The Best Interests of the Child in a Global Perspective

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act of 2008 was recently signed into law, which allows potential child victims of trafficking to access interim assistance as they wait to be determined eligible for assistance as victims by the federal government. Other provisions include reform of the process for children applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), making more children eligible for permanent legal status and refugee program benefits; a mandate that these children are placed in least restrictive settings based on a “best interest of the child” standard; and requirements that home studies be conducted before children are released. Another important provision creates protections for children who are determined ineligible for legal status in the United States and are repatriated to their home country. More information on this significant legislation will follow in the coming months.

• The new child welfare law Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (H.R. 6893) includes sections relevant to those working with grandparents and other relatives raising refugee and immigrant children. For example, this law provides funding for programs that link relative caregivers, both in and outside foster care, to services and supports for their children and themselves. In addition, this law provides state child welfare agencies with the option of using federal funds for kinship guardianship assistance, such as subsidized guardianship programs. More information on this significant legislation will follow in the coming months.

EVENTS

• Join us January 26-28, 2009 for the conference Immigration, Child Welfare, and Borders, which is hosted by the Migration and Child Welfare National Network (MCWNN) in San Antonio, Texas, at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The conference is co-sponsored by the American Humane Association, Annie E Casey Foundation, BRYCS, and many other members of the MCWNN. Public child welfare representatives from California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas will provide information about best interest child welfare practice for immigrant families in border communities. For more information visit the MCWNN Web site or email us for more information.

• The National Association for Bilingual Education is hosting their 38th annual conference on February 18-21 in Austin, Texas. The theme is “Strengthening America through a Multilingual Society,” and the conference will offer forums on topics like dual immersion, English as a second language, sheltered instruction, and heritage language programs. Refugee School Impact grantees and others working with refugee children in the schools may be interested in attending.

• The conference "Children Today…America’s Future!" will be held from February 23-25 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the Child Welfare League of America, the conference will hold workshops on cultural competency, education, reunification, and mental health, among many other topics. This will be a good opportunity for service providers to discuss issues related to immigrant and refugee children and their families involved with the child welfare system. BRYCS will be there and we hope you will join us! Early registration begins January 23, 2009.

• Balancing Compassion for Refugees and Compassion for Yourself is the first annual conference held by the Association for Refugee Service Professionals and will take place in Austin, Texas on February 23-24. The event will focus on coping strategies, compassion fatigue, ethical dilemmas, and creativity’s role in health. Anne Fadiman, the author of The Spirit Catches You & You Fall Down, will also present at the conference

FUNDING

• Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy is launching the E Pluribus Unum Prizes program. This new program will provide four annual $50,000 awards to exceptional initiatives that promote immigrant integration. The E Pluribus Unum Prizes are intended to recognize exceptional immigrant integration initiatives, whether they are led by individuals, nonprofit and community organizations, private businesses, religious groups, or government entities, agencies, or officials. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2009 at 9 p.m. EST. (Description summarized from source.)



• The Ethnic Community Self-Help Program is a grant provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to public, private or faith-based programs that connect refugees and their communities to resources within their new American communities. ORR is looking for national, regional or local programs that help in community building, cultural adjustment and integration of refugees into their new lives in the United States. The deadline is February 24, 2009.



• The RGK Foundation awards up to $25,000 to programs that focus on education, community or medicine and health. For education, the RGK Foundation is looking for non-profit organizations that focus on formal K-12 education, teacher development, literacy, and higher education. In the area of community, awards are granted to organizations that address human services, community improvement, abuse prevention, and youth development programs. For medicine, RGK Foundations looks for programs that focus on health and well-being of children and promote access to health services. While there is no deadline, the RGK Grants Committee meets next to review submissions on March 6, 2009.

RESOURCES

For Refugee and Immigrant Youth

• The American Anthropological Association has a Web site for children with interactive games that teach kids about the history and every-day effects of racism in the United States. For example, the Web site has a sports quiz on stereotypes, a timeline movie on the story of race, and a game that allows a child to walk in the shoes of a person of another race at work, at the doctor, at school, on the street, or in court. This Web site may be useful to both foreign- and American-born children as they think through the effects of race and racism on their lives..



• What’s Happening in Court? is an online children’s activity book that helps children better recognize and comprehend what is going on around them during court proceedings. Though written by the California state government for children in California, this book could help all children – including refugees and immigrants – who need to go to court. It includes sections on Juvenile Dependency Court, guardianship, and more.

