Lyn Morland, MSW, MA, Director Bridging Refugee Youth & Children s Services (BRYCS)

Transcription

1 BRYCS Photo/Courtesy of CSS Anchorage Lyn Morland, MSW, MA, Director Bridging Refugee Youth & Children s Services (BRYCS) Heidi Ellis, PhD Children s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center (RHTAC) Dina Birman, PhD University of Illinois, Chicago, BRYCS TA Consultant This Webinar is made possible by funding from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (DHHS/ACF/ORR) 1

2 BRYCS and RHTAC are National Technical Assistance Centers for the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (DHHS/ACF/ORR), serving refugee and mainstream providers. BRYCS, a project of Migration and Refugee Services, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, provides TA and support on refugee children, youth, and families. RHTAC, a project of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), Refugee and Immigrant Health Program (RIHP), provides TA and support on refugee health and mental health. istockphoto.com bonniej BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

3 istockphoto.com bonniej Presentation Overview 1. Introductions 2. Risk and Protective Factors for Refugee Youth Adjustment 3. Promising Practices: Family Strengthening Youth Mentoring 4. Question & Answer BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

4 Heidi Ellis, PhD Heidi Ellis is the Director of the Children s Hospital Center for Refugee Trauma, Harvard Medical School, where she teaches and conducts research, and is a key member of the Refugee Health Technical Assistance Center (RHTAC) team. Heidi s primary focus is on the development and dissemination of interventions for refugee children and their families. Her recent work includes research on the role of stigma and discrimination in the mental health of resettled Somali adolescents, and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant adapting and implementing Trauma Systems Therapy for Somali refugees in a school setting. She will frame our approach today by speaking on risk and protective processes for refugee youth from an ecological perspective. 4

5 Social-Ecological Model Culture Neighborhood Peer Group School Family Individual BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

6 Pre-migration / migration Identity and beliefs targeted Disruption of basic scaffolding of childhood Separation from family, loss Trauma BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

7 Resettlement Discrimination Peer acceptance, acculturative stress, school readiness Intergenerational trauma, loss, acculturation Trauma BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

8 Somali Youth Experience Project N = 144 Ages 11-19, living in U.S. at least 1 year Community sample Lewiston Portland Boston BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

9 Trauma exposure 94% Trauma exposed Not exposed Average 7 traumatic events (range 0-22) BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

10 Consequences of traumatic stress Social Drug abuse Anti-social behavior Isolation/withdrawal Psychological Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reexperiencing, Avoidance, Hyperarousal Depression Conduct disorder Emotion Regulation Academic BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

11 Trauma and adjustment Trauma Adjustment Proximal aftermath: Ongoing war stress Distal aftermath: Ongoing resettlement stress BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

12 Trauma and adjustment Trauma Adjustment Proximal aftermath: Ongoing war stress Distal aftermath: Ongoing resettlement stress BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

13 Trauma, social connection, and adjustment Trauma Social Support at home Family Acculturative stress Discrimination PTSD Proximal aftermath: Ongoing war stress Distal aftermath: Ongoing resettlement stress BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

14 Trauma, social connection, and adjustment Trauma Social Support at home School Belonging Depression Discrimination Proximal aftermath: Ongoing war stress Distal aftermath: Ongoing resettlement stress BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

15 Trauma, social connection, and adjustment Trauma Social connection: Family School Community Adjustment Proximal aftermath: Ongoing war stress Distal aftermath: Ongoing resettlement stress BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

16 Lyn Morland, MSW, MA Lyn Morland, Director of Bridging Refugee Youth & Children s Services (BRYCS), has 30 years experience serving refugees and immigrants as a social worker and anthropologist, including developing and evaluating mental health programs for refugee youth here in the U.S. and in Asia and Latin America. She currently provides national consultation on refugee and immigrant children, youth, and families. In today s presentation, she will speak about programs that strengthen families and promote positive youth development. 16

17 The Power of Protective Factors Resilience research suggests that protective factors supports and opportunities that promote healthy behaviors are more predictive of adjustment than are risk factors risk factors predict negative outcomes in about 20 to 49 percent of a high risk population protective factors predict positive outcomes in 50 to 80 percent of a high-risk population (Rutter, 1987, 2000; Werner, 2001) A hopeful message! BRYCS Photo / Courtesy of CSS Anchorage BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

