State of Florida Department of Children and Families THE NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR:

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1 State of Florida Department of Children and Families Rick Scott Governor David E. Wilkins Secretary M E M O R A N D U M DATE: March 14, 2013 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: Members of the Orlando Area Refugee Task Force Pedro Padua, Refugee Services (RS) February 13, 2013 TF Meeting Minutes THE NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR: Date: April 10, 2013 Time: 10:00 A.M. - 12:00 Noon Location: Senior Resource Alliance 988 Woodcock Road Orlando, FL Contact: Pedro Padua Office: (407) Cell: (407) Fax: (407) Pedro_Padua@dcf.state.fl.us This task force has been active in the Orlando area for many years. The participants are representatives of various government agencies, private not-for-profit organizations and mutual assistance associations. An average of about thirty to thirty-five people attends these meetings on a regular basis. The purpose of these meetings is to increase awareness of the refugee populations, share best practices, build collaborations between agencies, spot trends in refugee populations, characteristics or movements, help create good communication among service providers; get informed about upcoming community events, request for proposals, training, workshops, conferences, etc., at the local, state and national level; discuss refugee program service needs and possible solutions to meeting those needs. Meeting participants also receive updates, information and clarification on new federal and state regulations and policy changes pertaining to refugees. If there are any issues that you would like to include in the agenda, please contact me at the above address. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting! 400 W. Robinson Street, S1111D, Orlando, Florida Mission: Protect the Vulnerable, Promote Strong and Economically Self-Sufficient Families, and Advance Personal and Family Recovery and Resiliency

2 ORLANDO AREA REFUGEE TASK FORCE MEETING INTRODUCTIONS This meeting was held at City of Orlando Primrose Recreation Center, located at 595 N. Primrose Drive, Orlando, FL Thirty two people were in attendance. Taddese Fessehaye, Community Liaison Unit Manager and Pedro Padua, Community Liaison for the Central Region represented the Department of Children and Families, Refugee Services (RS) Program. Everyone introduced themselves and the agency they represented. SPECIAL PRESENTATION Mark Batchelor, Manager Financial Stability Initiatives for Heart of Florida United Way, made a presentation about United Way s Prosperity Campaign of Central Florida. He explained the Campaign has four focus areas: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA); The Familywize Drug Discount Card and the Un and Under-bank populations. Mr. Batchelor said that the Earned Income Tax Credit is a benefit that reduces the tax burden for working people who earn low-to -moderate incomes and many people don t take advantage of it. The amount of EITC credits a taxpayer is entitled to depends on the following factors: Income, Age (25 and under 65), Marital Status, Family Size (eligible child dependent) and Residency in Florida of 6 months and 1 day. Income limits Single Married Tax Year 2012 maximum credit: No Children $13,980 $19,190 $5,891 - with 3 or more qualifying children One Child $36,920 $42,130 $5,236 - with 2 qualifying children Two Children $41,952 $47,162 $3,169 - with 1 qualifying child Three or More Children $45,060 $50,270 $475 - with no qualifying children Note: The income and the number of qualifying children is what determines the amount of tax credit. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) There are 54 sites throughout the tri-county area that provide free tax preparation by IRS-trained volunteers. There are No filing fees 100% of refund goes directly to the taxpayer for households with incomes up to $51,000. For a listing of the Free Credit Preparation Sites please visit: Mr. Batchelor indicated the Florida Prosperity Partnership Bank on Florida Initiative seeks to reach the unbanked population and help them establish relationships with local banks. He highlighted some of the Consequences of Unbanked are: $8 billion in fees to alternative servicers (includes pay day loan fees); average charge for cashing paycheck is $40 which translates into 2

3 $1,000-$2,000 annually for check cashing services. A low wage worker who never utilized mainstream financial services over 40 year full time work history would spend $40,000 on check cashing services. If the $40,000 had been regularly invested in savings bonds, would have $360,000 at retirement! Familywize Prescription Drug Discount Card Mr. Batchelor explained the Prescription Discount Card is accepted at over 55,000 pharmacies in US and it is available to any user regardless of income. Most users have average savings of 35% ($20) per prescription. It is ideal for patients who are uninsured or are prescribed medicine not covered by their plan. Mr. Batchelor is available for public presentations and he can be reach by phone at (407) or by at: Mark.Batchelor@hfuw.org GENERAL UPDATES United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): Kristen J. Smith, Community Relations Officer for USCIS District 10 which includes Orlando, made the following announcements: USCIS is holding its National Vietnamese-Language Public Engagement on February 21, 2013 from 11:00 12:30 eastern time. More information about the event can be found at USCIS Orlando Field Office will host an Asylum Information Session in the near future. Kristen Smith will be sending out the information once a date for the session has been established. USCIS is offering outreach to organizations that work with refugee youth. USCIS will meet with the youth to talk about the consequences of criminal activity and how that can affect immigration status and naturalization. USCIS will also talk about the responsibilities and benefits of U.S. Citizenship. ACCESS: Meg Petroski, Senior Human Services Program Specialist, reminded everyone about the 30 day change in policy. The policy requires an interview to be completed within 30 days of application or application will be closed. People will have up to 60 days to submit pending information, but benefits will not be retroactive. She mention that people should be able to get through to someone on the dedicated phone lines when calling for an interview. Taddese Fessehaye asked if benefits could be denied to an applicant because he/she is homeless. Lodia Rojas, RAP Unit Supervisor, replied that a mailing address and a collateral contact to verify he/she is a resident are needed to process application. If no address is provided application will be pended; but, there is no way to send pending notice for information. She suggested individuals could make arrangements at nearest post office for general delivery mail at their location; but an ID will be required to claim mail. 3

