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REFUGEE PARENT INTERVIEWS
In order to gather first-hand accounts
of parenting and resettlement challenges
and successes, BRYCS staff are conducting
a series of interviews with refugee parents.
Each interview summary will be followed
by several discussion questions, so that
refugee serving agencies can use the interviews
as a staff development tool. A new interview
will be added monthly, so check back!
 Farah,
An Iraqi Mother
Jarsso,
an Oromo Ethiopian Father
Aline,
A Burundian Social Worker
Caridad
and Arturo, A Cuban-Chilean Family
John
and Ellen, A Liberian Family
Mary, A Sudanese Mother
Anna,
a Russian Mother
Klee
Thoo, a Burmese Karen Father
Tou
and Mee, Hmong Parents
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PROMISING PRACTICES
FOR REFUGEE-SERVING
PROGRAMS
International
Kid Success is a school-based program in Denver,
Colorado that was created to assist refugee and
immigrant children and youth adjust to a new school,
culture, and country. The program offers adjustment
groups for all students in ESL classes to support
them during their transition to the U.S., as well
as diversity education workshops to the general
student body to learn about tolerance and respect.
The
International Community School of DeKalb County, Georgia brings refugee, immigrant and native-born elementary school children together for a unique academic experience. This charter school offers a range of services in and out of school for students, ranging from one-on-one tutoring to after-school enrichment programs to Saturday School for parents and siblings to learn English.
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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.
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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?
 Now
you can sign up online to receive the BRYCS Bulletin Alert
via email, as well as sign up for our new BRYCS Discussion
Listserv.
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BRYCS is pleased to present our newest publication, Raising
Children in a New Country: An Illustrated Handbook.
This booklet was created as a tool for refugee and immigrant
serving agencies, as they help newcomer parents adjust to
the different laws, norms and practices around raising children
in the United States. Please see our Publications
page if you prefer to download the handbook in smaller
segments. To order print or CD copies of the Handbook, please
email info@brycs.org or
call 1-888-572-6500. If you are interested in translating
this book into other languages, please refer to the Translation
and Copyright Guidelines for Service Providers and
accompanying sample cover page in PDF
or MSWord
format.
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SPRING
2008 SPOTLIGHT
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Every time I opened my mouth they would start
making fun of me. And the only thing I can do
is just go to the restroom and cry. I was crying
all day long, every day. Now I have friends and
people actually think I’m popular. But actually,
I’m the same person. [1,
Armenian youth]
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Today, nearly one-fifth of American students
has immigrant parents, making this group the fastest-growing
segment of the youth population.[2]
Foreign-born students—and in particular, refugee
students—may face challenges adapting academically
to American schools, due to minimal formal education,
interrupted schooling, and limited English. Beyond adapting
academically, newcomer students also go through a period
of cultural adjustment—adapting to American culture
overall, as well as to the particular culture of their
school; and social adjustment—attempting to make
friends, and striving to belong in their new school, community,
and country.
The individual experiences of foreign-born
families as well as the characteristics and infrastructure
of the receiving communities affect how well newcomer
children adapt to their new schools—academically,
culturally, and socially. This Spotlight will focus primarily
on students’ cultural and social adjustment, while
recognizing the positive academic impact of successful
socio-cultural adjustment. We examine the steps that teachers
and administrators can take to integrate refugee children
and youth into their schools, first looking at newcomer
programs and other means of welcoming and accommodating
foreign-born students, then discussing means of facilitating
the social integration of newcomer students by teaching
American-born students about refugee and immigrant populations,
openly discussing racism, and preventing bullying.
To read BRYCS Spring 2008 Spotlight, click
here. In addition, please see BRYCS' list of highlighted
resources: Immigrant/Refugee
Awareness Instructional Materials and Children’s
Books about the Immigrant/Refugee Experience.
To see any of the past Spotlights
or lists of highlighted resources by topic, please visit
Resources by Topic.
