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| BRYCS EMAIL
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you like to hear about new BRYCS resources and Web
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to info at brycs.org
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Promising Practices
for Refugee-Serving Programs
In this month’s Sidebar Series on “Promising
Practices,” BRYCS highlights two cities where
successful collaborations have developed between
public child welfare agencies and organizations
serving foreign-born children.
The New Americans and Child Protection
initiative is the result of the partnership between
the Department
of Social Services’ Children’s Division
and the International Institute in St. Louis, Missouri.
These agencies recognized the need to collaborate
after a child welfare case with a refugee child
did not go well. Although they started with informal
meetings, their partnership has grown over the past
several years, and currently includes a joint hotline
response, cross-service trainings, Boy Scout and
Girl Scout troops, “coffee klatches,”
and CPS workers based in the schools – all
at no additional cost to the agencies, due to collaborative
relationships with other organizations and volunteers.
See their Program
Description and BRYCS’ interview with
Frances Johnson
of the Missouri Department of Social Services for
more details and links to their resources.
Collaborative Partnerships to Enhance the
Well-being of Foreign-born Children in New York
City is the result of immigrant advocacy
groups and the Administration for Children’s
Services recognizing the need to collaborate, despite
very different perspectives and initial conflict.
Five years later, substantial changes benefiting
foreign-born children in need of child welfare services
have been made at the public child welfare and city
policy levels. These changes include the development
of a formal Immigrant Advisory Subcommittee, a new
handbook and training for ACS staff, increased language
access, and improved data collection – all
in a city of over 8 million people with a complex
and strained child welfare system. See their Program
Description and BRYCS’ interview with
Ilze Earner,
one of the founding members of the Immigrant Advisory
Subcommittee, for more details on how this collaboration
was accomplished, and links to their resources.
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BRYCS will continue to develop our “promising
practices” series in the coming months as we
share the innovative work being accomplished by programs
serving refugee children and their families throughout
the United States. Please be sure to visit BRYCS'
Targeted Resources for Program
Managers, where you will find a link to the complete
list of Program Descriptions in the Clearinghouse.
If you have a program to share, or are aware of
any creative efforts towards enhancing services
for refugee children, please contact BRYCS with
the details. We want to recognize and profile these
efforts, so that others can learn from them. We
are also interested in hearing from you about what
tools, resources or mechanisms that you would like
to learn more about. Email
info at brycs.org or call 202-541-3232 to speak
with our Outreach and Information Coordinator.
You may also submit
your program using our Web form.
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Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s
Services (BRYCS) is a national technical assistance
project working to broaden the scope of information and collaboration
among service providers - in order to strengthen services
to refugee youth, children and their families.
Read more about our mission and services.
Who is a refugee?
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WINTER
2006 SPOTLIGHT
REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND CHILD WELFARE
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Collaboration for Child Protection
An East African family was referred
to CPS following the birth of their fifth child
due to concerns about hygiene in the home. With
the help of an interpreter from a refugee resettlement
agency, CPS worked with the family on household
cleaning products and access to other local resources.
This relationship with CPS and other child welfare
workers ultimately led the refugee mother to end
an abusive relationship and move with her children
into subsidized housing. “CPS was extremely
helpful to fund the assistance that the family
required to understand how they could successfully
function within the U.S. system.” [1]
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This example, from the new BRYCS Child Welfare
Toolkit, Refugees
and the U.S. Child Welfare System: Background Information
for Service Providers, highlights the type of
positive collaboration that can occur when refugee service
providers and public child welfare agencies work together
to serve newcomer families. Increasingly, public child
welfare agencies are recognizing their need to collaborate
with agencies serving refugees and immigrants so that
services to families from diverse backgrounds occur in
a language and culture they understand. Similarly, refugee
and immigrant service agencies are recognizing their need
to better understand child welfare laws and services,
and the resources each discipline can offer the other.
BRYCS continues to support and encourage this type of
innovative collaboration through publications such as
our Cross
Service Training Guide, and the Child
Welfare Toolkit mentioned above.
To read the rest of this month's
Spotlight, click
here. The Spotlight and featured
search focus on collaborations between newcomer
services groups and child welfare organizations. The
featured search lists the most up-to-date and useful
resources on this topic available for free download.
