BRYCS What’s New Updates for July 2020

ANNOUNCEMENTS   |   EVENTS   |   FUNDING   |   RESOURCES   |   BACK TO TOP

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Addressing Social Unrest, US Laws, Diversity and Tolerance in Cultural Orientation Delivery, a new webpage from the Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange (CORE), contains available resources and external materials relevant to refugees and Cultural Orientation providers. Stay tuned as CORE is working on additional materials and training related to these topics.
• Resources for understanding racism in the United States aim to help service providers, caregivers and educators facilitate a discussion around topics of racism.
  • The Conscious Kid
  • Sesame Street Racism Town Hall
  • An Educator’s Guide to this Moment
  • Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves and additional resources from NAEYC
  • How to Help your Children Develop Empathy
  • Help Your Kids Take Action Against Racism
  • 60 carefully selected lists of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture: Talking about Race
  • Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources

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EVENTS/CALL FOR PAPERS

• Gender Based Violence and Migration in Times of Covid-19: Perspectives from Across the Globe, a European University Institute webinar, will take place July 1, 2020 at 3PM. This webinar will examine what we know about sexual and gender-based violence in a migration setting and how the health crisis has affected the exposure of female migrants and refugees to violence.
• Launch of new publication “Family Reunification for Refugee and Migrant Children: Standards and Promising Practices“, a webinar organised by Council of Europe Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, will take place July 2, 2020 at 9:30AM. The aim of the event is to discuss ongoing challenges for family reunion throughout Europe, for frontline countries and countries of destination, to present examples of promising practices coming from member states and to reflect together on what we can collectively improve to ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child and family unity is implemented and sought through family reunification.
• Pressing ‘Reset’ on Resettlement: How a Lifeline can Survive COVID-19, a Kaldor Centre online discussion, will take place July 2, 2020 at 1PM. A panel of experts will bring you up to date on what the pandemic and halt and resumption of resettlement means in human terms, and how governments, including Australia, are responding.
• Fundamentals of Gender-Based Violence for Refugee Service Providers: What Does a Culturally Responsive Approach Mean?, a Switchboard webinar, will take place July 7, 2020 at 2PM ET. This webinar will be an opportunity to hear from a local, culturally specific organization, Womankind, learn the basics of understanding and recognizing gender-based violence (GBV) within refugee and immigrant communities, and explore what a culturally responsive approach to GBV services can look like.
• 2020 Immigrant Student Success, a free online workshop for K-12 and adult educators, will take place July 8 and 9, 2020 from 12-3PM EDT. Participants will learn the impact of current events on immigrant and refugee students, strategies to improve distance learning, how to support students during times of crisis, and how to bring the immigrant voice into focus across the curriculum.
• Welcoming Week 2020 Kick-Off, a Welcoming America webinar will take place July 15, 2020 at  2PM ET. During this one-hour conversation, the Welcoming America team will discuss expectations for this year’s events, share updates regarding the Welcoming Week website and toolkit as well as how to register and share your events.
• 12th Annual Muslim Mental Health Conference: The Intersection of Spirituality and Mental Health Practice, will take place July 10-12, 2020. This unique conference brings together scholars, faith leaders, healthcare providers and researchers to examine topics related to mental health across the Muslim community. It will include keynote speakers, scholarly research presentations and panel discussions.
• CLINIC Webinar Series: Navigating Refugee and Asylee Issues in Turbulent Times will take place July 16, 23, & 30, 2020 at 2PM EST. Join CLINIC for a three-part webinar series on representing refugees and asylees in these challenging times. Presenters will discuss family reunification, adjustment of status, naturalization, termination, and travel as they pertain to refugees and asylees. This series will focus on recent changes to the law and policy, and strategies for representing clients in light of these changes.
• The North American Refugee Health Conference will take place virtually September 17-19, 2020. Join professionals working in refugee health and learn about best practices, increase cultural competency, reflect on challenges and successes in the field, and develop a network of colleagues who are making a difference in their communities. Continuing Education credits are available for multiple professions.
• Fundamentals of Gender-Based Violence for Refugee Service Providers: The What, Why, and How of Safety Planning, a Switchboard webinar, will take place July 29, 2020 at 2:00 PM ET. Following on the previous introductory webinar, this training will focus on the specifics of safety planning. It will emphasize the importance of creating individualized understandings of how to maintain safety when working with refugee and immigrant clients.
• Save the date! The 17th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference hosted by MPI, CLINIC, & Georgetown Law will be held September 21-22, 2020. This annual conference features thoughtful policy and legal analysis and discussion of the most important immigration topics from leading government officials, attorneys, researchers, advocates, and others.
• FFTA’s 34^th Annual Conference on Treatment Family Care will take place virtually on September 23-24, 2020. Gather with like-minded professionals from across the world to share strategies to help your agency respond to the changing needs of children, youth and families and build on the best practices in family focused treatment services.
• Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) has decided to CANCEL the 2020 Annual Gathering in Cleveland scheduled to take place October 27-30, 2020.  CCUSA is working on a virtual, online professional development experience that will be rolled out over the next several months. This includes information regarding CCUSA’s Social Innovation Award!
• The 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference, hosted by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) and the University of Notre Dame, will take place virtually on October 1-2, 2020. The conference will present perspectives on the major challenges facing immigrants, refugees, their families and faith communities, at a time of multiple crises; explore promising and successful programs and ministries; examine how changing policies are affecting Catholic institutions; and explore how Catholic institutions can strengthen their work in promoting the integration, protection, and empowerment of persons with strong roots in sending and receiving communities.
• Welcoming Interactive 2020: Inclusive Communities, Strong Economies has been rescheduled due to COVID. The even will now take place April 21-23, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. To keep the movement connected and inspired in 2020, Welcoming America will host a series of learning and networking events as part of Welcoming Interactive this fall.

