Introduction to Agencies working in Refugee Resettlement
This list works down from the federal level at the top to the local level at the bottom.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - www.uscis.gov
Once the United Nations and U.S. embassies refer a refugee case to consider for resettlement, USCIS officers at DHS conduct individual interviews and clearances/ USCIS makes the final determination for admission. USCIS is working with refugees BEFORE they reach the US and its goal is first to filter out anybody dangerous and second to identify candidates who fit US priorities, which include victims of torture, people with serious medical issues and women who are head of their household (widows).
Department of State
Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) – www.state.gov/j/prm
PRM funds and manages several Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) located in places like Jordan and Turkey. Potential refugees may be referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, by a U.S. Embassy, or by an authorized non-governmental organization (NGO). Once a referral is made, the RSC helps the refugees prepare their case file for presentation to the Department of Homeland Security: taking photos, checking the facts in the files, collecting information for the security clearance process, etc.
Applicants are then interviewed by an officer of DHS' United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The interviewer adjudicates the case. If approved, the applicant and his/her family undergo medical exams, which are standard for all applicants seeking to reside permanently in the United States. This checking process can take 12-24 months.
PRM also runs the refugee Reception & Placement Program (www.state.gov/j/prm/ra/index.htm). This Bureau works with the nine voluntary agencies (see below) to decide which accepted refugees will go where and which of the nine agencies will sponsor them. Its goal is to make sure refugees go where they have the best chance of becoming self-sufficient: where they will find affordable housing, job opportunities, and support services such as ESL and job training. Refugees finally approved for admission are offered a short cultural orientation program to introduce them to life in the United States. Once all security and health checks are complete, refugees are scheduled for travel to the US.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families
Office of Refugee Settlement (ORR) – www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr
ORR gets involved AFTER the refugees arrive in the United States and its goal is to help refugees attain self-sufficiency. ORR works through grants. These grants fund state offices such as the Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) in Massachusetts. These state offices then distribute additional federal funding from ORR and PRM to local affiliates of the nine national voluntary agencies who actually work with the refugees. ORR’s Regional Representative in Massachusetts is Julie Munro 617.565.3671.
MASSACHUSETTS STATE LEVEL
MA Health and Human Services
Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) - www.mass.gov/ori.
ORI passes on federal money it has received from ORR (HHS) and PRM (State) to local agencies that are actually providing services to help make refugees self-sufficient. A limited amount of additional MA state money is used to support citizenship and employment services to refugees
NATIONAL LEVEL PRIVATE NONPROFITS
Nine National Voluntary Agencies (“volags”)
These nine “Volags” work with the Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) to carry out the Refugee Admissions Reception and Placement (R&P) Program. Every week, representatives of each of these nine agencies meet to review the biographic information and other case records sent by the overseas Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) to determine where a refugee will be resettled in the United States. During this meeting, the resettlement agencies match the particular needs of each incoming refugee with the specific resources available in a local community. If a refugee has relatives in the United States, he or she is likely to be resettled near or with them. Otherwise, the resettlement agency that agrees to sponsor the case decides on the best match between a community’s resources and the refugee’s needs.
Once the refugee family arrives, their assigned Volag is responsible for providing initial services, which include housing, essential furnishings, food, necessary seasonal clothing, cultural orientation, and assistance accessing social, medical, and employment services for the refugees’ first 30 - 90 days in the United States. The funding for those services is provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at HHS. The money filters down through the state offices to local agencies affiliated with the nine national agencies.
The nine national agencies are as follows (starred agencies have eastern Massachusetts affiliates):
LOCAL LEVEL VOLAG AFFILIATES
Voluntary Agency Affiliates are local service agencies that provide direct services to refugees resettled in their area. There are about 250 such affiliates across the country working under the oversight of the nine national “volags.” Their funding comes in part from the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services. They also raise money from private donors and foundations. Their services to refugees include short-term cash, medical assistance, case management services, ESL classes, and job preparation/employment services.
A complete list of affiliates in Massachusetts is available here. The four closest to us are:
LOCAL REFERRAL AGENCIES
Just as the nine national agencies carry out their responsibilities through their local affiliates, the local affiliates draw on a second tier of not-for-profit agencies to help provide direct support services. The local affiliate serves as the case manager and service coordinator for the refugee family, and it refers the family to these second-tier agencies for health assessments, job preparation, and English language training when the affiliate itself does not provide them or when the other agency is closer to the refugee family's residence. The local affiliate also works with local schools, the Mass Department of Transitional Assistance (for welfare and food stamps), and local self-help groups that serve a specific cultural group.
The State of Massachusetts provides a helpful directory of refugee service providers, including both the Volag Affiliates and the second-tier direct service agencies.
The membership list of MIRA (Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition) provides another extensive list of refugee service agencies working in Massachusetts.
The second-tier agencies we are most likely to work with include:
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - www.uscis.gov
Once the United Nations and U.S. embassies refer a refugee case to consider for resettlement, USCIS officers at DHS conduct individual interviews and clearances/ USCIS makes the final determination for admission. USCIS is working with refugees BEFORE they reach the US and its goal is first to filter out anybody dangerous and second to identify candidates who fit US priorities, which include victims of torture, people with serious medical issues and women who are head of their household (widows).
Department of State
Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) – www.state.gov/j/prm
PRM funds and manages several Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) located in places like Jordan and Turkey. Potential refugees may be referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, by a U.S. Embassy, or by an authorized non-governmental organization (NGO). Once a referral is made, the RSC helps the refugees prepare their case file for presentation to the Department of Homeland Security: taking photos, checking the facts in the files, collecting information for the security clearance process, etc.
