RECEPTION AND PLACEMENT PROGRAM
USCRI’s Reception and Placement (R&P) Program is at the heart of our work with refugees. This public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of State has provided a safe haven for those who have fled their homes in fear of persecution for almost 50 years. Since 1977, USCRI has worked across the nation and assisted over 300,000 newcomers–connecting them to services and building bridges to their communities. The USCRI current R&P Network includes 34 sites in 22 states.
USCRI staff begin their work at the airport- welcoming our new clients, providing them furnished housing, and connecting them to benefits and supportive services including Social Security cards, healthcare, schools, English classes, and employment opportunities. USCRI staff work closely with volunteers, social service providers, employers, and communities to help refugees start their new lives in their new communities.
We believe in partnerships. Employers provide jobs and on-the-job training. Community members donate clothing and household goods, and they reach out to newcomers to make sure that they feel welcome and accepted. At the headquarters level, USCRI provides training and ongoing technical support to staff at the local level on the provision of R&P program services to ensure clients are provided with the best opportunity for early self-sufficiency and integration.
MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM
The Matching Grant Program is an alternative to public cash assistance funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). It helps eligible refugees become economically self-sufficient within 120 to 180 days of program eligibility. Through the MG Program, USCRI promotes the economic self-sufficiency and long-term economic security of refugees, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Victims of Severe Forms of Trafficking, and Special Immigrant Visa Holders (SIVs). Services include case management, employment services, maintenance assistance, English language training, health and medical referrals, and social adjustment services. The USCRI MG Network includes 31 sites in 22 states.
PREFERRED COMMUNITIES PROGRAM
Preferred Communities (PC), funded by ORR, provides intensive case management to the most vulnerable refugees. USCRI operates the PC program at 19 sites in 14 states to help refugees move towards stability and self-sufficiency with individualized, comprehensive case management services for up to one year from arrival.
PC facilitates the successful resettlement and integration of especially vulnerable groups of newly and recently arrived refugees (and other ORR client populations) and the enhancement of PC providers’ capacity to serve such populations at new or established PC locations.
READY4LIFE
The USCRI Relationships, Education, Advancement, and Development for Youth for Life (READY4Life) program funded by the Office of Family Assistance is implemented at eight sites in eight states. The READY4Life program serves refugee and immigrant youth ages 14 to 24 through the provision of Relationship Enhancement® education and comprehensive case management, support services that bolster healthy relationships, and promotes positive socio-emotional development and successful transitions to young adulthood. The project includes Randomized-Controlled Trial local impact evaluation.
REFUGEE LOAN COLLECTION SERVICES
USCRI oversees the travel loan repayment process for the refugees that we resettle. By guiding the clients through the repayment process, our loan counselors help refugees gain basic financial literacy and establish good credit in their new country. The repayment of these loans enables the U.S. Government to continue to assist refugees.
