Switchboard Blog
Switchboard’s blog posts offer a wide range of insights on the newcomer experience, including practical tips for navigating the resettlement process, resource lists tailored to community needs, case studies about relevant programs, engaging stories of successful integration, and more.
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Switchboard’s Annual Survey of Refugee Service Providers (ASRSP): Early Insights and Next Steps
The U.S. refugee resettlement system is evolving rapidly. Shifting policies and new technologies are reshaping how services are delivered, often in ways that directly impact both refugees and the service providers who support them. Yet despite their central role, the voices of service providers are rarely captured systematically. Without their perspective, policymakers and program leaders…
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With the economic and health crises that came with COVID-19, many service providers were forced to shift priorities with clients. This was the case at Jewish Family Service of Seattle (JFS) of Seattle, where we quickly pivoted to services more focused on emergency needs. To ensure we did not lose sight of our long-term integration…
- Paige Vogel
The Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR) is a scientific study that collects information about how recently resettled refugees are adapting to life in the U.S. It is funded by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement and is being conducted by the Urban Institute and SSRS. ORR has conducted this survey since 1993 to gather information…
- Urban Institute
This post follows an earlier blog, Refugees and Asylees Have the Right to Work: Busting Three Myths about Social Security Delays & Work Authorization. To learn more on this topic, stream the webinar recording Refugees and Asylees Have the Right to Work, hosted in December 2020. Service providers often encounter difficulties when communicating with employers…
- Daniel Wilkinson
Content in this post was informed by conversations with Senior Trial Attorney Liza Zamd from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. Click here to access the second post in this series, Overcoming Two Key Challenges when Communicating with Employers about Work Authorization. To learn more on this topic,…
- Daniel Wilkinson
This post includes contributions from Saba Imran. We recently published a blog post on Remote Job Readiness Resources for Clients With Online Access. But how are agencies continuing job readiness training when participants don’t have access to technology or lack digital literacy skills? This post includes job readiness resources for supporting clients without online access…
- Carrie Thiele
Photo Credit: A. Oberstadt/IRC The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound disruption across the globe, including in the U.S. As a result of the crisis, resettlement agencies are seeing a sharp rise in food insecurity due to loss of income, breakdown of social support systems, shortages of food, and complications in accessing existing or additional food…
- Eugenia Gusev