1. Center for Applied Linguistics,
Cultural Orientation Resource Center. (2006). A
New Day: Refugee Families in the United States.
http://calstore.cal.org/store/detail.aspx?ID=333
2. Suarez-Orozco, C. & Suarez-Orozco, M. (2006).
Moving Stories: The Educational Pathways of Immigrant
Youth. http://www.agi.harvard.edu/newsletter/papers/AGATrajectoriesPaper.pdf
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WHAT'S
NEW - MARCH 2007 |
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Registration is now open for the Migration
and Child Welfare National Network (MCWNN) conference
in Chicago, Illinois, on April 1-3! It will be an interdisciplinary
look at how immigration affects the child welfare system.
The program will include presentations on research, best
practice, policy and advocacy, and transnational issues.
The MCWNN is pleased to partner with the National Immigrant
Justice Center and the Immigrant Children Lawyers Network
on April 3 for a joint session on issues affecting both
the legal community and child welfare agencies. For more
information and to register, click
here.
UNHCR
Statistical Online Population Database provides data
and trends on the "Population of concern to UNHCR":
refugees,
asylum-seekers,
returned
refugees, internally
displaced persons (IDPs) protected/assisted by UNHCR,
returned
IDPs, stateless
persons, and others
of concern to UNHCR, in more than 150 countries. The
Database is bringing together for analysis and comparison
standardized data on UNHCR’s population of concern
at country, regional, and global levels, and will be updated
on an ongoing basis. Currently, data up to December 31,
2006 can be downloaded.
UNHCR is currently working with its member states to
negotiate a statement of principles and agreed practice
for identifying and serving children at risk. Recently updated,
Best
Interest Determination for Refugee Children: An Annotated
Bibliography of Law and Practice provides a common
set of documents to work from with links to the underlying
child welfare principles or laws from the United Nations,
states or collections of states. This resource is available
in the BRYCS Clearinghouse
and can be searched using the terms BID or "best interest
determination."
EVENTS
The
24th National Symposium on Child Abuse will be held
on in Huntsville, Alabama, from March 17-20, 2008. The Symposium
will offer more than 130 workshops specifically designed
for law enforcement officers, child protective service workers,
program administrators, prosecuting attorneys, medical personnel,
mental health and treatment providers, victim advocates
and others working in the child maltreatment arena. In addition,
new workshops will focus on emerging issues in child sexual
exploitation.
The National
Conference on Family Literacy will take place in Louisville,
Kentucky, from March 30 to April 1, 2008. The conference
includes a series of sessions on English as a Second Language
(ESL), and draws together national and international participants
to discuss issues of relevance to family literacy. The conference
audience includes educators, community leaders, philanthropists,
and government officials dedicated to family literacy.
The
National Migration Conference of the Catholic Legal
Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC), and the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services
(MRS) will take place from July 28-31, 2008, in Washington,
DC. Renowned experts and speakers will cover a wide range
of migration-related topics including a discussion of social
services and pastoral care for immigrants, migrants, refugees,
unaccompanied alien children, victims of human trafficking,
and other people on the move. There will be networking opportunities,
information-sharing, staff recognition, celebration, and
more. Save the date!
FUNDING
The Supplemental
Services for Recently Arrived Refugees from the Office
of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) invites the submission of
applications for funding, on a competitive basis, to provide
services to arriving refugees or sudden and unexpected large
secondary migration of refugees where communities are not
sufficiently prepared in terms of linguistically and culturally
appropriate services. Applications are due by March 24,
2008. For more information contact Susan Benjamin at Susan.Benjamin@acf.hhs.gov.
The
Max and Anna Levinson Foundation funds social concerns,
including protection of civil rights and immigrants' rights,
local economic development and responses to globalization,
empowerment of youth, and community health and violence
prevention. Grants are typically in the $10,000 - $20,000
range and go towards activities such as public education,
organization building, and advocacy. The next application
deadline is April 1st, 2008.
The Ethnic Community Self-Help Program from the Office
of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) invites the submission of
applications for funding, on a competitive basis, to connect
newcomer refugees and their communities with community resources.
This program strengthens organized ethnic communities comprised
and representative of refugee populations to ensure ongoing
support and services to refugees after initial resettlement.
Applications are due by March 24, 2008. For more information
contact Thomas Giossi at Thomas.Giossi@acf.hhs.gov.
The Singing
for Change (SFC) Charitable Foundation awards grants
to programs that are concerned with the health, education
and protection of children and their families. Projects
that foster self-esteem and self-sufficiency and that teach
nonviolence and creative problem solving are most likely
to be considered. Proposals are by invitation only; organizations
must first submit a one-page letter of interest.