4 Maria Guzman, RAP Unit Application reviewer indicated she has seen instances where name entered on application does not match name shown on Since they rely on this information for SAVE verification and referrals to Social Security, it creates problems if information doesn t match. It was explained this could be attributed to clients doing applications on their own. She also reminded everyone assisting with applications to note that applicant is a refugee; as well as, the RAP case number and contact phone numbers for the applicant and case worker assisting with application in case they are unable to reach the applicant. New Refugee Arrivals: Catholic Charities Jennifer Powers, Resettlement and Match Grant Program Coordinator, reported they had 35 arrivals during the first quarter. In January they had 17 arrivals (14 Cuban & 3 Iraqi). For February they are expecting a total of 23 arrivals (14 Cubans, 4 Somalis, 3 Sudanese, 1 Iraqi, and 1 Eritrean). Jennifer mentioned noticing a trend with Cuban clients, they tend to be older late 50's, 60's, and 70's and less able to work. Two cases in particular had sons (in their 20's) that were told after each interview that they were expected to go to the US but at the last minute were not permitted to travel (one was literally at the airport after the orientation was given). They were pulled aside and told there was an unspecified problem with their documentation. They still don't know when or if they will be allowed to come or what the problem was that kept them from being allowed to leave. They have older couple in their 60's that have family members that applied at the same time that they did, however they were permitted to come, but their adult children were denied. She just rejected a case of a 70-something couple that wanted to come to Orlando as free case. She mentioned there have been others, women in their 80's, as free cases. It was suggested a possible reason the children were not allowed to travel could have been they were no longer eligible as dependents of their parents but could file their own petition as adults. Lutheran Services of Florida - Kathryn Geller, Resettlement and MG Program Manager for LSF Orlando reported they had 17 arrivals in October (2 Cubans, 1 Burmese, 5 Syrians and 9 Iraqi) and 14 in November (6 Iraqis, 5 Cubans, 1 Eritreans and 2 Congolese). She mentioned receiving an older couple that is not employable. RS-CONTRACTED PROVIDER UPDATES Catholic Charities of Central Florida: Richard Logue, Director of Immigration and Refugee Services, reported Comprehensive Refugee Services (CRS) new contract year started on October 1, Although they contracted to serve 1,200 clients, they now have a caseload of 2,582 clients. He added case management and ESOL are the two components most heavily affected. Employment is still averaging 50 placements per month. In response to a suggestion by Taddese regarding limiting services by time of arrival, Richard said it has not been officially requested because it will not have much of an impact since most clients are new arrivals. Debbie Cruz, Case Manager Supervisor, mentioned they have 70 to 80 Haitians on caseload whose I-94 cannot be extended and 10 to 15 of them are at risk of losing their jobs because their EAD is expiring. She said Haitians are being paroled for 1 year. Kristen J. Smith, USCIS Public Relations Representative asked Catholic Charities to send her an with the details so she can 4

5 look at possible solutions. Orange County Public Schools: Claudia Good, Refugee Adult Education Program Coordinator, reported they have close to 500 students enrolled in the program; including the first 18 at Seminole College with a waiting list of 20 to 25 for next semester and a strong enrollment at the Osceola Adult Learning Center (ALCO). Community Coordinated Care for Children: Marie Alicea, Eligibility Specialist, reported that they have enrolled 44 children and 36 are on Waiting list. County Health Departments: Seminole County Health Department There was no one present to report. Orange County Health Department Kathy Walker, TB Program Manager, reported that they are seeing 30 clients per week and 25 to 30 follow ups. She said they now have flu vaccine at a cost of $ She said immunization records from home country are accepted; when people don t have any records they are required to take a whole battery of shots, but there is no cost to refugees. Taddese asked if she was experiencing any problems with scheduling. Kathy replied there had been some questions raised recently and indicated Pedro is coordinating a meeting with all parties to identify any issues and see how best to address any concerns. Osceola County Health Department Nathaly Acosta, Manager of Epidemiology and TB Control, reported 50 assessments were done during October and November; primarily from Cuba, Venezuela and Iraq. She added there were 4 Iraqis that in migrated from Missouri. REFUGEE SERVICES UPDATE RS 2013 Statewide Consultation: Taddese mentioned plans for Statewide Consultation to be held here in Orlando at the Portofino Hotel on May 8 to 10, 2013 are coming along quite well. He said they are still looking for speakers for some of the workshops, but for the most part workshops have been defined. Welcoming America: Taddese gave an overview of the Welcoming Initiative indicating it started in Tennessee when local residents were feeling uneasy about new refugees resettling in their town. The initiative seeks to bring people together, interact and learn from each other. He said that in response to the GAO Report which stressed the need for more consultation with the local community leaders before refugees are resettled, the Office of Refugee Resettlement contracted with Welcoming America to provide technical support to groups interested on starting a Welcoming project in their communities. Welcoming America will be one of the presenters at the Consultation. World Refugee Day: Richard Logue reported staff is planning 2 or 3 events on separate days, but dates and event activities have not been determined yet. They are exploring ways to partner with UCF and the United Nations Association Chapter. He hopes to have more concrete plans for next meeting. Taddese suggested considering other days beside the 20 th to see if Hiram can attend. 5

6 NEXT MEETING Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Location: Senior Resource Alliance 988 Woodcock Rd Orlando, FL Contact: Phone: (407) (407)