Voluntary%20Return%20Counselors%20Forum

1
Voluntary Return Counselors Forum Research
2
DATA INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS

• First survey May June 2002
• 16 Project profiles
• Counselor visits September - November 2002
• 18 visitor questionnaires
• 10 host questionnaires
• 10 comprehensive surveys (incl. profile, visitor
  and host questionnaires)
• 6 partial surveys (either without visitor or
  without host questionnaire)

3
Structure of the presentation

1. Introduction of participant projects.
2. Impact of policy and legislative contexts.
3. Selected findings on assistance and services
   provided in the projects.
4. Transferables, evaluation, conclusion.

4
Participant projects

• 16 participant projects in the exchange
• 13 NGOs
• 1 governmental organisation (local)
• 1 non-profit company
• 1 organisation funded by churches
• Source project profiles

5
Participant projects

• gt Is the project complementary to other projects
  and/or organizational efforts .. ? lt
• 6 projects are complementary at local level.
• 5 projects .. at regional level.
• 10 projects . at national level.
• 6 projects at international level.
• Source project profiles

6
Project resources.

• Financial resources
• Staff
• Contacts
• contacts in host country
• contacts in COR

7
Project resourcesStaff qualifications

• Legal advisors were indicated by 7 of the
  projects,
• Social workers by 5 projects and
• Translators by 4 projects.
• Source project profiles

8
Project resourcesContacts to COR

• 13 org.s with international organisations
• 12 org.s with NGOs in the COR
• 10 org.s with official authorities in the COR
• 7 org.s with self-help organisations in COR
• 6 org.s with communities in the COR.
• 5 org.s have a representation in the COR.
• Source project profiles

9
Client groups

• rejected asylum seekers (11 projects)
• asylum seekers prior to a decision (9 projects)
• recognized refugees (9 projects)
• migrants (8 projects)
• non-accompanied minors (7 projects)
• illegal immigrants (5 projects)
• students (5 projects)
• Source project profiles

10
Client groups

• gt How many of your clients do have a legal
  alternative to returning? lt
• MOST (DRC, INDE, Initiativet, NRC, NMI, PsEau)
• SOME (AGEF, ACCEM, Cire, Caritas Austria, Caritas
  Switzerland, Solwodi, Wereldhuis)
• MOST clients do NOT. (Coming Home)
• Source project profiles

11
Client groups

• 12 projects have clients who they cannot assist.
• Depending on the project mandate, these are
  partly rejected asylum seekers and/ or illegal
  immigrants, partly persons with a residency
  status, partly citizens from certain COR.
• 7 of them would like to assist these clients.
• Source project profiles

12
Policy legislative frameworks

• gt Differences in decision power
• gt Different understandings of voluntariness
• gt Different understandings of project success
• gt Differences in time pressures

13
Policy legislative frameworks

• Different understandings of voluntariness
• avoiding deportation versus making
  well-informed decisions
• Different understandings of (project) success
• Counting departures versus happy endings

14
Assistance and Services

• Main objectives of the participant projects
  according to their profiles
• Counselling 14 projects
• Assistance in return 13 projects
• Reintegration measures 13 projects
• Reconstruction 3 projects

15
Counselling practices

• How and why do counselling practices differ?
• gt External factors
• - related to policy and regulatory contexts
• gt Internal factors
• - related to remit and politics of the project
• - related to organizational factors

16
Counselling. External Factors
Reception conditions
Legislative Framework
Kind of services provided? Time pressures?
Definitions of voluntariness? Client groups? ...
17
Counselling. Internal Factors I.
Provisions for specific groups
Scale of assistance
Project politics remit
Continuity in counselling relationship
Role of family and individual
Consideration of psychological aspects
18
Counselling. Internal Factors II.
Recording of client data
Systematization of information on COR
Organizational aspects
Evaluation/ monitoring of the counselling
Specialization versus multi-tasking
Composition of staff (language skills, migrant
groups, ..)
Level of standardization
19
Assistance in return

• Differences between projects regard
• how transport is organized (by IOM, through the
  project, by the client)
• arrangements regarding physical company to the
  point of departure

20
Assistance in return

• A financial contribution to travel and transport
  is offered by the following projects
• Caritas Austria, Cire, DRC, PsEau, Coming Home,
  Solwodi, INDE, ENTER, Caritas Switzerland, NMI
  and Choices.
• Source project profiles

21
Re-integration seminars

• Pre departure-seminars
• DRC Caritas Switzerland
• Coming Home Choices
• NRC
• Pre departure and Post-arrival seminars
• AGEF NMI
• Gothenburg Initiativet
• Source project profiles

22
Re-integration education and training

• Pre departure DRC
• Coming Home INDE
• Caritas Switzerland Wereldhuis
• Post arrival
• AGEF
• Pre departure Post-arrival
• Solwodi ENTER
• Gothenburg Initiativet
• Source project profiles

