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SEARCHING THE BRYCS DATABASE – JIM’S SEARCH FOR INFORMATION
As the BRYCS clearinghouse continues to grow, those who regularly use the Web site are often surprised to learn about the depth and breadth of resources available on www.brycs.org. In order to enhance users' ability to navigate the BRYCS Web site, we will be presenting a scenario from the field, and addressing that scenario with resources from the BRYCS Clearinghouse. In the future, this feature will take the form of a streaming video, which will demonstrate how to find and sort through the resources on www.brycs.org. We would be greatly interested in hearing your feedback (email: info at brycs.org or call 1-888-572-6500 ext.3).
Jim* has noticed that the already diverse congregation in his church is attracting a significant population of newly resettled African refugees. He and other church members have reached out to and developed a relationship with these refugees and their communities, and have developed a strong network of volunteers. The leaders of the refugee communities have identified English language instruction for both children and parents, homework assistance and school readiness for the children, and parenting concerns as their most pressing needs. After assessing the resources available in the community and coordinating their efforts with current service providers, Jim's church decided to develop a 501(c)3 organization in order to serve these newcomers, focusing on the needs of their children.
How can BRYCS help with this problem? In this case, Jim contacted BRYCS staff directly for technical assistance via our toll free number: 1-888-572-6500. He could also have emailed: info at brycs.org. Or he could use the Web site to find resources addressing this issue.
From the left sidebar menu, on www.brycs.org, Jim clicked on the Publications Page and found the newest BRYCS resource, available for free download and in CD format:
From the Publications page, Jim went to the link for the Archive on the left sidebar menu, which allows for searches of previous BRYCS Spotlight articles and featured resources by subject. The subject list at the top of the Archive page will take you to the appropriate listing:
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Jim clicked on the link for Education and thought the following BRYCS articles would help with homework assistance and school readiness for the refugee children in his congregation:
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. March 2005 Spotlight article, Serving Children With Little or No Previous Formal Schooling.
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. August 2004 Spotlight article, Ready to Learn: Educational Resources for Refugee Children, Youth and Families.
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. August 2004 Spotlight article, Promising Practices in After-School Programming for Refugee Youth and Children.
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. Resources on out-of-school time (OST) and afterschool programs for educators and parents. This list contains 90 resources.
Wondering if there were any specific ESL resources in the Clearinghouse, Jim clicked on the Detailed Search link in the right sidebar (see above). From there, he clicked on the Subject box's "Browse List".
SEARCH FOR ANY CLEARINGHOUSE RESOURCE USING ONE OR MORE SEARCH BOXES BELOW:
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SUBJECT |
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He scrolled down to "English
as a second language ESL", highlighted the phrase by clicking on it, then
pressed the "Select" button.
Back on the detailed search page, he noticed that "English as a second language ESL" had been entered into the subject field. Jim clicked on the Search key. The Search produced 11 resources. Of those 11 resources, Jim thought the following would be a good starting point in designing the English language service component of the project, available for free download though the ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) web site:
Seufert, Peggy. Refugees as English Language Learners: Issues and Concerns. ERIC Q & A. ERIC Digest. September 1999, 6 pages.
Jim then clicked on the Targeted Resources: Educators & Parents tab found at the top of the homepage:
REFUGEE EDUCATORS
Professionals who use or develop instructional materials meant to be used
directly by refugees are included in this category. The materials may be the
actual instructional materials, a prototype used with a non-refugee population
with limited language skills that can be adapted to the refugee population, or
information on how to develop such materials. This category also includes
resources for refugee parents.
Jim clicked on the Parenting Education link, and 18 Resources from the BRYCS clearinghouse were displayed. Jim chose to download the following free resource:, which he also noticed in :
Scheinfeld, Daniel R. New Beginnings: A Guide to Designing Parenting Programs for Refugee and Immigrant Parents. New York: International Catholic Child Bureau, Inc. 1993, 162 pages.
Jim noticed this resource was also listed in Raising Children in a New Country: A Toolkit for Working with Newcomer Parents. The Educators & Parents tab is another way to access many of the materials mentioned in the Parenting Toolkit.
