What's New
February 2010
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Save the Dates! As part of BRYCS 2010 Wednesday Webinar Series, BRYCS will be hosting a two-part webinar titled “Child Abuse Issues with Refugee & Immigrant Populations” on March 17th and March 24 12:30-1:30pm EST. Part one will cover Child Abuse and Neglect (CA/N) definitions and cultural issues and part two will cover mandated reporting and collaborating with Child Protective Services (CPS). Registration will begin Mid-February. Stay tuned for more information and additional webinars on youth issues and interviewing children with interpreters!
- The only Haitian orphans who have been approved to come to the U.S. were those who were already in the midst of being adopted. Though there has been a lot of interest from Americans in adopting other Haitian children affected by the earthquake, it is not best practice to begin international adoption proceedings in the midst of a disaster. Children must go through a number of important processes to determine if they are indeed orphans and what’s in their best interest. The United Nations has a framework and process in place for this called “Best Interest Determinations.” A number of agencies have released statements outlining the importance of proceeding cautiously in order to avoid accidentally further separating families and to avoid situations of fraud, trafficking, and more. Read statements from International Social Service and Save the Children for more information.
- Congratulations to USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) for receiving University of Dayton’s 2010 Human Rights Award! The award is presented in honor and memory of the late Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero Y Caldames of El Salvador, who was assassinated in 1980 because of his human rights work. BRYCS is very proud to be a part of MRS and its ongoing mission.
EVENTS
- TESOL’s 44th Annual Convention and Exhibit will take place on March 24-27 in Boston, MA. Conference events include plenary and luminary speakers, dynamic workshops, diverse panel discussions, outstanding educational site visits, and a variety of K–12 programming. BRYCS will be there and we are organizing an informal gathering for Refugee School Impact Grantees. Contact BRYCS for more information.
- The 26th National Symposium on Child Abuse will take place in Huntsville, AL on March 22-25. More than 130 workshops will be presented by nationally renowned experts in the field. Additional conference offerings include: Pre-Conference Seminars, Plenary and Mini-Plenary Sessions, Skill Seminars, and Roundtables.
- One World, One Family, Many Cultures: Strengthening Children and Families Affected by Personal, Intra-Familial, and Global Conflict, sponsored by the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), will take place September 26-29, 2010 in Hawaii. The conference will bring together service providers and advocates to discuss family-strengthening for those impacted by various avenues of conflict. Among the five subthemes of the conference are “Cultural Perspectives in Strengthening Families and Protecting Children” and “Impact of Armed Conflict on Families and Children”.
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 February 24.
- Target’s Early Childhood Reading Grants should foster a love of reading and encourage children to read with their families. Grants support weekend and after-school programs that promote reading among children birth through age 9. The 2010 deadlines will be announced after March 1, 2010. (Description summarized from source).
- Education Grants for Children and Youth, sponsored by the Louis Calder Foundation, seek to improve the quality of education for children and youth at charter and parochial schools as well as community-based organizations. The Foundation believes that a core curriculum in classic academic areas such a literacy, ethics, mathematics, and science are essential to optimum academic performance.
- Ben and Jerry’s Foundation is accepting letters of interest. Projects must focus on activities and strategies for creating social change but are open to any number of areas. This may be a great opportunity to aid your work with undeserved populations – immigrants, refugees, vulnerable youth, etc. If you do not qualify, some of your partners – small ethnic, neighborhood organizations may benefit from this. If an application is chosen for further consideration, you will be invited to submit a full proposal. There is no deadline for submission. The deadline is rolling. (Description summarized from source).
- The Pepsi Refresh Project, a groundbreaking effort to foster innovation in social good, recently began accepting idea submissions from individuals and organization. This program will award more than $20 million dollars in 2010 to ideas that will move the world forward, including $1.3 million a month to the ideas Americans select as the best in open online voting. For more information, check out the Idea Toolkit! There is no deadline for submission.
RESOURCES
For Refugee and Immigrant Youth
- Interviews with Refugee Youth from the Utah Refugee Services Office are now available. Listen as four young refugees talk about the success and challenges of school, integration, maintaining family traditions, and keeping out of trouble.
- The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) has a list of scholarships for students seeking to go to college, many of which are available regardless of immigration status.
