BRYCS What’s New Updates for May 2019

ANNOUNCEMENTS   |   EVENTS   |   FUNDING   |   RESOURCES   |   BACK TO TOP

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Registration for the next school year is happening now! Public schools, by law, must serve all children. Share IDRA’s eBook on Supporting Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools (in English-Spanish) and one-page bilingual flier. A new bilingual infographic: Welcoming Immigrant Students in School is also available.
• National Women’s Health Week is May 12-18! Check out BRYCS’ resources on female genital cutting (FGC) which discuss the cultural roots, health consequences and risk factors women who have experienced FGC face. The impacted community’s concerns and needs related to FGC, especially in their interactions with community service providers are also addressed.
• May 15th is International Families Day! This day is an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families. Learn more about USCCB/MRS’ Family Reunification Program which provides a necessary safety net for families who have been separated by migration.
• May is Mental Health Awareness Month! BRYCS offers many resources and webinars for service providers in the mental health field.

ANNOUNCEMENTS   |   EVENTS   |   FUNDING   |   RESOURCES   |   BACK TO TOP

EVENTS

• OJJDP FY 2019 Supporting Victims of Gang Violence Grant Program webinar takes place May 2, 2019, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. This webinar will provide an overview of the Supporting Victims of Gang Violence Grant Program solicitation, the application process, and the eligibility and solicitation requirements. Applicants will also have the opportunity to ask questions.
• KIND’s two-part informational webinar series on its Child Migrant Return and Reintegration Project (CMRRP) and the Central American Family Reunification and Reintegration Project in Guatemala and Honduras will provide an overview of the program and population served, eligibility requirements, the process for referring cases, and information on repatriation and reception in the US, Guatemala, and Honduras.
  • Session One is on May 6, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. EST
  • Session Two is on May 8, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. EST
• Summer school: The Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS) will take place May 6-10, 2019, at York University in Toronto, Canada. These annual non-credit summer courses on refugees and forced migration will benefit academic and field-based practitioners working in the area of forced migration.
• Therapy for Refugees and Torture Survivors: New H.E.A.R.T. (Healing Environment and Restorative Therapy) two-part webinar series will introduce the H.E.A.R.T. model of care in working with survivors of torture. Attendees will be given the tools they need for hearing the survivor’s story and understand its importance as an element of healing. Applicants must register separately for each session of the 2-part course.
  • Session One is on May 8, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. ET
  • Session Two is on May 15, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. ET
• The 2019 Welcoming Interactive + Welcoming Economies Convening takes place May 15-17, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The convening will explore how to start or strengthen local welcoming efforts and merge cutting edge policies and innovative ideas from the field of immigrant economic development with successful practices of welcoming communities.
• Collaborating for Success: Refugee Training Programs Built with Industry Insights will take place May 23, 2019 at 10AM EDT. This webinar will present practical insights on how to build more collaborative approaches to workforce integration that leverage the insights and experiences of multiple stakeholders to achieve positive results.
• Caring for Children Moving Alone: Protecting Unaccompanied and Separated Children begins on Monday May 27, 2019. The free, six-week online course is available to anyone, wherever they are in the world, and is offered in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Arabic. The course specifically focuses on the importance of considering the needs of unaccompanied and separated children and young people on the move, their circumstances and wishes.
• The 18^th Annual Cambio de Colores Conference takes place June 5 – 7, 2019 in Columbia Missouri. This year’s theme is “Welcoming Immigrants and Newcomers in Turbulent Times: Knowledge, Connections and Action.”
• The International Metropolis Conference takes place June 24 – 28, 2019 in Ottawa. Join delegates from around the world  to exchange research, best practices and forge new partnership on the 2019 theme, “The Promise of Migration: Inclusion, Economic Growth and Global Cooperation.”
• The 2019 World Conference on Statelessness and Inclusion takes place June 26-28, 2019 at The Hague. The conference aims to explore progress and unpack the diverse challenges that need to be met to realize the right to a nationality for all.
• International Summer School in Forced Migration takes place July 7-19, 2019 at Oxford. The school offers an intensive, interdisciplinary and participative approach to the study of forced migration and is designed for policymakers and practitioners working on refugee protection and related issues.
• The 33rd Annual Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA) Conference will take place July 28-31, 2019 in Anaheim, CA. This year’s theme is “Fulfilling the promise of permanency” and features over 90 workshops highlighting best practices.

