Goal Statement

• Link here to the Refugee Resettlement overview page for the goal statement related to this issue brief.

Scope of the Problem  

• BRIA (Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance) in the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, New York State, oversees the coordination of refugee and immigrant services in NYS, working with various regional immigrant agencies.^[1]
• BRIA provides a Population Statistics Report that is a summary of population statistics for all clients served in their programs.  Information comes from the Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS), which shows refugees arriving in NYS, and the BRIA Information Network (BIN) which reports data on all foreign-born populations served by BRIA.
• The fiscal year representing arriving refugees is October 1 - September 30.
• A total of 2,979 refugees resettled in New York State in 2007.  Eighty percent of those refugees resettled in upstate New York (n=2,552).  This represented an increase over FY2006, when 2,311 refugees came to NYS, 76% upstate.
• The top eight countries from which refugees fled in 2007 were Burma (55% of arrivals); the former Soviet Union - Russia and Ukraine (7%); Africa - Burundi, Somalia, Liberia, Congo - (20%) and Iran (3%) with 15 percent from various other countries of the world.^[2]
• Most of the arrival counties are in upstate New York, demonstrating a shift away from resettling refugees in New York City--a trend that began in 2004. 
• Erie, Onondaga, Oneida and Monroe counties account for 2/3 of all refugees receiving services upstate.   
• Citizenship programs in NYS served 5,174 clients in FFY 2007 - top countries of origin were: China, Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Ecuador, Bosnia, Columbia, Uzbekistan, and Mexico.  These nine countries of origin accounted for 69 percent of all non-citizens receiving classes or other services for citizenship and demonstrate the wide appeal to immigrants beyond those arriving as refugees.^[3]

Past Policy  

• The Federal Refugee Act of 1980 brought together a network of resettlement agencies across the country and public agencies to comprise a national Refugee Resettlement Program.  New York State responded by forming the Refugee Assistance Program (RAP), which was renamed REAP-the Refugee/Entrant Assistance Program in the early 1990s.  This was due to the Bureau incorporating services for immigrants with the Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986).  Each state has a State Refugee Coordinator, which in NYS is the BRIA Director.  The responsibility of each State Coordinator is "to promote an integrated approach to policy and program development and to assure efficient use of service and benefit resources." ^[4]  

Current Policy  

• BRIA's mission today is "to direct local resources which assist refugees and their families in achieving economic and social self-sufficiency, to aid other legal immigrants in their transition to life in the U.S., to help repatriated citizens arrive safely at home, provide assistance to victims of human trafficking, and assure proper foster care for unaccompanied refugee and entrant minors."^[5]

• New York State issues a "Request for Proposals (RFP) each year that agencies serving refugees must apply for in order to receive funding beyond the initial resettlement. Employment Preparation Education (EPE) funding can be used for  English language classes that are geared toward employment with an emphasis on work readiness, and funding is related to performance outcomes, with the agency specifying whether it wishes to be measured on outcomes of employment or decreased dependence on public welfare programs. 

• Employment outcomes are used as a measure of integration, and allocations of dollars are employment-based.

Policy Options   

New York State Refugee Resettlement Program Model

Key Organizations/Individuals   contacts for public and private organizations and key individuals

• Peter Vogelaar, Executive Director, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, 315-738-1083. 

• Tom Hart, State Refugee Coordinator and Director, Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Affairs (BRIA), 518-474-2975

Glossary of Terms

• Link here to the Refugee Resettlement overview page for the glossary of terms related to this issue brief 

Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material 

• Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS), http://www.wrapsnet.org. 

• Bureau of Refugee & Immigrant Assistance (BRIA), Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.  www.otda.state.ny.us/main/bria.

Footnotes

1. BRIA ▲
2. Bria Population Data for FFY 2007, http://www.otda.state.ny.us/main/bria/arrivaldata.htm, retrieved on 5/8/09. ▲
3. Ibid. ▲
4. What is BRIA? www.otda.state.ny.us/main/bria. (retrieved on 5/8/09). ▲
5. Ibid. ▲