18 Protective Factors for Refugee Youth* BRYCS Photo/Youth Arts & Voices Family Attachment and Stability Social Skills, especially Bicultural Pro-social Relationships (adults, peers) The Role of Religion Academic Engagement/Achievement Community Resources - ECBOs * From BRYCS Strengths-Based Programming: The Example of Somali Refugee Youth BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

19 Social Connections & Strong Roots : Programs that Strengthen Families and Build Bridges to the Mainstream Family Strengthening Programs Mentoring Programs BRYCS Photo, Claudia Gilmore BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

20 Family Strengthening Programs istockphoto.com theboone BRYCS: Supporting Refugee Families highlights the Strengthening Families Program and the adaptation of EBPs for refugee families BRYCS: Helping Refugee Families Stay Together Strengthening Refugee Families and Marriages Programs Bicultural Skills Training - Entre Dos Mundos/Between Two Worlds, directly addresses the acculturation gap for immigrant families and discrimination, CDC-funded, needs more testing BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

21 istockphoto.com MissHibiscus EDM Curriculum The following themes are posed as questions for families to grapple with during sessions and between sessions as homework. 1) How is our family changing, how do we balance cultures? 2) What worries do youth have for parents, parents for youth? 3) When cultural conflict arises, how do we stay united? 4) How do we handle discrimination & support one another? 5) How do youth and parents participate in school? 6) How do we strengthen connections to US-born adults/peers? 7) Where will we be in ten years? 8) Review, integrate, evaluate, graduate, and celebrate! Smokowski & Bacallao 2006 BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

22 Results (RCT) At post-test: 84% completion rate BRYCS Photo / Courtesy of CSS Anchorage Youth experienced sig. lower levels of aggression, oppositional defiant behavior, and attention problems Youth and families improved on adaptability, bicultural support, and bicultural identity integration One year later: In addition to above improvements, levels of anxiety/depression, parent-youth conflict, and overall problems were significantly lower Long-term results were strongest for the group using psychodrama techniques Smokowski & Bacallao 2006 BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

23 Dina Birman, PhD Dina Birman, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois, Chicago, and BRYCS TA Consultant, has conducted research and written extensively on the acculturation and adjustment of refugees and immigrants across generations. She has particularly focused on the differences in acculturation between adolescents and their parents, and the implications of these differences for youth and family adaptation. Among her many roles, she has provided TA on refugee mental health for the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and has consulted on program development for those serving refugee youth and families for over 20 years. Dina will speak today on mentoring programs for refugee youth. 23

24 Mentoring Mentoring Goals: Instrumental Mentoring: tangible assistance istockphoto.com abbejon Developmental Mentoring: psychological Mentoring Context: School based Field based Mentoring Structures: Adult mentors Cross age (older peer, like a sibling) Family mentoring * Birman, D. & Morland, L. (in press). Immigrant and refugee youth. In D.L. DuBois & M.J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of Youth Mentoring, 2nd Edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

25 Consider Acculturation when designing a mentoring program Behavioral and language acculturation happen first; identification occurs later Kids adopt the new culture faster than parents (particularly language and behavior) Identity issues for children and young adults are very complex American identity? Ethnic identity? If their ethnic group is devalued by the larger society, important but difficult to have a positive ethnic identity Acculturation Gaps develop between children and parents. BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

26 istockphoto.com abbejon What does the current research tell us about mentoring as a strategy for refugee youth adjustment? * Informal mentoring (family, friends, teachers, etc) Most programs are school based, focused on academics Advantages to engaging entire family in field-based programs; empowering for parents Empower mentees by nurturing them to become mentors and program leaders Acculturation level should be taken into consideration Programs should address issues unique to refugee youth, such as family acculturation gaps * Birman, D. & Morland, L. (in press). Immigrant and refugee youth. In D.L. DuBois & M.J. Karcher (Eds.), Handbook of Youth Mentoring, 2nd Edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

27 Checklist for Practitioners 1. How do you address the acculturation gap between parents and youth? Consider family strengthening mentoring strategies such as assigning an individual mentor to an entire family or pairing with a mentor-family Focus initially on instrumental mentoring to facilitate trust and communicate support to parents of their own parenting practices Explore ways to support native language learning/ maintenance for the youth Explore ways to assist parents in understanding U.S. schools and peer norms to support their parenting practices. BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

28 2. What are you doing to serve the unique needs of newly arrived immigrants and refugees? Consider prioritizing an instrumental mentoring approach Consider pairing with U.S. born mentors to provide institutional agents to help with orientation to new settings such as school Consider cross-age paring with mentors who are immigrants but have lived in U.S. longer, and provide opportunities for mentees to later become mentors for newer arrivals BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

