BRYCS - Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New refugee populations are on their way! See BRYCS' List of Highlighted Resources on the Burmese and Burundians. CAL's Cultural Orientation Resource Center recently posted a Refugee Backgrounder on The Kunama from Eritrea. In addition, read about the Bhutanese refugees who are living in Nepal, and may be resettled in the U.S.

Did you know that the BRYCS Clearinghouse includes resources for those serving all vulnerable immigrant children? BRYCS now includes Web pages describing USCCB/MRS services to unaccompanied undocumented children in federal custody and child victims of trafficking, with many new resources specific to these populations. See the left side bar of the BRYCS home page for links to these new pages!

BRYCS is developing a new Youth Arts and Voices section of our Web site! This section will showcase the artistic talents of refugee and immigrant children and youth living across the United States and will also include an expressive arts reference section. If you are aware of a local expressive arts program for refugee and immigrant youth, please let us know. For more information, read the announcement.

Refugee Council USA has launched a new Web site! Some of the information has been transferred from the old site, while other information is brand new.

BRYCS recently updated its Guardianship Information by State publication. Please visit our Publications page for this resource.

EVENTS

The National Conference on Volunteering and Service will be in Philadelphia on July 16-18. Many organizations working with refugee and immigrant youth and their families rely heavily on volunteers. Come and learn about recruiting and retaining your volunteers, relationship boundaries for volunteers, service learning, mentoring, school and community collaboration, and more!

The Office of Justice Programs' National Institute of Justice (NIJ) will hold its annual conference in Arlington, VA on July 23 -25. The conference will bring together criminal justice scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from across the country to share the latest evidence-based practices and policies. This year's conference will address topics such as girls and delinquency, juvenile re-entry, causes and correlates of delinquency, and disproportionate minority contact with the juvenile justice system. In addition, subjects such as gangs and teen dating violence will be discussed.

Generations United 14th International Conference, Intergenerational: IT'S MONUMENTAL, will be held in Washington, DC on July 24-27. Those working with refugee and immigrant families are aware of the special importance that strong relationships with parents and other family members holds for these children. Join service providers, policy makers, and others invested in intergenerational programming at this conference. Some of the sessions specifically pertain to immigrant families.

Join BRYCS at the Somali Studies International Association 10th triennial conference in Columbus, Ohio on August 16 -18. BRYCS will present on education and child welfare issues pertaining to Somalis in the United States. The Directors of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Somali Family Care Network, and the National Somali Bantu Project are among the invited speakers. Scholars and professionals across disciplines are invited to attend as well as to present their work at the conference. Click here to register.

The California Department of Social Services' Refugee Programs Bureau will hold the 2007 Refugee Summit, "Working Together: We Achieve Our Success!" in Long Beach, California, on September 5-7. The Summit will feature plenary sessions with keynote speakers, a town hall meeting led by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, workshops on a variety of topics, forum discussions, and exhibits. Participants from federal, state, and local government agencies and various organizations from the refugee service provider community are expected to attend.

The 12th International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma will be in San Diego, CA on September 15-20. This conference is a unique forum for people from all disciplines and philosophies to gather together to exchange information. The conference covers all aspects of violence, abuse and trauma prevention, intervention, and research. This includes intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, youth violence, judicial issues, sexual assault, disabilities, treatment of offenders, elder abuse, trauma, and more.

The 12th Annual New England Conference on Multicultural Education will be in Hartford, Connecticut on October 11. This conference is ideal for Pk-12 teachers, higher education faculty, and others interested in educational equity. The workshops include parent involvement with immigrants, learning about cultures through music, learning about the immigration debate through theater, and more!

FUNDING

The Administration for Children and Families is accepting proposals for a National Child Care Toll-Free Hotline, which will provide high quality child care consumer education to families searching for child care and link families to local organizations that provide child care referrals. Applications are due July 6.

The Staples Foundation for Learning provides funding to programs that support or provide job skills and/or education for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. All non-profits with 501(c)(3) status are eligible to apply. The next deadline is August 3.

Access to Artistic Excellence, a grant from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, funds projects that provide short-term arts exposure or arts appreciation for children and youth, as well as intergenerational arts education. The deadline for applications is August 13.

