Refugees and Immigrants in Wisconsin

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Refugees and Immigrantsin Wisconsin

• Department of Children and Families
• Division of Families and Economic Security,
  Refugee Assistance Program Section
• Presented by Irina Zelenskaya and Shoua Vang,
  October 8, 2009

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Mission of the Refugee Assistance Program

• Enhance Workforce Development Services to
  Immigrants/Refugees/Limited English Proficient
  (LEP) individuals
• Improve LEP Access in Job Centers
• Build Partnership with local, state, federal
  entities
• Build partnerships with Faith-Based (FBO)
  /Community-Based Organizations (CBO),
  resettlement agencies, Mutual Assistance
  Association (MAA)

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Migrant Services Responsibilities

• Bureau is charged with the responsibility of
  enforcing the states Migrant Labor Law.
• The Law, enacted in 1977, provides
• standards for wages
• hours and working conditions of migrant workers,
  
• certification,
• maintenance and inspection of migrant labor
  camps,
• recruitment and hiring of migrant workers
• guarantees the right of free access to migrant
  camps to insure migrant families are not isolated
  from the rest of the community, and/or services
  they are legally entitled to.

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Refugee Services Section

• Administer monitor programs
• Secure federal grant funding
• Ensure culturally linguistically competent
  services delivery
• Organize trainings for interpreters bilingual
  professional staff
• Review state policy procedures

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Programs Services
Programs Services

• Employment and Training
• Preventive Health
• Health Screening
• Older Refugee
• Mental Health
• Batterers Treatment Pilot
• Unaccompanied Minors

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Definition of Refugee

• A person who is outside his/her country of
  nationality or habitual residence has a
  well-founded fear of persecution because of
  his/her race, religion, nationality, membership
  in a particular social group or political
  opinion and is unable or unwilling to avail
  himself/herself of the protection of that
  country, or to return there, for fear of
  persecution.
• -- Article 1 of the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention

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Refugee

• When did refugees become recognized as
  political refugees in the United States?
• Following World War II thousands of Eastern
  Europeans entered the U.S. as refugees.
• The Displaced Persons of 1948 first refugee
  legislation enacted
• Refugee Act of 1980 Refugees from Southeast
  Asia
• Where are refugees from?
• From all over the world Laos, Vietnam, Former
  Yugoslavia, and Somalia. The newest refugee
  groups arriving in the United States today are
  the Iraqis and Burmese/Karen-Burmese.

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Refugee Resettlement Process

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  (UNHCR) makes refugee status determination after
  interviewing them.
• Three solutions
• Repatriation to country person fled
• Integration into country of asylum
• Third country resettlement
• Third Country Resettlement United States
• Refugee Act of 1980 federal/state support and
  private/public coordination of refugee
  resettlement
• U.S. official interviews and determines if they
  qualify under U.S. refugee law.
• Approval for resettlement medical examination,
  security background checks, cultural orientation.
• Resettlement and Placement agencies provide
  initial resettlement services to refugees in the
  U.S.

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WI Refugee Population

• Estimated Population of Refugees and Former
  Refugees (YTD 2009)
• may include U.S. born children
• Total estimate 73,981
• FFY 2004-2009
• Refugees 4,823
• Secondary Migrants and Asylees 773
• Total 5,563
• Projected Arrivals for FFY 2010
• Africa 115
• East Asia 389
• Former Soviet Union/Eastern Europe 3
• Western Hemisphere 20
• Near East/South Asia 317
• Total 844

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Refugee Population in Wisconsin 2004 2008
0-15 Refugees 16-30 Refugees 31-100
Refugees 101-500 Refugees 501 Refugees Total
5,563
Douglas
Iron
Bayfield
Vilas
Ashland
Washburn
Sawyer
Burnett
Florence
Price
Oneida
Polk
Rusk
Marinette
Barron 346
Lincoln
Langlade
Forest
Taylor
St. Croix
Chippewa 27
Oconto
Dunn 63
Menomonee
Marathon 439
Clark 14
Pierce
Eau Claire 142
Shawano
Door
Pepin
Kewaunee
Waupaca
Buffalo
Portage 132
Trempealeau
Wood 68
Brown 303
Outagamie 285
Jackson
Adams
Waushara
Winnebago 169
Monroe
Manitowoc 141
Calumet
La Crosse 289
Marquette
Juneau 4
Green Lake
Fond du Lac 49
Sheboygan 364
Vernon
Sauk
Columbia
Dodge
Richland
Ozaukee 5
Crawford
Washington 51
Milwaukee 2252
Grant
Dane 322
Iowa
Waukesha 45
Jefferson 4
Green
Rock
LaFayette
Racine 33
Walworth 11
Kenosha 5
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Refugee Service Areas
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Service Delivery System

