Reports on technical assistance interventions by Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services (BRYCS) in Portland and Lewiston, Maine, in October 2001, and highlights recommendations for enhancing programs aimed at refugee youth, children, and families. Both cities had experienced an influx of Somali refugees, and the state’s refugee coordinator had requested assistance in staff training for child protective services, foster care, and specific needs of this refugee population. Recommendations included: (1) creating a consistent communication mechanism between the cities’ Department of Human Services and the refugee committee, possibly through a local agency supported by Maine’s statewide refugee social services and child welfare funds; (2) increase resource sharing among service providers in Portland and Lewiston as well as with other states; (3) establish consistency of training on refugee and cross-cultural issues for child welfare providers, using existing local resources; (4) strengthen information about the formation of Mutual Assistance Associations; (5) boost recruitment of foster care parents from the refugee population itself; and (6) provide ongoing parent orientation about the state’s services, laws, and relevant resources.