FedEx accepts grant proposals year round from 501(c)(3) organizations in good financial and public standing. They fund projects in the areas of education, health and human services, emergency and disaster relief, and pedestrian and child safety. There is no deadline.

FOR REFUGEE YOUTH

DFW International Community Alliance of North Texas has produced a Guide to Scholarships for New Americans and Minorities. While written for foreign-born youth in Texas, many of the scholarships listed are applicable to students from other states.

SALEF has a scholarship opportunity for all Latino immigrant and US-born youth. Applicants must reside in California or Washington, DC, be graduating from High School or in college, have a minimum 2.5 GPA, and be able to demonstrate a history of community involvement and financial need. For more information, contact Jenny Galvez at (213) 480-1052 or jgalvez@salef.org. The deadline is July 16.

RESOURCES

Integration

Social Cohesion in Diverse Communities, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK, explores the relationships between new and established communities in two ethnically diverse neighborhoods. The report draws on discussion groups and one-to-one interviews with ordinary residents from white British, Somali, black Caribbean and multiple-heritage backgrounds. This report is very applicable to the dialogue on immigrant integration in the United States.

Child Welfare

A Toolkit on Positive Discipline with Particular Emphasis on South and Central Asia from Save the Children outlines an approach that parents can utilize in place of physical and psychological punishment. Though the Toolkit was designed primarily for those working abroad, it is extremely applicable to service providers working with refugee and immigrant families in the United States. Of particular relevance to service providers are the sections on: natural and logical consequences (p. 76), establishing norms and limits in families/schools (p. 77), conflict management (p. 89), and managing aggressive behavior (p. 106). The Toolkit includes case scenarios that can be used for discussion and other activities suitable for parenting classes.

Making MEPA-IEP Work: Tools for Professionals from the Child Welfare League of America's Child Welfare Journal discusses The Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 and the Interethnic Adoption Provisions of 1996 (MEPA-IEP). This legislation requires states to develop plans recruit foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children served. This paper explores the background of MEPA-IEP, describes the disparate outcomes for minority children in the child welfare system, and identifies agency challenges in finding permanent families. Tools are provided for successfully recruiting families while following MEPA-IEP and avoiding potentially discriminatory practices in placement decision-making.

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse within Youth-serving Organizations: Getting Started on Policies and Procedures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is designed for representatives of youth-serving organizations who are interested in adopting strategies to prevent child sexual abuse. Whether these strategies are developed within the context of an overall risk management plan or are addressed separately, organizations need to examine how they can protect youth from sexual abuse. (Description taken from the report.)

No Small Matter: Ensuring Protection & Durable Solutions for Unaccompanied & Separated Refugee Children from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service discusses the ability of field offices to effectively implement the UNHCR's Guidelines on the Formal Determination of the Best Interests of the Child as well as the extent to which current systems and resources already address child protection and best interest considerations. The report lays out six main findings, which resulted from visits to Rwanda and Thailand.

The UK's National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has written a Response to the UK Home Office's report on Planning Better Outcomes and Support for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children. In the NSPCC's response, they address the state of the UK's system of care for separated children, based on their experiences working with this population. In addition, the NSPCC describes its work with the UK's Borders and Immigration Agency in developing child protection policies and procedures in immigration removal centers. The original report and the NCPCC's response are particularly applicable to those working with unaccompanied children through the United States' Department of Unaccompanied Children's Services (DUCS).

When is a Child not a Child? Asylum, Age Disputes and the Process of Age Assessment from the UK's Immigration Law Practitioners Association discusses the issues facing separated children who are seeking asylum in the UK and whose age is disputed by immigration authorities. Authorities in the UK frequently rely on dental assessments to determine the age of unaccompanied youth - a practice that is also utilized in the U.S. The report also discusses the implications of determining a child to be an adult.

Education

Creative Connections is currently enrolling teachers and students, grades 3-12, in their exchange programs for 2007-08. Their programs, which include ArtLink, MusicLink, and RainForest Connections, facilitate class-to-class exchanges between American schools and their counterparts in many countries.

Assessment and Accountability for Recently Arrived and Former Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students by the U.S. Department of Education reviews the regulations that govern the academic achievement of recently arrived and former LEP students. This publication addresses questions that may help clarify how state and local educational agencies can implement the provisions included in the regulations.