FOR REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT YOUTH
Hamilton
Public Library’s Newcomer Families Program offers
library information in many languages including Arabic and
Somali. The Your
Library online video was created by the Settlement branch
of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, but provides basic
information on how to get a library card and other library
services that are similar in the U.S. In addition, the Ready
for School section provides ESL School Readiness Workbooks
in seven languages. There is also a section titled Stories
and Songs from Around the World where readers can click
on the title or picture to listen to stories told in different
languages with English subtitles.
A. Patrick Charnon Scholarship is accepting applications
for scholarships totaling $1,500 per academic year. Applicants
must value tolerance, compassion, and respect for all other
people in their community and demonstrate their commitment
to these values in a 500-1,000 word essay. Recipients may
re-apply each year for up to four years, as long as they
remain enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program of
study in the U.S. while maintaining a good academic standing.
The deadline for applications is April 13, 2008.
RESOURCES
Integration
Language
Rights: An Integration Agenda for Immigrant Communities
from the Asian American Justice Center and Mexican American
Legal Defense & Educational Fund is designed to assist
newcomers and English Language Learners. Many citizens and
legal permanent residents in the U.S. with limited English
proficiency (LEP), cannot speak, read, write, or understand
the English language at a level that permits them to interact
effectively with private and government service providers.
All of the above diminishes the quality of services, such
as healthcare, for LEP individuals, including many U.S.
citizen English speaking children whose parents cannot understand
the care their children need. This briefing book intends
to educate staff on the makeup of these communities, current
legislation, and the broad range of issues that affect the
LEP population. (Description taken from source.)
The
Language Portal: Translation and Interpretation Digital
Library from MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration
Policy is now available online. The language portal is a
digital library of nearly 600 resources relating to the
use of language access services in social services and public
safety agencies. Developed with guidance and support from
the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Portal provides one-stop
shopping for the many local government administrators, policymakers,
and others who are looking for ways to provide high-quality
and cost-effective translation and interpretation services.
Cultural Orientation
Refugees
from Burma: Their Backgrounds and Refugee Experiences
is the most recent cultural profile from the Cultural Orientation
Resource Center (COR) and provides information about the
diverse histories, cultures, and refugee experiences of
the Burmese, Karen, and the Chin. Designed as a resource
for refugee service providers and others who interact with
the Burmese, the profile also addresses the early experiences
of the Burmese already resettled in the U.S. It is available
for purchase as well as free PDF download. (Description
taken from source.) For additional information on this topic,
check out BRYCS
Highlighted Resources on Burmese Refugees.
Bhutanese
Refugees in Nepal—Supplement, a new resource
on the COR Center Web site, notes some additional considerations
for the resettlement of Bhutanese refugees. This material
augments the Refugee
Backgrounder: Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal (published
in October 2007), in advance of a complete Enhanced Refugee
Backgrounder on this population.
Refugees
from Iraq, the most recent overseas cultural orientation
program highlighted by COR, is now online. This profile
of both the International Catholic Migration Commission
(ICMC) Turkey, and the International Organization for Migration's
(IOM) Middle East program, includes sections on caseload,
cultural orientation (CO) classes, general environment for
CO attendees, and considerations for domestic resettlement
agencies.
Child Welfare
Parenting
Styles and Youth Well-Being Across Immigrant Generations
by Anne Driscoll, K. Russell, T. Stephen, and Lisa J. Crockett,
can be found in the Journal of Family Issues. The
study examines generational patterns of parenting styles,
the relationships between parenting styles and adolescent
well-being among immigrant youth, and the role of generational
parenting style patterns in explaining generational patterns
in youth behavior (delinquency and alcohol problems) and
psychological well-being (depression and self-esteem). (Description
taken from source.)
Nuoi Day Tre Vui Manh Radio is a weekly Vietnamese
radio program addressing the importance of child development
in the first five years. Though this radio program airs
in California, dozens of past sessions are available for
download, such as “Discipline Techniques and Rewarding
Children,” “Cultural Preservations through Traditions,”
“Mental and Emotional Health in the First Five Years,”
“Getting Ready for School,” and many more.