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FUNDING

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RESOURCES

For Refugee/Immigrant Children & Youth

• From My Window: Children at Home During COVID-19, was written from the perspective of children who observe the world through their windows, this book for young readers looks at the lives of housebound children during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspired by true events and people from around the world, “From My Window” shows children that we all have the same fears, and that we can overcome them by being creative and empathetic, and by staying positive and healthy. (Description from source)
• Ready 2 Help Card Game, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is an opportunity for kids to have fun responding to examples of emergencies by working together and using skills that will help them in a real emergency.

  General Cultural Competency & Migration & Resettlement Awareness

• Room 140 gives insight into the impact of immigration, detention, and family separation on children and families. The short documentary takes place at an Oakland motel and follows immigrants who have just been released from detention.
• “Child Marriage Practices among the Rohingya in Bangladesh”, from Conflict and Health, finds that conflict and displacement increase child marriage in populations already vulnerable to child marriage by exacerbating gender inequities.

Cultural Orientation/Integration

• SHARE Welcoming Communities “Small Places, Great Hearts, a video series from the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), highlight refugee resettlement and integration in smaller municipalities across Europe, demonstrating the positive impact that refugees have in their new home towns. (Description from source)
• Change is Hard: Managing Fear and Anxiety about Demographic Change and Immigration in Polarized Times, a research synopsis from Welcoming American, is designed to spur and deepen an important and challenging conversation about how to bring our nation together and shape a more cohesive and inclusive America.Job Development
• During the COVID-19 Crisis, a Switchboard blog, addresses the impact COVID is having on the way service providers are working to ensure clients receive job readiness training and apply for unemployment insurance and other benefits.
• Resettlement during COVID-19 FAQ, from the Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange (CORE),  includes information related to refugee travel and arrival during the COVID-19 pandemic. CORE worked closely with PRM, IOM, and CDC to make sure all the answers match official policy and procedures and updates will be made as needed.

Child Welfare/Family Strengthening

• A Closer Look: The Unique Needs and Promise of Children of Black Immigrants and Refugee Children, from the Foundation for Child Development, focuses on the educational, health, and mental health outcomes of these two populations of children and include a discussion of research and policy recommendations on how to best serve and support them. (Description from source)
• “Detached and Afraid: U.S. Immigration Policy and the Practice of Forcibly Separating Parents and Young Children at the Border”, from Child Welfare, explores what happens to children once they are separated from their families by examining the nature of the services and programs provided while they are in transitional foster care. The report draws preliminary conclusions about the emerging impact of family separation on outcomes for these children. (Description from source)
• Family Strengthening: A Collection of Promising Practices, from Family Care First | REACT, presents an overview of evidence-based promising practices in Family Strengthening interventions in Cambodia, implemented by FCF | REACT partners.
• How to Convey Child-Friendly Information to Children in Migration: A Handbook for Frontline Professionals, from Council of Europe, aims to help professionals and volunteers understand how to apply international children’s rights in national contexts. The concrete steps outlined in this guide explore how professionals and volunteers can serve the best interests of the child by ensuring the child’s right to information and their right to be heard are effective. (Description from source)
• Close to Contagion: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Displaced and Refugee Girls and Young Women, from Plan International, examines impact of COVID-19 on girls and women, specifically their health, safety and opportunities for education and decent jobs.