Cultural Orientation/Integration
- Haitian Immigrants in the United States from the Migration Policy Institute, explores demographic information such as population, status, location, gender, socioeconomic conditions, employment and education. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, this article may serve as a quick source of background information on the population.
Child Welfare
- Sibling Caretaking in Immigrant Families: Understanding Cultural Practices to Inform Child Welfare Practice and Evaluation focuses on the practice of sibling caretaking, in which older children supervise and socialize younger children, according to culturally informed family roles, responsibilities, and obligations. The purpose of this article is to familiarize practitioners and evaluators with this cross-cultural practice and discuss familial risk and protective factors associated with migration and acculturation.
- Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Reports from the Field and Ideas for the Future from the RAND Child Policy working paper series, discusses the unique challenges faced by immigrant families and the factors that place them at risk for improper treatment by the child welfare system. One broad recommendation for improvement suggests taking a population or strategy-specific approach while at the same time using funding to expand services to immigrant communities, who experience language barriers.
- 2009 Resource Guide and Related Materials from Child Welfare Information Gateway specifically targets service providers who work with parents, other caregivers, and their children with the common goal of strengthening families. The guide contains resources to promote community awareness of five important protective factors including tip sheets for parents in English and Spanish on topics such as tantrums, bonding with your baby, and connecting with your teen.
Education
- Secondary Newcomer Programs in the U.S. is the Center for Applied Linguistics’ searchable online database of middle and high school newcomer programs. It has recently been updated and now includes more than 60 program profiles. The database includes newcomer programs that serve students in 23 states and provides information on student newcomer demographics, program design, instruction and assessment, student transitions, staffing, family connections, and social networks. In addition, programs are still welcome to participate by filling out this survey!
- Parent Involvement in School: Engaging Immigrant Parents explores the barriers to immigrant parents’ involvement in their children’s education and provides strategies to increase their engagement.
- Play, It's the Way Young Children Learn is an easy-to-read pamphlet intended to help teachers and parents understand the importance of play and integrate play into daily practice. The pamphlet is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Farsi.
Youth Development
- A Developmental Perspective for High School Practitioners on College and Workplace Readiness summarizes and compares competencies that researchers across three fields have found are necessary to be ready for college, the workplace, and a successful transition to adulthood. This report may be particularly useful to programs working with older refugee youth, who often struggle with the transition to adulthood in this new cultural context.
- The Neo African Americans is a film about immigration from Africa and the Caribbean and how it is transforming the "African-American" narrative. This film, though not specifically about youth, can be used as a tool for facilitating a dialogue among African and African-American students or for a general discussion on identity. DVDs are now available for institutions to purchase and screenings can also be arranged.
- Fugees Family, Inc. is a non-profit organization devoted to working with child survivors of war. Building upon the power of soccer, young boys are given the support and structure they need to realize their vast potential, through after-school tutoring, a private academy, and an academic enrichment camp. The Web site includes many refugee children’s stories in audio and video format and a blog.
Health/Mental Health
- The report, Elevated Blood Lead Levels among Children in Refugee Camps, states that in Spring 2008, the Immigrant, Refugee, and Migrant Health Branch (IRMHB) began receiving reports from state health departments of elevated blood lead levels in refugee children under 6 years of age, specifically Burmese. Given this high prevalence, agencies planned an investigation of EBLLs among refugee children still living in Thailand. Objectives included estimating the prevalence of EBLLs in Burmese refugee children living in refugee camps; identifying potential sources of lead exposure; and working with camp agencies and other partners to address this problem camp-wide.
- The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools has posted information from the final Caring Across Communities Grantee Meeting. This initiative addresses the mental health needs of immigrant children. Grantee posters, speaker presentations, and inspiring success stories from the field were collected at this meeting and posted online.
Program Development
- ESL Joy in Roanoke written by a young ESL volunteer is a short article expressing the joys of volunteering with refugee families. In addition, it shows just how easy families can give to one another and how the whole family can take part in volunteering together.
- Volunteer Recruitment Tips That Work … At No Cost discusses smart ways to recruit volunteers at no cost including Everyone Ready®—an online volunteer management training program with a number of benefits for volunteer managers.