Federal Funding for Newcomer Schools: A Bipartisan Immigrant Education Initiative from the Harvard Law Review provides an overview of newcomer programs. Part I explores the failure of American public schools to educate at-risk immigrant students and Part II introduces the newcomer school model. Part III proposes a two-part imitative to improve education for this population, including the need for more funding and evaluation of these programs.

Putting English Language Learners on the Educational Map from the Urban Institute presents research findings and policy recommendations arising from a study of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and its implications for English language learners (ELLs). While implementation of NCLB has resulted in problems associated with increased testing, the law has also had a positive effect on the education of ELL students as it has increased the attention paid to these students; fostered the alignment of curriculum, instruction and professional development; and raised the bar for student achievement.

How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners? from the Pew Hispanic Center summarizes an analysis of recent data from standardized testing around the country, which shows that the English language learners (ELL) are among those farthest behind. The analysis shows that about 51% of 8th grade ELL students are behind whites in reading and math; in the 4th grade, 35% of ELL students are behind in math and 47% are behind in reading when compared with their white counterparts. The implications of this data are discussed.

Buenos Principios: Latino Children in the Earliest Years of Life, from the National Council of La Raza, concludes that investing in high-quality, comprehensive early childhood education programs could help narrow the growing school readiness gap between Latino and other children. The report also makes a series of recommendations for policy-makers to improve the quality of life and school readiness for Latino children in the U.S.

Health/Mental Health

Last month, BRYCS posted World Vision's report Trapped! Unlocking the Future of Iraqi Refugee Children, which provides an overview of what Iraqi children have been facing. Visit the Web site to watch four videos of 9-12 year old Iraqi children share their stories. The videos are a must-see for service providers working with Iraqi refugee children in the United States.

The Mental Health Association of Maryland has free materials available in Spanish and Korean to promote mental wellness in new mothers. They have resource packets for health care providers (includes depression scale, mother's brochure, waiting room poster, medicine chart, resources for providers and resources for families) plus mothers' brochures and resource sheets.

Depression and the Initiation of Alcohol and Other Drug Use among Youths Aged 12 to 17 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a report that examines past year major depressive episodes (MDE), past year initiation of alcohol and illicit drug use, and the association between MDE and the initiation of alcohol or other drug use in the past year among youths aged 12 to 17.

2007 Child Well-Being Index page from the Foundation for Child Development shows that while children's quality of life improved from the mid-1990s through 2002, further progress has stalled. This stall can be found across five of the CWI's seven domains. The exceptions are children's health, which continues its dramatic decline, and children's safety and behavior, which continue to improve.

Youth

Mentoring Immigrant and Refugee Youth is a new section of MENTOR's toolkit, How to Build a Successful Mentoring Program Using the Elements of Effective Practice. This vital addition offers programs essential resources to better understand and serve the unique needs, challenges, and assets of the quickly growing immigrant and refugee youth population in the United States.

Tools for Mentoring Adolescents were developed by the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota in collaboration with the Search Institute to support and strengthen relationships between mentors and mentees. The ten resources (page down to the bottom) offer new ideas and insights for mentors and mentor program staff to enhance relationships with teens, and also assist in recruiting more community members to support young people during their adolescent years. Mentors of foreign-born youth will be particularly interested in the tool called Influence of Culture on Mentoring Relationships.

Findings from HFRP's Study of Predictors of Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities: Fact Sheet, from the Harvard Family Research Project, highlights key findings from a study they conducted. This fact sheet is for Out-of-School Time practitioners and policymakers as they work to address issues of access and equity, document service gaps, and target resources accordingly.

Program Development

The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, 5th Edition, provides detailed instructions on preparing successful grant proposals. Incorporating the results of 40 interviews with grantmakers across the nation, the Guide reveals their priorities in reviewing submissions and provides insight into what makes a winning proposal.

COMING SOON:

BRYCS' newest publication, Raising Children in a New Country: An Illustrated Handbook will be available for free download in early fall! Free CD-ROMs and a limited quantity of printed and bound copies (in color) will follow soon afterwards - place your order now to reserve yours at info at brycs.org!

HELPING REFUGEE YOUTH FIND THE RIGHT PATH