Jim
scrolled down the Targeted Resources page to the Multilingual Resources.
He could have also accessed these resources from the Multilingual Resources
tab found at the top of the homepage:
MULTILINGUAL RESOURCES
Resources available in the BRYCS
Clearinghouse are always available in English, however, some resources are
also available in other languages. When available in full text in the BRYCS
Clearinghouse, a link will indicate the language of the resource. The "BRYCS
Full Text" button links to the full text in English.
Of the 21 languages listed, four are African languages: Amharic, Somali, Oromo, and Nuer. Jim scrolled through the list of Somali resources and downloaded:
Karin Abdulahi, Abdi (transl.) Abdulahi, Jamal (transl.) Grow with Your Teen = La Soco Korniinshaha Ilmahaaga. Ihnen, Info-U Brief. n.974, St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2003.
Savage, Marge Newman, Debby Abdulahi, Abdi (transl.) Abdulahi, Jamal (transl.) Prepare for College = Isku Diyaari Jaamacada. Info-U Brief. n.125, St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2003.
Gengler, Colleen Abdulahi, Jamal (transl.) Teens and Social Gatherings = Dhalinyarada Iyo Xafladaha. Info-U Brief. n.941, St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2003.
Villasenor-Ochoa, Jesus Abdulahi, Abdi (transl.) Abdulahi, Jamal (transl.). Truancy: Why It's Important To Go To School = Muhiimida Adinta Iskuulka. Info-U Brief. n.126, St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2003.
After
finding all of these great resources for developing programs, Jim was wondering
how he could fund these services. He continued down the Targeted Resources page
to find the Program Managers/Administrators resources. He could also
have clicked on the Program Managers Tab on BRYCS home page:
PROGRAM
MANAGERS/ADMINISTRATORS
Professional concerned with needs assessment, program design, funding, program
evaluation, program improvement would locate resources in this category.
Jim clicked on the Funding link and 24 resources from the BRYCS Clearinghouse were displayed. Of these 24 resources, Jim chose to download the first two documents, which are available in Full Text from the BRYCS web site:
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. Fundraising for Refugee Serving Agencies. August 2005, 21 pages.
Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. 2005 Grant Opportunities Notebook. (CFBCI) Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, January 2005, 90 pages.
He also visited the following web sites, that he found on the Funding list:
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR). Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) (Web site.) Sebastopol, CA: Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR).
The Foundation Center. Foundation Center's User-Friendly Guide to Funding Research and Resources: Glossary (Web site). New York: The Foundation Center.
Jim next clicked on the Evaluation link and 15 resources from the BRYCS Clearinghouse were displayed. Jim chose to download the following, available for free from their respective web sites:
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook. Battle Creek, MI: W.K. Kellogg Foundation, January 1998, 116 pages.
Hosley, Cheryl. Laying the Foundation: Tips for Conducting Program Evaluations. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Office of Justice Programs, January 2005, n.1, 4 pages.
Bond, Sally L. Boyd, Sally E. Rapp, Kathleen A. Raphael, Jacqueline B. Sizemore, Beverly A. Taking Stock: A Practical Guide to Evaluating Your Own Programs. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc. 1997, 97 pages.
Clicking on the Program Development link displayed 18 resources from the BRYCS Clearinghouse. Of the 18 resources, Jim thought the following would be helpful for tapping into his volunteer network, both available for free download :
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Faith-Based and Community Initiative. Successful Strategies for Recruiting, Training, and Utilizing Volunteers: A Guide for Faith and Community-Based Service Providers. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Faith-Based and Community Initiative, 2005, 64 pages.
Garringer, Michael Fulop, Mark Rennick, Vikki. Foundations of Successful Youth Mentoring: A Guidebook for Program Development. Portland, OR: National Mentoring Center, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) March 2003, 106 pages.
*This example of technical assistance via BRYCS. org is based on a request received by BRYCS in December 2005 and is used with permission; however, the name and some details have been changed to respect confidentiality. In addition to assistance through our Web site, BRYCS provides one-on-one technical assistance, training and site visits to local, state, regional, and national organizations and groups.
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