	Immigrant and Refugee Resettlement: Resettlement Practice with Separated and Unaccompanied Children; Transition Services; Immigration, Citizenship and Naturalization Legal Assistance Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

IRR 6: Transition Assistance

Newcomers receive bi-cultural information and assistance with making connections, and help obtaining private and public services to ease their entry, productivity, and stability in a new culture and community.

NA The organization provides only legal services.

IRR 6.01

Service providers help newcomers make connections to both their local ethnic community and the predominate community.

Research Note: Data from the 1992 Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study survey of more than 5,000 randomly selected immigrant children from five Asian and Latin American origin groups in two states, and in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of 120 children and their families, was drawn upon to investigate varying modes of immigrant incorporation into distinct sectors of the American society. The study reviews ethnographic narratives and survey data that suggest patterns of adaptation based on reception in destination area, available resources, opportunities for upward mobility, concentration of groups within a geographic area, and length of time living side-by-side with other ethnic groups. There is a range of adjustments to receiving environments, and the study supports the conclusion that immigrant networks reduce cost and risk of migration leading to economic advantage, advances the idea that opportunities and hopeful outlook bolster groups, and suggests that children use ethnic identity to protect themselves from negative effects of discrimination in the assimilation process.

More recent research drawing upon the 1992 survey data confirms some earlier results and adds another conclusion. Differences in educational outcomes, including grade point average, higher dropout rates, and lower aspirations, by national origin were found for immigrants that portends an ethnic segmentation when youth enter the adult work force. However, while mobility associated with assimilation into one’s ethnic group was found, upward mobility associated with preserving one’s national identity was not found. Non-assimilation and adversarial cultural pride did not predict academic achievement among Mexican-American students. The influences of work ethic, parental involvement, high aspirations and peer influence were explored. The worst outcomes overall were associated with having close friends who dropped out of school or had no aspirations for higher education

IRR 6.02

Service providers determine newcomers’ clothing needs, as may be seasonal or school related, and access to and an understanding of public transportation.

IRR 6.03

Service providers learn about service recipients’ beliefs and traditional native approaches to health and healing and, with the client, determine the best, most feasible, and appropriate cross- cultural approach to service delivery.

Research Note: Some literature suggests that blending traditional and professional approaches is most effective in mitigating factors that impede acculturation, including frequent moves, anxiety, restlessness, and dependence on tobacco, alcohol and other substances.

Research Note: A quantitative study of help seeking for mental health problems among immigrants and U.S.-born Mexican Americans found that use of informal providers was not as common a practice as reported in earlier ethnographic studies, and that most referrals come not through mental health providers, such as social workers and psychologists, but through general medical services.

IRR 6.04

Service providers share information about services in settings that carry no stigma or shame and minimal hierarchy, such as educational settings.

IRR 6.05

Service providers guide immigrants and refugees to anticipate and avoid unfamiliar and potentially damaging aspects of living in a developed country.

Interpretation: When service providers have limited time to work with newcomers, possibly before difficulties arise, the tendency can be anticipated and addressed by providing individuals with an information sheet, including resources. Examples of possibly unfamiliar dynamics could include: credit card overuse, receipt and payment of bills, and peer group pressures on children and youth to behavior with greater freedom than is customary.

IRR 6.06

The organization ensures that:

refugees are educated about tenants rights and signing a lease; and
landlords are notified in writing of client housing health and safety issues.

Interpretation: Examples of housing health and safety issues that should be documented include insect and vermin infestation, uncollected refuse, missing smoke detectors, doors or locks, electrical wiring hazards, and leaking water.

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	PURPOSE: Immigrants and refugees acquire the cross-cultural information, skills, and social support network needed to gain stability, make a positive personal and social adjustment, maintain family connections and well-being, and achieve educational, economic and civic participation goals.

RELATED FILES


	IMMIGRANT An individual not born in the United States, Puerto Rico, or an outlying US territory, who migrates from his/her country of nationality or any country in which they last habitually resided and chooses to seek a better economic, social or religious life abroad. Immigrants, and children of immigrants, can be citizens, Legal Permanent Residents "a step toward naturalization as a US citizen" or non-citizens, either legal or undocumented without legal status.


	REFUGEE Those who flee their home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion and are unable or unwilling to return to, or avail themselves of, their home country.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	SAMPLE A portion or representative percentage of a greater whole.


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	CLIENT See service recipient.


	REFERRALS Resource suggestions provided to consumers to address problems or needs that are beyond the scope of the organization's mission.


	PSYCHOLOGIST A qualified professional who has a doctoral degree from a program of psychology accredited by or recognized as meeting the standards set by the American Psychological Association. A master's degree in psychology is an acceptable credential for the provision of counseling services provided that licensure is attained.