added to the “Overseas Monthly Cultural Orientation Program Highlight” section of the Cultural Orientation Resource Center. This article includes a description of the “family day” part of the curriculum, when parents and children are brought together to discuss the changes they will experience in family roles, methods of child discipline, and maintaining the valuable aspects of their own culture. The article also includes information on their new parenting program for parents of young children in their daycare center. Be sure to check out the slideshow, which has pictures of the Burmese in their Cultural Orientation classes, including children singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.”

English-Kirundi, Kirundi-English, and Kinyarwanda-English dictionaries are now available for those working with Burundian refugees. The dictionaries can be downloaded for free, courtesy of the Free Methodist Church of North America.

Child Welfare

Connecting the Dots: Improving Neighborhood-Based Child Welfare Services for Asian Pacific American Families, from the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, looks at the effectiveness of neighborhood-based services, analyzes the child welfare efforts of community based organizations (CBOs) serving Asian Pacific Americans, and provides recommendations to improve the city’s child welfare system and its related institutions and agencies.

The Parenting Imperative: Investing in Parents so Children and Youth Succeed, from the National Human Services Assembly, is about the importance of strengthening parents and their connections to resources, to ultimately help children thrive. Throughout the article, culture is discussed, and the importance of tailoring programs to different cultures and environments is emphasized.

Education

The Empowering Parents School Box Toolkit was designed by the U.S. Department of Education to empower and support parents to be involved in their children's education. The Toolkit provides information on No Child Left Behind as well as tips and tools parents can use to support learning at home and in school, and posters and brochures. For a free copy of the Toolkit, call 1-877-4ED-PUBS or visit the Web site.

The Verizon Literacy Program Self-Assessment Tool, created by the National Center for Family Literacy, was designed to help local literacy organizations evaluate their programs. The assessment tool provides a detailed online questionnaire about the literacy provider’s methods. Based on the answers to the questionnaire, the literacy provider is given a rating in each of several areas and lists of resources based on their needs.

Young Latino Infants and Families: Parental Involvement Implications, from the Harvard Family Research Project, describes the findings from a recent study examining parenting behaviors and children's developmental outcomes. The study provides a deeper understanding of how cultural practices combine with other factors to shape parenting behaviors among families in the U.S. in the first year of children's lives. Several findings provide information about ways in which practitioners and Latino families can more effectively engage with young Latino children to influence their cognitive, social, language, and literacy development—and therefore facilitate their school readiness. (Description summarized from source.)

Health/Mental Health

What Is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families is the newest resource available online from the Multi-Language Initiative of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). This resource answers questions often asked by family members of people entering treatment and includes a list of support groups. This resource, among many others, is available in Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean.

All our Children? The Health and Education of Children of Immigrants, by the Foundation for Child Development, states that young children of immigrants, over 90 percent of whom are citizens, will have a large impact on America's cultural and economic vitality. Investing in the healthy development of these children is critical to our nation's future. (Description summarized from source.)

Trauma Healing and Transformation: Awakening A New Heart with Body Mind Spirit Practices by Patricia Mathes Cane, Ph.D., contains personal stories, theories, practices, suggestions for group leaders, methods of presentation, lists of resources, and bibliographies on many valuable wellness practices for grassroots leaders, professionals, and individuals who desire to heal and transform the experience of traumatic stress. Based on research and workshops in Central America with people affected by natural disasters and political violence, this book can also be used as a resource for people in the U.S. and other countries who have suffered from trauma or the stress of living in a violent world. (Description taken from source.)

Youth

Youth Service-Learning: A Family-Strengthening Strategy, from the National Human Services Assembly, frames service-learning as a strategy that promotes healthy families and communities, and synthesizes research on the benefits of service-learning for a broad range of stakeholders, including children, youth, families, and communities. This brief highlights examples of successful service-learning programs in action, describes challenges at the federal, community, policy, and programmatic levels, and offers recommendations to help improve access to and quality of service-learning, particularly in low-income and ethnic minority communities. (Description taken from source).

African Refugee Network’s August-September edition of their newsletter focuses on refugee youth, including stories about refugee youth using their skills to aid their host and home countries, the Lost Boys of Sudan, and more.

COMING SOON:

BRYCS will feature the topic Refugee Children and School Adjustment, including a new Spotlight article, Promising Practices, and a List of Highlighted Resources.

CULTURAL COMPETENCY IN CHILD WELFARE PRACTICE: A BRIDGE WORTH BUILDING