Cultural Orientation/Integration

• Refugees From Iraq is the newest “Refugee Backgrounder” from the Cultural Orientation Resource Center. This publication provides in-depth information about refugee groups from Iraq, describing the various ethnic and religious communities of Iraqi Arabs (both Sunni and Shi’a), Iraqi Christians, and others. Topics include history, conditions in countries of asylum, characteristics of the refugee population, cultural features of each of the different communities, religion, language, education, and resettlement considerations.
  
  
• Reader’s Digest recently published a story on a 17 year-old Burmese Karen refugee girl, Moo Pay Naw. The article traces Moo Pay Naw’s encounters with war in Burma and describes the complicated issues that can arise when resettling to the U.S. By recounting the civil war through this young refugee girl’s experiences, this article can help refugee resettlement staff, case workers, and other service providers better understand the personal backgrounds of their Burmese clients.
  
  
• The Unity Circle Project: Experiences of Iraqi Children and Parents Living in Jordan reports on the work of the International Institute for Child Rights and Development, Save the Children, and Relief International. Using a participatory approach, these agencies worked with 96 Iraqi children and their families to identify the challenges they have faced and the strategies they have developed to cope with the war in Iraq and their present circumstances in Jordan. This report may be useful to those working with Iraqi refugee families who recently came from Jordan.

Child Welfare

• Factsheet #17: The Role of Parent Mutual Support was released by FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Preventions (CBCAP) and provides models of mutual self-help support groups for parents. The article highlights research that has found that parent mutual support groups reduce child maltreatment, reduce stress among parents, and improve non-violent discipline practices. Service providers working with refugee youth and their parents could take ideas from this article to create parent mutual support groups for newcomer refugee parents.

Education

• Colorín Colorado produced a Webcast to help teachers learn the most effective ways to instruct English Language Learners (ELL) at the middle and high school levels. The Webcast features Dr. Deborah Short, who is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics and the project director of their study on secondary school newcomer programs.
  
  
• Colorín Colorado’s new article Getting Ready for College: What ELL Students Need to Know provides information on how to help English Language Learners (ELL) think about college and successfully apply to college. The article describes how teachers can plant the idea of college by taking their ELL students on field trips to local community colleges and universities. The article then outlines how teachers and service providers can support ELL students applying to college by setting high expectations, assisting with essays, and deciding where to apply. With college application deadlines approaching in the Spring, service providers and teachers will find this article very helpful!

Youth

• Making their Way: Helping Kentucky’s Immigrant Youth Successfully Transition into Adulthood, an Issue Brief from Kentucky Youth Advocates, contains information that service providers can use in their work with immigrant youth across the country. The brief suggests ways to support immigrant youth in obtaining a high school degree and then enrolling in post-secondary school or finding steady employment. The brief encourages greater participation of parents, with specific approaches that service providers can take to ensure more parent involvement, and a list of approaches that service providers can use to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of ESL programs.
  
  
• Disconnected Young People in New York City: Crisis and Opportunity refers to 16- to 24-year-olds who are not working and not in school. The report reviews “five priority populations,” one of which is older immigrant youth. It discusses the educational challenges for older immigrant youth, many of whom lack sufficient time to learn English and earn the credits required to graduate. As for employment, the report mentions discrimination, geographic and social isolation from potential employers, and low levels of English proficiency as reasons why it is difficult for immigrant youth to find employment.
  
  
• Living in Limbo: Burma’s Youth in Thailand See Few Opportunities to Use Education and Vocational Skills reports on a trip to the Thailand-Burma border by The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children as a part of their Displaced Youth Initiative. This report discusses the education and job training opportunities available to Burmese youth living in refugee camps in Thailand and provides information that may be useful to teachers and service providers working with resettled Burmese youth in the U.S.

Health/Mental Health

• Transcending Violence: Emerging Models for Trauma Healing in Refugee Communities was released by the National Center of Trauma Informed Care and provides an overview of mental health trauma services for refugees in the United States. This report discusses a public health approach for responding to refugees’ trauma, which requires focusing on communities rather than individuals. It discusses the relevance of diagnosing PTSD with refugee populations and has a section on the application of current trauma treatment models to refugee populations.
  
  
• British Columbia Association of Social Workers released the newsletter Refugee Families with Pediatric Disabilities that helps service providers learn how to best support refugee families who are trying to raise a child with a disability in a new country. The article covers topics like helping refugee families with public school enrollment of their child with a disability and how to support and address the needs of the children’s siblings. Service providers, especially social workers, will find this article helpful in providing culturally competent assistance to a refugee population particularly in need of support.

Program Development

• The Most Up-to-Date Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants in the United States from the Migration Policy Institute includes sections on historical numbers and shares; demographic, educational, and linguistic characteristics; and children with immigrant parents. Service providers may find the statistics in this spotlight very helpful when applying for funding from foundations or other sources.