Additional resources available free or for a fee can
be found here.
Last month's Spotlight
and featured
search on the child care for refugee self-sufficiency
are available in the BRYCS
archive.
| 1
- Information provided by Mary Flores, Director Refugee
Services, St. Vincent Catholic Charities, Lansing,
MI. From: BRYCS (September 2006). Refugees and the
U.S. Child Welfare System: Background Information
for Service Providers, p. 12, http://www.brycs.org/documents/CWToolkit.pdf.
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WHAT'S
NEW - JANUARY 2007 |
Migration and Child Welfare National Network
at CWLA’s 2007 National Conference--Children 2007:
Raising our Voices for Children--Washington, DC, February
26-28
Mark your calendars! Please join BRYCS and our national
partners, including the American Humane Association,
Loyola University at Chicago, the Annie E. Casey Foundation,
Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Hunter College School
of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago,
University of Texas at Austin, and others, for a panel
discussion on migration and child welfare, Monday,
3:30-5:00 pm, and for a super session on Wednesday,
8:30-12:00 noon, where immigrant and refugee youth
leaders will share their experiences in foster care.
The Migration and Child Welfare National Network will
hold an open reception on Tuesday, sponsored by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation. For more information, contact
BRYCS or click
here. |
FUNDING NEWS
Pay
It Forward Mini-Grants of $500 are available for one-time
youth-identified service projects that benefit their schools,
neighborhoods or greater communities. Projects must be based
on the concept of one person doing a favor for others, who
in turn do favors for others, with ever-expanding results.
Schools, churches and community youth groups are eligible
to apply. The deadline is Jan. 15, April 15 and Oct. 15
of each year.
The
Viola W. Bernard Foundation is accepting applications
for its Youth
Mental Health Grants program. The purpose of this program
is to support innovative programs that address the interplay
between social conditions and the psychological health of
children and families. The deadline is January 31, 2007.
Maximizing
Protective Factors for Youth Violence grants of $400,000
are available from the National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control of the CDC to conduct research that will inform
the development of youth violence prevention programs and
policies by identifying promising protective factors that
reduce the likelihood of violence in the lives of young
people. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible
to apply. Applications are due by February 28, 2007. For
more information, contact Rebecca
Leeb.
FOR REFUGEE YOUTH
Children know their issues best – and have clear
ideas about how to solve problems. That is why the Working
Group on Girls and UNICEF’s Voices of Youth are asking
children and young people to read the youth
version of an expert report on discrimination and violence
against girls and tell them what you think should be done.
Read the report
and answer the questions at the end, or use the online
questionnaire, and send your answers back by January
15 2007.
EVENTS
The 16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect
will be held April 16th-21st in Portland, OR and BRYCS will
be presenting. Registration
is now open.
The American
Psychological Association Biennial Multicultural Summit
will be January 24-26, 2007 in Seattle. There will be a
number of sessions on immigrant women and mental health,
changing work roles, domestic violence, trafficking, and
more. For the complete schedule, see here.
The National
Association for Bilingual Education will have its annual
conference on February 7-10 in San Jose, CA. It will host
teachers, administrators, researchers, and policymakers,
all dedicated to serving English Language Learners in the
United States. Of particular interest to our users might
be the sessions on bilingual special education, bilingual
gifted education, and promoting students’ native languages.
Girls
from Immigrant Families: Enhancing Opportunities, Challenging
Assumptions will be held on February 12, 2007 in Worcester,
MA. Put on by the New
England Equity Assistance Center, the symposium will
include a panel discussion, interactive keynote, and breakout
sessions. For more information, contact Michelle Carreiro
at 800-521-9550 x339 or by email.
RESOURCES
Cultural Heritage
How
Cultural Heritage Organizations Serve Communities: Priorities,
Strengths, and Challenges, from Urban Institute,
examines how cultural heritage organizations bind communities
together by promoting and preserving their identities, traditions,
and values. By providing public programs through which cultural
heritage can be shared, such organizations often serve as
leaders in building bridges between groups and communities
as well. (Description summarized from the publication.)
