REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROBLEMS

Following the discovery of problems in the refugee resettlement program in Atlanta, similar programs across the country have come under closer scrutiny, and while many of them do an excellent job of serving the refugees, government reports indicate that at least some of them are failing in their duty to provide resettlement services to refugees. The Department of State, facing lawsuits over its refusal to release documents relating to the programs, recently made reports based on 18 audits available to the public.

The federal government is not responsible for resettling refugees in the US. Instead, this responsibility falls to 440 charitable organizations, with the State Department providing oversight and basic funding of $740 for each refugee. It is this supervision that has come under fire as reports of charities struggling to provide services come to light.

Some of the more poorly run resettlement programs include agencies in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Michigan, and Memphis, Tennessee. In Washington, communications between the agency and refugees were so poor that refugees did not understand their rights and responsibilities. Also, the provision of basic services was quite poor. Staffers in the Detroit charity simple did not understand the refugee resettlement program, and the government has stopped using it to resettle refugees. In Memphis, refugees were placed in substandard housing, and money was so scarce that a family of 10 was given only $75 to help them get established.

Some of the better programs, according to the State Department, are the ones in San Jose, California ,Waterloo, Iowa, and Harrisonburg, Virginia. In San Jose, Catholic charities spend about $8,000 on rent and household supplies for each refugee family. In Waterloo, Lutheran Charities take only one week to process refugee paperwork. In Harrisonburg, the Church World Service ensures that employable refugees have jobs within 90 days.

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