Documents two cross-service training activities conducted by Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS) in St. Louis, Missouri, during the summer of 2002. The training sessions brought together representatives from public child welfare and refugee-serving agencies as well as the refugee community to discuss ways to promote resource sharing and communication to better serve refugee and immigrant families. A resource manual prepared for the sessions included descriptions and operating structures of the agencies involved. Participants in both training sessions agreed on a number of achievable priorities, including expanding the scope of contracts with agencies that provide services to newcomer families, especially in the areas of mental health and parenting support; increasing the emphasis on regional collaborations in recognition of the growing number of newcomer families moving into the counties beyond the city limits; developing mentor families to provide informal supports and advocacyfor refugee and immigrant families; developing linguistically and culturally appropriate material on such topics as physical abuse and neglect; examining trends in the refugee and immigrant population in the St. Louis area; and considering opportunities for “job shadowing” at both refugee service provider agencies and the St. Louis Division of Family Services to further the goals of cross-training.