23
Re-integration assistance

• A financial contribution to the initial period
  after return is offered by the following
  projects
• Caritas Austria, Coming Home, Solwodi, INDE,
  ENTER, Gothenburg Initiativet, Caritas
  Switzerland and NMI.
• Average amount 200-300
• Source project profiles

24
Follow up of individual refugees

• Based on the visitor questionnaires,
• 3 projects NEVER follow up on the refugees,
• 5 projects SOMETIMES do.
• 5 projects ALWAYS follow up.
• (CIRE, DRC, Coming Home, Solwodi and Initiativet)

25
Reconstruction measures

• Were described by the visitors of
• DRC, PsEau, Coming Home,
• INDE, Solwodi, INITIATIVET.
• Partly focusing on individual returnees,
• Partly working with the community.

26
Activities during visit.

• gt Which aspects of the host project did the
  counselors get to know during their visit? lt
• contacts with other organisations (13)
• counselling (11)
• contacts with authorities (8)
• re-integration measures (7)
• general administrative work (7)

27
Feedback and evaluation of the visits

• gt Do you think that you have gained some useful
  input / ideas for your work from the visit? lt
• 12 visitors ticked YES, 1 NO, 1 not sure.
• gt Has the visit met your overall expectations? lt
• 8 visitors YES, 2 it has exceeded my
  expectations.
• 5 hosts YES, 2 NO.

28
Transferables / 1

• Courses in the COR rather than in the host
  country as it is cheaper and more related to the
  country and situation.
• More efficiency through bureaucratisation/
  professionalisation of the administration.
• Employment counselling service, a data base which
  provides easy access to information about
  available jobs in the return countries.

29
Transferables / 2

• formalisation of counselling
• More contact with local NGOs which can help them
  in their reintegration process
• network system with local NGOs in the COR
• stress on a multicultural and multilingual staff
• .
• Source visitor questionnaires

30
gt Particularly interesting? lt

• Existence of a legal framework for VR
• Pension schemes for for elderly returnees (DK)
• ..
• The working atmosphere! (NRC)
• ..
• Combination of integration, re-integration and
  development projects. (INDE)
• Source visitor questionnaires

31
Innovative project aspectsaccording to project
profiles

• Return and employment in COR (AGEF)
• Development of individual repatriation plans
  including counselling, educational training
  measures, financial help for initial period,
  delivery of goods (COMING HOME)
• Support for reintegration of single migrant women
  without means, mostly without education (Solwodi)
• Free hotline with counselors speaking refugee
  languages (INDE)

32
Innovative project aspects according to visitors

• Services that extend beyond just repatriation
  related assistance (e.g. housing) (Choices)
• Search for private funding (ENTER)
• Possibility to return to another country than
  country of origin (Caritas Austria)
• Follow up of refugees during a long period of
  time (Gothenburg Initiativet)
• Voluntary engagement of so many people
  (Wereldhuis)

33
Different roles / functions of voluntary return
assistance projects.

• Counselling agency for refugees and/ or
  immigrants with a legal status in the country who
  consider return as a voluntary option.
• Development agency whose focus is on supporting
  the returnees professional and social
  re-integration in the COR, mostly through
  training and education.
• Port of call for rejected asylum seekers and/ or
  illegal immigrants, who have no legal
  alternatives to return.
• Assistant or partner of immigration authorities
  in the host country, helping to secure a smooth
  return.

34
WORKSHOP QUESTIONS

1. What is a successful and sustainable return?
2. What are the conditions for it?
3. What are possible obstacles?

35
Main client groups

• The following slides show the largest actual
  client groups according to the project profiles.
• The suggested categories were
• Recognized refugees,
• Asylum seekers prior to a decision,
• Rejected asylum seekers,
• Illegal immigrants,
• Migrants (incl. guestworkers),
• Students,
• Non-accompanied minors,
• Specific employment groups,
• Others.

36
(No Transcript)
37
(No Transcript)
38
(No Transcript)
39
Assistance and Servicesaccording to project
profiles

• 16 - Information on return
• 15 - Information on situation in countries of
  return
• 14 - Information on integration perspectives in
  host country
• 14 pre departure / 6 post arrival
• 14 - counselling
• 12 - Financial contribution to travel transport
  costs
• 12 - Legal advice
• 12 pre departure / 6 post arrival

40
Assistance and Servicesaccording to project
profiles

• 9 - Financial contribution to initial period
  after return
• 9 - Seminars / information events
• 9 pre departure / 3 post arrival
• 9 - Education and/or further training
  measures
• 8 pre departure / 4 post arrival
• 8 - Follow up care / post arrival-mentoring
  in COR
• 7- 8 - Enterprise grants
• 4 - Facilitation of look and see-trips
• 4 - Salary subsidies
• 3 - Support of housing / shelter projects
• 2-3 - Employment placement in COR