ANNOUNCEMENTS   |   EVENTS   |   FUNDING   |   RESOURCES   |   BACK TO TOP

FUNDING

• Youth Engagement in Sports (YES) Initiative, from the Office on Women’s Health (OWH), aims to expand youth participation in sports and encourage regular physical activity among racial/ethnic minority and socio-economically disadvantaged youth including, specifically girls. Applications are due May 31, 2019.
• Literacy Program Grants, from the Loia Lenski Covey Foundation, encourage literacy programs that engage children in activities that foster a lifelong love of reading. Programs may introduce or assist pre-school children in the enjoyment of books or increase school-age children’s reading skills. Innovative, positive approaches are desired. The deadline is rolling.
• Culture, Education, Health and Social Service Program Grants, from the Hearst Foundation, supports well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of interests – culture, education, health and social service – and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. The deadline is rolling.

ANNOUNCEMENTS   |   EVENTS   |   FUNDING   |   RESOURCES   |   BACK TO TOP

CALL FOR PAPERS

• MDPI’s special issue on “Refugees and International Law: The Challenge of Protection” provides a forum for addressing some of the critical legal issues involving refugees and international law. Submissions are due May 31, 2019.
• A special issue of Deportees, Exiles, Refugees is calling for papers on domestic violence against women in East Asian and South East Asian Countries. The issue will deal with the phenomenon of domestic violence in East Asia and South East Asia with a special focus on China from different perspectives: legal, socio-cultural, ethnographic, gender, and psychological. Abstracts are due June 20, 2019.

ANNOUNCEMENTS   |   EVENTS   |   FUNDING   |   RESOURCES   |   BACK TO TOP

RESOURCES

General Cultural Competency & Migration & Resettlement Awareness

• Visualizing Trends for Children of Immigrants, from Urban Institute, is a map tool that presents snapshots and trend data on children of immigrants and their families for the 50 states and D.C. and the 100 largest metropolitan areas.
• Youth and Mobility: Children and Youth on the Move across West and Central Africa in 2018, from the International Organization on Migration (IOM), presents an analysis of Flow Monitoring Surveys (FMS) conducted in 2018 with 11,000 respondents under 25 years old across West and Central Africa (WCA). The objective of the report is to provide a better understanding of youth mobility in the WCA region and information on the profiles, journeys and vulnerabilities of young migrants in the region. (Description from source)
• Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status and Guidelines on International Protection under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, from UNHCR, is intended to guide government officials, judges, practitioners, as well as UNHCR colleagues in applying the refugee definition.

For Refugee/Immigrant Children & Youth

• Prepare with Pedro: Disaster Preparedness Activity Book, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is an activity book designed to teach young children and their families about how to stay safe during disasters and emergencies. Also available in Spanish.
• Dr. Adawia Alousi STEM Scholarship for Muslim Women, from the Center for Arab American Philanthropy, supports American Muslim women to obtain education within STEM fields, placing highest priority on immigrants and refugees.

Cultural Orientation/Integration

• “Integration of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth in the United States: A Call for Research”,  from the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, describes the post-release experiences of unaccompanied youth, focusing on legal, family, health, and educational contexts. The article also identifies methodological and ethical challenges and solutions in conducting research with this population of young people and their families and proposes research to identify structural challenges to the provision of services. (Description from source)
• Money Management Lesson Plans, from CORE, aims to help refugees better understand the attitudes and skills needed to navigate the United States’ financial system. Resources also include a fact sheet, podcast, and webinar.
• Building Cohesive Communities in an Era of Migration and Change, from Welcoming America, is the first in a four-part series of articles that explores what Welcoming America and other national- and local-level thought leaders and practitioners have learned about engaging long-term members of receiving communities to advance immigrant inclusion and build stronger, more cohesive communities.
• Job Counseling for Career Pathways: Asking the Right Questions, from SwitchboardTA, highlights the importance of understanding a client’s motivations for seeking career pathways services in order to identify the right questions to ask when exploring possible career pathways.

