I first told you about this excellent blog here. This church group in Wisconsin is resettling refugees the old fashioned way—one family at a time. It has been our reform suggestion from the earliest days of writing this blog that we go back to this method of refugee resettlement. Although these Wisconsin Burmese refugees are still linked and still get some funding from federal government contractors and the taxpayer, at least they have the best chance of assimilating by being helped at every step of the way by a caring group of people.
Most refugee resettlement these days is done by federal contractors (10 major contractors who monopolize the program and their approximately 300 subcontractors) who bring in large groups of refugees and care for them to varying degrees. We hear reports of refugees virtually being dropped off in communities by agencies too overloaded to give them a proper support system.
Scroll down the blog postings by Jeffrey Kirk and notice the detailed accounting of how much volunteer time and church donations are going into helping their limited number of families.
Also, take note that Mr. Kirk is working on a “how-to” guide for refugee resettlement. You might want to sign up to be notified when it becomes available.