29 3. What are you doing to serve the unique needs of immigrant and refugee youth who have lived in the country longer? Consider prioritizing a developmental mentoring approach, particularly in dealing with issues of cultural/ethnic identity Adult mentors from the same ethnic/immigrant group, or from a similar immigration background may be particularly useful in serving as role models for how to integrate cultures and identities Structure mentoring so that it helps support the family to alleviate the negative impact of acculturation gaps that develop over time BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

30 4. How are you addressing the problem of interrupted schooling? Promote a school-based instrumental mentoring approach that emphasizes academic support and tutoring Couple mentoring with academic support for extended periods of time (several years after arrival), particularly for those with backgrounds of no prior literacy or schooling Utilize a field-based family-focused mentoring approach if literacy is an issue for the entire family. BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

31 5. How are you addressing the problem of traumatic experiences? Consider developmental mentoring from adults with good training in trauma-informed services to help youth develop a trusting relationship 6. How can you compensate for the lack of local ethnic community? Utilize cross-ethnic mentoring to provide additional sources of instrumental, emotional, and social support Require cultural competency training for staff and mentors BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

32 The Go-Betweener Mentoring Program (Culture Connect, Atlanta, GA) Pairs refugee and immigrant youth ages 7 17 with ethnically and linguistically matched adult mentors, so that newcomer youth can build relationships with adults who have themselves successfully navigated the acculturation experience and know what it is like to go-between two cultures. Goals are to prevent or reverse barriers to success, develop self-esteem, help mentees set goals, and instill pride in one's culture and comfort in American culture. Mentors work with individuals or sibling groups and are encouraged to be a resource for the entire family. Culture Connect has developed strong partnerships with area refugee resettlement and ethnic community agencies. positive BRYCS Photo / Courtesy of CSS Anchorage BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

33 African Immigrant Mentoring (AIM) program (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, Portland, OR) istockphoto.com peeterv Matches young African refugee and immigrant women (14-23) facing adjustment challenges with adult mentors from the community Youth who complete a year of mentoring and who graduate from the service-learning course may become peer mentors Program graduates are provided with leadership opportunities on the agency s African Youth Advisory Council BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

34 Principles for community-based youth services based on key risk and protective factors BRYCS Photo / Courtesy of CSS Anchorage BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

35 Principles* 1. Partner with the community from the start 2. Engage entire family, especially parents 3. Strengthen positive ethnic identification and bicultural identity 4. Encourage youth leadership in the program and in their communities 5. Support academic success and career development 6. Recruit and support staff from the community 7. Build bridges with mainstream organizations and businesses * Morland, L. (2007). Promising practices in positive youth development with immigrants and refugees. The Prevention Researcher, 14(4): istockphoto.com Claudiad BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

36 BRYCS Provides National Technical Assistance on refugee children & families BRYCS Photo/Catholic Charities of TN Web site & Clearinghouse 5,000 resources Spotlight Briefs, Promising Practices, Resource Lists, Webinars, Toolkits Monthly What s New BRYCS Publications Monthly Bulletin Alert Consultations National TA Network Experts available by telephone ( ) & (info@brycs.org) Discussion Listserv Topical trainings by request BRYCS is supported by the Office of Refugee Resettlement ACF Grant # 90 RB 0032 BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

37 Selected BRYCS Youth Publications BRYCS Toolkits Growing Up in a New Country: A Positive Youth Development Toolkit for Working with Refugees and Immigrants Refugee Children in the U.S. Schools: A Toolkit for Teachers and School Personnel - Refugee and Immigrant Youth and Bullying FAQ BRYCS Spotlights Adapting Family Strengthening Programs that Build on Assets New Directions in Mentoring Refugee Youth Strengths-Based Programming: Somali Refugee Youth Helping Refugee Youth Find the Right Path Selected Funding Opportunities for Youth Programming BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

38 RHTAC Provides National Technical Assistance on refugee health and mental health Refugee health & mental health resources ( Webinars Continuing Education Credits Community Dialogue discussion forum Trainings Workshops Monthly e-newsletter BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

39 Selected RHTAC Resources Website Youth and Mental Health webpage Community Dialogue online discussion forum for refugee-serving providers BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,

40 BRYCS Photo / Courtesy of CSS Anchorage BRYCS & RHTAC, Strong Roots & Bright Futures, February 8,