Education

• Art and Activism, from Teaching Tolerance, capitalizes on children’s natural relationship to art by prompting them to examine the ways art relates to community leadership and activism. The twelve mini lessons can be used individually or as a full series and are not dependent on sequence. (Description from source)
• Hallways to Health: Creating a School-Wide Culture of Wellness Schools, from School-Based Health Alliance, includes tools and tips for creating a culture of wellness that extends beyond the health clinic walls into school hallways, classrooms, cafeteria, teachers’ lounges and campus spaces.
• As Coronavirus Forces In-classroom Learning to Go Online across the World, a Project on Syrian Refugees in Turkey Might Already Set an Example, an article from UN Development Programme, examines the results of a promising digital education project with Syrians in Turkey.
• Recognizing When Students Are Facing Forced Marriage – School Social Workers as a Critical Lifeline, an archived webinar from Tahirih, covers the nature and scope of forced marriage in the United States, common dynamics, warning signs and coping mechanisms, and best practices for identifying individuals at risk and starting a supportive conversation. Want to learn more about this topic? Check out Tahirih’s Training and Resource Toolkit.

Youth

• “Educational, Psychosocial and Protection Outcomes of Child‐ and Youth‐Focused Programming with Somali Refugees in Buramino Camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia,” from Disasters, reports on the outcomes of child and youth learning centres (CYLCs) in Ethiopia’s Buramino Camp established for those fleeing conflict in Somalia. Eighty‐five youths completed baseline assessments shortly after arrival and follow‐up assessments three to six months later.

Health/Mental Health

• “Children on the Move: The Health of Refugee, Immigrant and Displaced Children”, a special issue of Children, focuses on the health impact on children experiencing migration as refugees, immigrants, and those internally displaced within their own country due to war and conflict. Topics include the epidemiology of displacement, adverse health conditions, trauma and mental health, best practices and care coordination. Specific populations such as children with disabilities, unaccompanied minors and child separation at international borders are also explored.
• Communication Toolkit: For Migrants, Refugees, and Other Limited-English-Proficient Populations, from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), aims to help public health professionals, health departments, community organizations, and healthcare systems and providers reach populations who may need COVID-19 prevention messaging in their native languages. The toolkit includes guidance for recently resettled refugees.
• Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: An Under-Recognized form of Gender-based Violence in the US, an archived webinar hosted by Sahiyo, U.S. End FGM/C Network and the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, brought together over 500 registrants together to discuss female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) as being a reality for women and girls in the United States. This educational, interactive webinar explored FGM/C in the U.S, its connection to the broader anti-gender-based violence movement, and the intervention and community engagement efforts occurring to support survivors and prevent future generations from experiencing it.
• FGC during COVID, posters from Sini Sanuman, point out that women and girls are at an increased risk of undergoing FGM/C as a result of COVID-19. Available in English and French.

Anti-Trafficking

• COVID-19 Impact on Trafficking in Persons, A Protection, Gender & Inclusion (PGI) Technical Guidance Note, from the International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies, explains why there is an elevated risk of TiP during the Covid-19 pandemic, who is likely to be most affected, and what operational approaches can be adopted to prevent, mitigate or respond to TiP by Movement actors. It also includes advocacy messages for consideration in engagement with government, donors and the wider humanitarian sector. (Description from source)
• “Risk Factors to the Sex Trafficking Victimization of Female Refugees,” from MUNDI: Global Studies Society Undergraduate Research Journal, examines three sections of risk factors and conditions that contribute to the vulnerability of female refugees to sexual exploitation throughout the forced migration process. (Description from source)

Program Development

• Sharing Refugee Stories to Build Community Support, a Switchboard blog, is part of a series on engaging with the local community to build support for refugee resettlement.
• Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), an e-learning course from Switchboard, reviews common M&E terminology and provides an introduction to a key M&E tool, the logic model.