28649: Hermantin(News)Refugees may lose funding for job search (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sat, Jul. 15, 2006


WASHINGTON
Refugees may lose funding for job search
A federal proposal aims to shift $2.8 million from Miami agencies that help 
Cuban and Haitian refugees find employment, to similar agencies outside of 
South Florida.
BY LESLEY CLARK
lclark@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON - A Miami agency that helps newly arrived Cubans and Haitians find 
jobs says it may be helping far fewer under a federal proposal that would shift 
$2.8 million to agencies across the United States that assist refugees from 
other countries.

The proposed change comes amid assertions from other agencies that too much of 
the relief money is concentrated in South Florida.

''Nobody likes to be fighting over how many pieces of pie. We'd like to be 
arguing for a bigger pie,'' said Deborah Stein, program manager for Episcopal 
Migration Ministries, one of nine refugee resettlement agencies that receive a 
total of $50 million in federal funding.

''But we can't overlook the fact that hundreds of people in other parts of the 
country are not able to participate,'' Stein said.

Under the federal proposal, which involves changing a formula, the U.S. 
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, which partners with Miami-based Youth 
Co-Op, estimates it will be unable to offer assistance to more than 1,500 
Cubans and Haitians who may arrive within the next year. The agency served 
2,590 people in 2005 -- 2,082 of them Cuban.

The assistance -- $2,000 per person -- is aimed at getting new arrivals 
employed and self-sufficient within four months.

Considered an alternative to welfare, the funds can be spent on job training, 
education or even transportation.

Agencies are required to raise $1,000 in matching money to qualify for the 
grants.

Under the proposal, the agency would lose $2.86 million.

Other refugee resettlement groups with offices in Miami and elsewhere may 
benefit from the change in formula, but Lavinia Limon, president of the U.S. 
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, said the change appears aimed at 
boosting populations outside of South Florida, where some believe a thriving 
Cuban community can easily help new arrivals.

''The thought is that Cubans don't need the help in that environment and that 
our performance was skewed, because we were enrolling so many Cubans,'' Limon 
said. ``Our belief is that if we can help people, and do it well, we should.''

Youth Co-Op boasted an 84 percent success rate, Limon said, but under the 
change being considered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, performance would not weigh as 
heavily.

The director of the program only responded via e-mail Friday, saying the 
department is ``committed to performance across the board.

''The agencies in South Florida have demonstrated strong performance when 
serving Cuban and Haitian clients and we are currently conducting analysis to 
ensure that these clients continue to have the best program available to them 
to assist them on their path to self-sufficiency,'' Martha Newton said.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has enlisted support from South 
Florida's congressional delegation, which has written letters of protest to HHS 
Secretary Michael Leavitt.

''Florida's refugee service programs should not have their funds cut because 
they excelled in creating premier work programs for the needy refugees they 
serve,'' said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami.

``These proposed cuts make no sense and they will arbitrarily hurt the very 
people that were benefiting from this great program.''

Six agencies would gain funding under the proposed formula: Church World 
Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, Episcopal Community Development 
Center, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services 
and World Relief.

The International Rescue Committee and U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops 
would each lose about $100,000.