Refugee and Immigration Issues

Bridging Refugee Youths and Children's Services (BRYCS) is a national technical assistance project funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ACF/DHHS). BRYCS provides one-on-one consultations, training and conference presentations, and is the only Web site and Clearinghouse focused specifically on migration and child welfare. BRYCS is a project of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Immigrant Legal Resource Center is a national resource center that provides training, materials and advocacy to advance immigrant rights. As a legal services organization, ILRC has trained lawyers, paralegals, social workers, and advocates throughout the country on ever-changing and complex immigration law. ILRC's expertise and services include an "attorney of the day phone, email & fax TA services," on-site TA and case review, training and seminars, listserv and website for practitioners. Some useful publications available on their website include:

ASISTA is a collaborative between four nationally recognized legal experts who work to provide technical assistance on the intersection between immigration and domestic violence law. ASISTA maintains an online clearinghouse of resources, samples, and best practices located physically in Des Moines, Iowa. Their website includes the latest information on Viiolence Against Women Act (VAWA) and other immigration relief options for victims of domestic violence.

CalSWEC (California Social Work Education Center), University of California, Berkeley - School of Social Work, has just developed a new training resource, "Legal Residency for Juveniles within the Child Welfare System: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status & the Violence Against Women Act." This brief training resource, developed for supervisors and managers, is designed to inform child welfare staff on SIJS and VAWA and the applicability of these laws to undocumented immigrant youth who are in the child welfare system.

This booklet created by BRYCS was developed as a tool for immigrant serving agencies, as they help newcomer parents adjust to the different laws, norms and practices around raising children in the United States.