• All refugee programs are federally funded
• Contract to regional consortium consisted of
  Volags, MAAs and other non-profit organizations
• Have one elected member of the consortium to
  serve as a fiscal agent

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Employment Programs

• Social Services
• 8 consortiums 4 agencies
• 2008 outcomes 506 FT employment
• Road-to-Work (TAG fund)
• 7 consortia
• 2008 outcomes 187 FT employment,
• 32 grant termination

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Employment Training Services

• Developing a Family Self-Sufficiency Plan
  (including Employability Plan)
• Job development job placements, grant
  terminations, grant reductions and job follow-ups
• Vocational ESL training
• Short term Customize Skills Training
• On-the-Job-Training
• Case management services

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Targeted Assistance Supplemental Milwaukee Region

• Allocation based on refugee population.
• 287,138 three year term, 2008-2011
• Additional support/case management for new
  refugees in Milwaukee region
• Other supportive services to new refugees
  orientation to world of work and to life in US,
  citizenship, ESL, etc.

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Preventive Health Program Services

• Wrap around health screening and education
  services
• Access to mainstream health services
• Provide health education in a culturally
  competent manner

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Older Refugee Program Services

• Outreach and education to the refugee community
• Partnership with local Area Agency on Aging
• Holistic and culturally appropriate services
• Citizenship classes
• Case management to coordinate supportive
  services

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Mental Health Program Services

• Outreach and education to the refugee community
• Holistic and culturally appropriate clinical
  services
• Case management to coordinate support services
• Health system change through training bilingual
  clinical staff and in-service training for
  mainstream mental health staff

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Batterers Treatment Pilot Program

• Close coordination with court system
• Linguistic and culturally appropriate treatment
• Support groups
• Case management to coordinate with other
  counselors or treatment providers
• Sustain a feeling of belonging and attachment to
  families and communities

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Discrimination

• Treating people differently through
  prejudice unfair treatment of one person or
  group, usually because of prejudice about race,
  ethnicity, age, religion, or gender
• --Encarta on-line dictionary

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Consequences of traumatic stress

• Social
• Drug abuse
• School failure
• Anti-social behavior
• Isolation/withdrawal
• Psychological
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Reexperiencing, Avoidance, Hyperarousal
• Depression
• Conduct disorder
• Emotion Regulation

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Continuum of care
Intensive Intervention
Child
Early Intervention
School
Prevention
Community
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Community
Approach Parent outreach lead by
Community-based organization
Goals Engage parents as partners in
advocating for children Connect with
parents before problems emerge Connect
parents with school and beyond
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School
Approach School-based youth groups Teacher
consultation Goals Connect with youth in
non- stigmatized setting Connect before
problems emerge Address core risk factors of
alienation, discrimination
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Refugee Demographic

• Wisconsin is home to over 69,839 refugees
  former refugees
• The Hmong are by far the largest group
• Trend of refugee in the last 10 years include
  groups from Southeast Asia, Former Yugoslavia,
  Former Soviet Union and different countries of
  Africa.
• As we speak, we are expecting our newest group of
  refugees Burmese, Somali, Iraqi, Bhutanese.
• The refugees have settled in 20 counties

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HMONG HISTORY

• Forbearers of U.S. Hmong immigrants settled in
  northern Laos, plateau known as Plains of Jars
• Life before 1960s Animists
• Agrarian lifestyle
• farming gardening hunting
• fishing

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HMONG HISTORY

• Life before 1960s changed for approximately
  150,000 Hmongs when war erupted in Vietnam
• Hmong fled Laos to Thailand
• United States

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One of eleven refugee camps in Thailand holding
120,000 Burmese refugees
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Burmese family at home in camp
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Burmese children in camp school
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The first Somali Bantu family to arrive in
Milwaukee
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Enjoyment

• Make the Job Development experience enjoyable and
  memorable.
• Smile
• Motivate, Motivate, Motivate
• Maintain morale (you and your staff)
• Help refugees achieve their American Dream

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Contact Information

• Irina Zelenskaya
• phone [phone]e-mail irina.zelenskaya_at_wi
  sconsin.gov
• Shoua Vang
• phone [phone] e-mail
  shoua.vang_at_wisconsin.gov
• Contact information
• Heidi Ellis
• Email Heidi.ellis_at_childrens.harvard.edu
• Phone [phone]
• http//dcf.wisconsin.gov/refugee/default.htm
• http//www.facebook.com/pages/Holiday-Folk-Fair-In
  ternational/135713282946