Applicants are then interviewed by an officer of DHS' United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The interviewer adjudicates the case. If approved, the applicant and his/her family undergo medical exams, which are standard for all applicants seeking to reside permanently in the United States. This checking process can take 12-24 months.
PRM also runs the refugee Reception & Placement Program (www.state.gov/j/prm/ra/index.htm). This Bureau works with the nine voluntary agencies (see below) to decide which accepted refugees will go where and which of the nine agencies will sponsor them. Its goal is to make sure refugees go where they have the best chance of becoming self-sufficient: where they will find affordable housing, job opportunities, and support services such as ESL and job training. Refugees finally approved for admission are offered a short cultural orientation program to introduce them to life in the United States. Once all security and health checks are complete, refugees are scheduled for travel to the US.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families
Office of Refugee Settlement (ORR) – www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr
ORR gets involved AFTER the refugees arrive in the United States and its goal is to help refugees attain self-sufficiency. ORR works through grants. These grants fund state offices such as the Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) in Massachusetts. These state offices then distribute additional federal funding from ORR and PRM to local affiliates of the nine national voluntary agencies who actually work with the refugees. ORR’s Regional Representative in Massachusetts is Julie Munro 617.565.3671.
MASSACHUSETTS STATE LEVEL
MA Health and Human Services
Office for Refugees and Immigrants (ORI) - www.mass.gov/ori.
ORI passes on federal money it has received from ORR (HHS) and PRM (State) to local agencies that are actually providing services to help make refugees self-sufficient. A limited amount of additional MA state money is used to support citizenship and employment services to refugees
- Executive Director of ORI: Mary Truong 617.727.7888 [email protected]
- Contact listed for ORI: Carol Chandler 617.727.7888 x315, [email protected]
- State Refugee Health Coordinator: Jennifer Cochran 617.983.6596
NATIONAL LEVEL PRIVATE NONPROFITS
Nine National Voluntary Agencies (“volags”)
These nine “Volags” work with the Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) to carry out the Refugee Admissions Reception and Placement (R&P) Program. Every week, representatives of each of these nine agencies meet to review the biographic information and other case records sent by the overseas Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) to determine where a refugee will be resettled in the United States. During this meeting, the resettlement agencies match the particular needs of each incoming refugee with the specific resources available in a local community. If a refugee has relatives in the United States, he or she is likely to be resettled near or with them. Otherwise, the resettlement agency that agrees to sponsor the case decides on the best match between a community’s resources and the refugee’s needs.
Once the refugee family arrives, their assigned Volag is responsible for providing initial services, which include housing, essential furnishings, food, necessary seasonal clothing, cultural orientation, and assistance accessing social, medical, and employment services for the refugees’ first 30 - 90 days in the United States. The funding for those services is provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at HHS. The money filters down through the state offices to local agencies affiliated with the nine national agencies.
The nine national agencies are as follows (starred agencies have eastern Massachusetts affiliates):
- Church World Service (CWS) www.churchworldservice.org
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)** www.ecdcus.org
- Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) www.episcopalmigrationministries.org
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)** www.hias.org
- International Rescue Committee (IRC) www.rescue.org
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)** http://refugees.org
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) http://lirs.org
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)** www.usccb.org
- World Relief Corporation (WR) www.worldrelief.org
LOCAL LEVEL VOLAG AFFILIATES
Voluntary Agency Affiliates are local service agencies that provide direct services to refugees resettled in their area. There are about 250 such affiliates across the country working under the oversight of the nine national “volags.” Their funding comes in part from the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services. They also raise money from private donors and foundations. Their services to refugees include short-term cash, medical assistance, case management services, ESL classes, and job preparation/employment services.
A complete list of affiliates in Massachusetts is available here. The four closest to us are:
- Catholic Charities Refugee & Immigration Services in South Boston (affiliated with USCCB, #8 above)
http://www.ccab.org/?q=refugee-services - Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center in Jamaica Plain (affiliated with ECDC, #2 above)
http://www.riacboston.org/ - Jewish Family Service Of Metrowest in Framingham (affiliated with HIAS, #4 above)
http://www.jfsmw.org/ - International Institute of New England in Lowell, Lynn and Boston (affiliated with USCCRI, #6 above)
http://iine.org/services/
LOCAL REFERRAL AGENCIES
Just as the nine national agencies carry out their responsibilities through their local affiliates, the local affiliates draw on a second tier of not-for-profit agencies to help provide direct support services. The local affiliate serves as the case manager and service coordinator for the refugee family, and it refers the family to these second-tier agencies for health assessments, job preparation, and English language training when the affiliate itself does not provide them or when the other agency is closer to the refugee family's residence. The local affiliate also works with local schools, the Mass Department of Transitional Assistance (for welfare and food stamps), and local self-help groups that serve a specific cultural group.
The State of Massachusetts provides a helpful directory of refugee service providers, including both the Volag Affiliates and the second-tier direct service agencies.
The membership list of MIRA (Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition) provides another extensive list of refugee service agencies working in Massachusetts.
The second-tier agencies we are most likely to work with include:
- Lynn Community Health Center:
- Main office: 269 Union Street, Lynn, MA 01901
- Phone: 781-581-3900 (Fax 781-598-1050)
- This agency runs the Massachusetts Refugee Health Assessment Program for the North Shore
- New American Center
- 20 Wheeler St. Suite 401, Lynn, MA 01902
- [email protected], Tel: 781-593-0100, Fax: 781-599-3329
- Provides culturally appropriate and linguistically accessible social service assistance to refugees and immigrants in the Lynn area. For an summary of their services, click here.