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Recruiting foster parents for unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to finding homes for teenagers. While many potential foster parents express a desire to foster, common apprehensions about welcoming teens into their homes may deter them from pursuing licensure. Hesitancy to foster teenagers is often due to a lack…
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Switchboard was an integral partner in the 2024 North American Refugee Health Conference (NARHC), which took place this August in Minneapolis, Minnesota, often called the “birthplace” of refugee health. The NARHC highlighted the importance of including voices with lived refugee experience; recognized refugee health as a global continuum; and emphasized cross-sector collaboration and international best…
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This blog by Switchboard’s partner, Refugee Housing Solutions, introduces the Housing Hub & Directory, a new online platform designed to support housing initiatives for newcomers across the U.S. This resource aims to connect resettlement agencies and other providers and individuals supporting ORR-eligible populations with vital housing information and services. The blog emphasizes the crucial role…
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This blog post is part of a series dedicated to supporting newcomer populations with specific industry aspirations. Check out Switchboard’s blog post on Supporting Job Seekers with Backgrounds in Aviation to learn how service providers can recertify foreign-trained professionals as pilots or in adjacent aviation careers. The Appeal of Engineering in the U.S. Engineering jobs…
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For providers to deliver the best possible services to newcomers, they must be able to measure the success of past and ongoing projects—with a basis in concrete, rigorous data. This blog post, written by Switchboard’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team, will introduce you to some best practices for measuring success: developing a theory of change,…
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This blog post explores five practical resources you can use to help newcomers access affordable internet. The blog covers a range of solutions, from leveraging community resources to navigating offers from internet service providers. For newcomers to the U.S., having affordable internet is crucial—for everything from job searches to educational opportunities, from staying connected with…
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The primary goal of all projects serving newcomers is to impact their lives positively. To achieve this goal, projects must provide services shown to have positive changes. Integrating evidence-based practices early in a project’s cycle can help increase the measurable impacts of programming. This blog post explains the importance of evidence-based projects in the resettlement…
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Communicating program data to stakeholders in your community is an important skill that can help to both highlight your program’s success and build impactful partnerships. Going into this process, it is important to understand the concept of a stakeholder as well as which stakeholders are most relevant to your project. Identifying Stakeholders A stakeholder is…
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This blog post explores the importance of helping newcomers familiarize themselves with well-established technologies in the U.S. while also empowering them to participate in and benefit from emerging technologies. Below, we highlight four newcomers who have actively used tools such as voice-controlled technology, GPT chat bots, e-commerce platforms, and gamified instruction. By examining these examples…
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By leaning on protective factors, schools can help refugee students navigate traumatic stressors and recognize their unique strengths. In this blog, we will highlight five key protective factors school settings can deploy to support refugee students’ academic achievement and well-being. 1. Supportive Connections with Adults and Peers Positive relationships with both adults and peers are…