Racial-Ethnic
Inequality in Child Well-Being from 1985-2004: Gaps Narrowing,
but Persist, by Donald J. Hernandez and Suzanne
E. Macartney from the University at Albany (New York), is
the first effort to analyze child well-being trends through
the lens of race and ethnicity. This report was conducted
in order to better understand how differences between White
and Black children, and between White and Hispanic children,
have changed on key indicators over the decades. Furthermore,
it aims to answer what these changes could signal for efforts
by policymakers and others to reduce race-ethnic disparities
and to lift the status of all children in the U.S. (Description
taken from source.)
Education
Using
Children's Television to Learn Literacy and Language,
by Colorin Colorado, offers ways to use children's television
programming for English language learners, both young and
old, to learn new words and improve their overall English
skills. This article names five educational children's television
shows that focus on English literacy, English language skills,
or Hispanic themes. Visit the shows' websites for lesson
plans, resources, local television listings, and more.
Guiding
Principles for Dual Language Education 2nd Edition,
from the Center for Applied Linguistics, were developed
by a national panel of dual language researchers and practitioners
and are grounded in evidence from research and best practices.
The guiding principles were developed to help dual language
programs (two-way immersion, heritage language, foreign
language immersion, or developmental bilingual programs)
with planning and ongoing implementation. Now available
in print, this resource can also be downloaded for free.
The
Ready, Set, Learn Initiative recognizes that all families
need positive connections with school systems and community
agencies. Resources include an age-appropriate
book for children and a parent/family kit with a booklet
of helpful tips for supporting their preschooler's learning
and development. Translations of the booklet Ready,
Set, Learn: Helping your Preschooler Get Ready for School
are available in a number of languages. Although a collaborative
initiative between three government agencies in Canada,
these multilingual materials can provide helpful information
to families in the U.S. as well.
Health/Mental Health
Preliminary
Adaptations for Working with Traumatized Latino/Hispanic
Children and their Families, a Culture and Trauma Brief
from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN),
was developed through information gathered via a preliminary
focus group of bilingual/bicultural therapists. This publication
reviews some of the risk factors linked to trauma exposure
that have been found to be more prevalent among Latino children,
who are part of the largest and fastest-growing minority
group in the U.S.
Child Care
Improving
Access to Child Care and Early Education for Immigrant Families:
A State Policy Checklist, from the Center for Law
and Social Policy (CLASP), is now available online. State
policies can promote access to high-quality child care and
early education for immigrant families. This document provides
a list of policies that newcomer service providers can use
to review current state policies and plan for future policy
changes and improvements.
Trafficking
Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children: What Do We Know and What
Do We Do About It?, published by the National
Institute of Justice (NIJ) of the U.S. Department of Justice,
explores research into the organization of the commercial
sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and discusses child
victims of trafficking. The article also includes information
on the effects of CSEC on victims and what measures can
be taken to prevent its occurrence. Programs working with
trafficked children may find this report useful.
On
Challenges, Dilemmas, and Opportunities in Studying Trafficked
Children, written by Elzbieta M. Gozdziak from
the Institute for the Study on International Migration,
Georgetown University, stems from a recently completed research
project, supported by the National Institute of Justice
(NIJ), to examine the experiences of children, mostly girls,
trafficked to the United States for sexual and labor exploitation
and analyze their prospects for reintegration into the wider
society. The project expands the knowledge base of the special
service needs of trafficked children and sets forth policy
and programmatic recommendations aimed at preventing child
trafficking, protecting trafficked children, and prosecuting
their traffickers. (Description taken from source.)
Program Development
The
Program Tool, sponsored by Helping
America’s Youth, provides information about program
designs that successfully deal with risky behaviors, which
can then be replicated to meet local needs. The Program
Tool database contains risk factors, protective factors,
and programs that have been evaluated and found to work.
The Effective Exit: Managing the End of a Funding Relationship
provides the reader with a form of professional etiquette
when working with grant makers and providers. The guide
includes ways to plan for exits upfront, clarify expectations
with grantee organizations, find new sources of support,
overcome the tensions that often arise, and multiply the
value of the foundation’s investment. (Description
taken from source.)
COMING SOON:
BRYCS is pleased to announce the debut of its new Youth
Arts and Voices Webpages coming later this month.
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