Integration
International Rescue Committee (IRC) San Diego has developed
a Web
site that is designed for newly arrived refugees to
gain information about their new home. Much of the information
is specific to San Diego and focuses on numerous subject
areas including: education, immigration/citizenship, housing,
transportation, employment, health, and finance. The site
also includes Fact Sheets on the various subject areas in
English, Somali and Vietnamese that can be printed out and
utilized by clients.
New
Immigrant Settlements in Rural America: Problems, Prospects,
and Policies by the Carsey Institute discusses
how regions of rural America are being reshaped by growing
numbers of immigrants who are choosing small town life over
the bright lights of the big city. This study found that
immigrant settlers may have a big impact on small, rural
communities - sometimes straining resources, but more often
than not, reinvigorating dying communities. Much of the
report discusses children, including education.
Child Welfare
Mutual
Self-Help Parent Support Groups in the Prevention of Child
Abuse and Neglect from the Ounce
of Prevention Fund of Florida, is now available. This
paper is based on the work of Circle of Parents and articulates
eight different justifications for why mutual self-help
parent support groups are an effective strategy for preventing
child abuse and neglect.
Child Care
The National Women's Law Center Tax Credits Outreach Campaign
has produced a Toolkit
for Child Care Advocates to help inform families
about federal and state tax credits that can put thousands
of dollars in their pockets. This includes resettled refugees!
When families file their 2006 tax returns, eligible families
can claim up to: $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent
Care Tax Credit, $1,000 per child from the federal Child
Tax Credit, and $4,536 from the federal Earned Income Tax
Credit. In addition, many states have child care tax provisions.
See BRYCS
Toolkit on Child Care, for additional information.
Education
The Regional
Educational Laboratory Program consists of a network
of ten laboratories that serve the educational needs
of a designated region by providing access to high quality
scientifically valid education research through applied
research and development projects, studies, and other
related technical assistance activities. Many of the
laboratories cover issues related to English Language
Learners. For example, the Northwest
Regional Comprehensive Center has a section
of their site dedicated to ELL with many useful
resources.
Health
The Lead
Poisoning Prevention in Newly Arrived Refugee Children Toolkit
is now available! In 2000, a two-year-old Sudanese refugee
girl became the first child in the United States known to
have died from lead poisoning in 10 years. Her exposure
occurred in the United States and was caused by lead paint
in the home. It has since been discovered that a significant
number refugee children develop elevated blood lead levels
after their arrival to the United States. Although little
is known about lead exposure in the children’s countries
of origin, data collected and research supports that most
of the children are poisoned after their resettlement to
the United States. (Description summarized from the Toolkit.)
Juvenile Justice
An
Update on Teen Court Legislation provides an overview
on “Teen Courts” for those who are not familiar
with them. Teen courts have rapidly spread across the nation
in the past 10 years and are now in almost every state.
They provide an opportunity for youth to appear before their
peers for resolution of delinquent, status, or other problem
behavior. If you are not sure if your city/state, has a
teen court, see this
link .
Too
Soon to Tell: Deciphering Recent Trends in Youth Violence
by the Chapin
Hall Center for Children, draws on data from the FBI's
Uniform
Crime Reports to assess recent crime trends among youth.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office
of Justice Programs recently announced a new initiative
to reduce and eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation
of children in the United States. Funding will be given
to the Salvation
Army and its primary partners, Girls
Educational and Mentoring Services, Polaris
Project, Bilateral
Safety Corridor Coalition, to develop a national, multi-site
training and technical assistance program to assist five
cities (Atlantic City, Chicago, Denver, San Diego and Washington,
D.C.) in coordinating investigative, prosecutorial and victim
service resources.
COMING SOON:
New publications this year by BRYCS will
include:
- An illustrated educational booklet for refugees about
parenting and U.S. child protection laws available for
free download, on a CD, and in hard copy.
- Regular articles with highlights from interviews with
refugee parents on their traditional parenting practices,
their challenges parenting in the U.S., and helpful suggestions.
BRYCS will feature the topic Refugee Children
and the Schools starting in February, including
a new Spotlight, Promising Practices Sidebar, and Featured
Resources.
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