Category: Your State

Sources for State information on Refugee programs

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to the sleuthing of citizens of Emporia, KS,  we are learning more things we didn’t know that should help others of you trying to understand this complicated Federal program called Refugee Resettlement.   We have maintained all along that this program is becoming increasingly contentious because local citizens are not fully briefed about the Federal plans that will change the character of their cities and towns.  Citizens then become justifiably angry because they are not given the facts and have to dig for them themselves.

This information was made available to citizens of Emporia in the last couple of days, we should have seen it sooner.   The Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement, has a division called the Division of Refugee Assistance (DRA) whose mission is described below:  

The Division of Refugee Assistance (DRA) was created to oversee and provide guidance to State-administered programs that provide assistance and services to refugees, asylees, certain Amerasian immigrants, Cuban and Haitian Entrants, and Victims of Human Trafficking (henceforth referred to collectively as “refugees”). DRA monitors program planning, provision of services, and provides technical assistance to ensure compliance with federal regulations governing the delivery of refugee assistance and services, including cash and medical assistance.

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MISSION

DRA provides direction to States to ensure that refugees are provided assistance and services through State-administered programs that enable them to become employed and economically self-sufficient as soon as possible after their arrival in the United States.

You can read a summary of social service programs and grants programs for refugees here.

Go here for recent state grant figures, number of cases managed and to find your state’s Refugee office. Our previous post on this database is here.

Sorry it’s been slow-going on “your state”

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I can tell that lots of you have been going to our “your state” page and probably coming away disappointed that I haven’t managed to put more state information up.  It’s just that there is so much interesting news about refugees its hard to squeeze in the time, but I promise to get to work on it after tomorrow.    Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Notes for the folks in Emporia

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I haven’t put Kansas on “Your state” yet but I promised yesterday to get you some information on Kansas and refugee resettlement, so here you go:

Go to the handy database at the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.   You will see statistics such as only 51% of refugees brought to Kansas  in 2006 found employment.  Average pay was $7.86 an hour (can’t take care of a family on that).

For the 2005 ORR Report to Congress go here.  Scroll down to Appendix A for refugee admission numbers by state.

Go to this interesting article at VDare about your Senator’s past role in the Somali refugee issue.

Your local Catholic Charities is a subcontractor of the US Conferance of Catholic Bishops.  Go here , here and here for more information.

We have covered several stories involving Somali “cultural” problems like abuse of women and female genital mutilation.  Go to our coverage here, here, here.

Also, some of you might want to read Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s rivoting book Infidel to get a better understanding of Somali Muslim culture.

**** Note to “reservist” a commentor to the Gazette who said,   “Imagine how you would feel if Iraqis or Afghanis started pouring into Emporia tomorrow.”  The Iraqis are coming, maybe not to Emporia yet, but the US is taking 12,000 Iraqi refugees this year and if Sen. Kennedy has his way the number will be even larger.  See our Iraqi category here.  We have posted 49 times on this hot topic!

Interesting statistics about your state

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

 Your tax dollars:

I just came across this interesting data base on each state.   It is at the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).   One can see the number of refugee cases and how much federal grant money is being allocated to your state.   For instance you could have fun with the numbers by dividing the federal grant money by the number of refugees in the caseload for a given year.   I just ran a few numbers and learned that some states get in the vicinity of $11,000 per refugee case (and that is just the money going to the state office and does not include money going directly to the volags).  

 Here is even a better one,  West Virginia resettled one (yes, 1) refugee case in 2006 and received a federal grant totaling $100,522.  Sen. Bobby Byrd in action?

 There is other useful information too.   Check it out here.

Questions welcome

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We have been plugging away trying to get more state information up in our “Your State” page linked above.  However, it takes awhile and we work on it when we can.   If you don’t see your state yet, please just e-mail us at the address under contact information at the right and we will be happy to help you get started researching in your state.   Afterall, we want this to be a community organizing site and one of our goals is to encourage grassroots involvement in directing the future of your community.