Child Welfare/Families

• “Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in Long Term Foster Care: Identifying Needs and Best Practices from a Child Welfare Perspective,” from Children and Youth Services Review, addresses the unique needs of unaccompanied children immigrating to the U.S., whose numbers have greatly increased over the last few years. The article explores how practitioners can best respond to their needs and what can be done to address gaps in car
• “Interviewing Refugee Children: Theory, Policy, and Practice with Traumatized Asylum Seekers”, from Yale Journal of Law & Feminism, examines whether policies and practices during credible fear interviews ensure that children are forthcoming and thorough during initial interviews.
• Alone and Unsafe: Children, Migration, and Sexual and Gender-based Violence, from Rise Learning Network, examines the risk of violence hundreds of thousands unaccompanied and separated child migrations face on their journeys.
• Immigrant Detention of Families and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, from the RAIS Conference on Social Sciences, explores how young victims react emotionally to the difficult challenges of risking entry, being detained, waiting for judicial hearings and then fearing deportation for years. The paper also evaluates the issues policymakers and judges face in solving these critical problems to address the mental well-being of those involved. (Description from source)

Early Childhood

• Mitigating the Effects of Trauma among Young Children of Immigrants and Refugees: The Role of Early Childhood Programs, from Migration Policy Institute (MPI), explores the types of trauma that may affect young children in immigrant families, what the effects of those experiences may be, and what can be done to protect children against them. A related webinar on addressing trauma is also available.

Education

• Patterns of English Learner Student Reclassification in New York City Public Schools, a study from Regional Educational Laboratory, describes patterns in student reclassification from English learner to English proficient and how reclassification patterns varied by grade of entry, initial English proficiency, and disability status. A webinar on the subject is also available.
• Empower Refugee Youth: Youth Education Program, from UNHCR, prioritizes education and training for youth empowerment and self-reliance, and improves access to inclusive high-quality learning opportunities through secondary and higher education, and vocational training. The report provides an overview of the program and its benefits.
• Separate or Together: Unpacking the “EL Family Event” vs. “All-School Family Event” Debate, from Gardner & Associates, addresses the need for a variety of family-based events for EL families to create a community and the benefits of offering such initiatives.
• “Age-of-Arrival Effects on the Education of Immigrant Children: A Sibling Study”, from the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, analyses the effects of late entry on the human capital of immigrant children, and investigates the channels via which age-at-migration affects the native-immigration education gap. (Description from source)

Youth

• “Schools Cannot Do It Alone: A Community-Based Approach to Refugee Youth’s Language Development”, from the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, examines the ways in which a summer camp program for middle and high school immigrant and refugee youth provided opportunities for English language development. Implications for rethinking how to approach newcomers’ English language development, in and out of school, are discussed. (Description from source)

Health/Mental Health

• “Effects of Armed Conflict on Child Health and Development: A Systematic Review”, from PLoS ONE,  examines the urgent need for research on the mechanisms by which conflict affects child health and development and the relationship between physical health, mental health, and social conditions. This article summarizes the current and past knowledge on the effects of armed conflict on child health and development. (Description from source)
• Culture, Context and Mental Health of Rohingya Refugees: A Review for Staff in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Programmes for Rohingya Refugees, from UNHCR, highlights the importance of understanding the key sociocultural aspects of mental health and wellbeing to assist humanitarian agencies, government, and non-government organizations in providing effective culturally informed services to the Rohingya.

Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C)

• Consider the Personhood of Women Who Experienced Genital Cutting, from Mayo Clinic Proceedings, urges readers to be mindful of overlooking how the human aspect of women affected by FGC. The author highlights the varying needs and levels of acculturation these women need and experience.
• What You Need to Know about Female Genital Mutilation, from UNICEF, provides an overview of FGM and the prevention strategies of UNICEF and other agencies.

Anti-Trafficking

• Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies, from Rise Learning Network, aims to educate child welfare workers, encourage the development of identifying and serving victims and understanding how unstable living situations can make children especially vulnerable to trafficking.
• Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, from Rise Learning Network, highlights the realities of human trafficking in armed conflict. The report focuses on child soldiers, forced labor and sexual slavery.

Program Development

• Formative Evaluation Toolkit, from The Children’s Bureau, is primarily intended for child welfare agencies and professionals to use in partnership with their evaluators, introduces the concept of formative evaluation, a method for evaluating programs during early implementation in order to inform program improvement and assess readiness for rigorous summative evaluation. (Description from source)