Association of Jewish Family and Children Services

2007 Annual Conference

April 15 – 17, 2007April 15 – 17, 2007

Coming Together to Strengthen Coming Together to Strengthen Diverse FamiliesDiverse Families

Masha Teverovsky, MSSA

Associate Director

Refugee Family Enrichment Program

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

New York, NY

Tatyana Fertelmeyster, LCPC

Director,

Cultural Competency Programs

JCFS of Chicago, IL

Irina Nikishin. M.Ed

Manager,

Resettlement and Health Families Programs

JFCS of Atlanta, GA

Program History

•In partnership with USCCB implemented a one-year pilot refugee family enrichment project funded by ORR (2003)

•Received funds to develop a three-year Refugee Family Enrichment program for refugees (2003-2006)

•Received funds to develop a two-year Technical assistance program to assist other ORR grantees to develop family strengthening programs

•Received multimillion dollar five-year funding from ORR to implement the two healthy marriage programs

Categories of Grantees•Priority 1Technical AssistanceRefugee Family Enrichment SupportService (solely Operated by HIAS)

•Priority 2VOLAG agencies(National Refugee Family Enrichment

Program operated by HIAS)

•Priority 3Mutual Assistance agenciesRefugee Healthy Family Programs operated by JFCS of Atlanta and JCFS of Chicago

•In addition: JFCS of Atlanta and JCFS of ChicagoHave sub grants with HIAS to implement the Refugee Family Enrichment Program and Refugee Enrichment Support Services

Mission: the

Purpose

ValuesDefining

The mission

Vision:Clear idea

Of effective operations

Key Strategic Elements of The Program

Strengthening Refugee Families and Marriages is strength based, culturally competent, family communication and conflict resolution skills development educational program

Culturally competent research based life education curricula taught in various class settings

Shalom Bayut (peace in the family); mitzvoth Commandment of good deeds); and musar (instruction)

Refugee Family Strengthening ProgramMain Focus

Means of Education

Target Refugee Groups

• Family communication and conflict resolution education• Cultural adjustment of refugee families

• Research based curricula adapted to be culturally appropriate

• 8-10 hour workshops

•Interactive style, role modeling, story telling•Special approaches for illiterate population

•Couples, engaged, dating

•Single men and women, married attending separately

•Young adults

•Older adults

•Parents

•Mentors

Best Practices

Special workshops for older adults

Use of ethnic art as an element of education

Whole family sessions

The individualized approach in working with small gatherings at private homes ease the concern

with confidentiality

Special Curricula for illiterate populations

Coalition and Relationship Building

• Coalition building• Being pro-active in relationships with the

funders• Promoting the program on all levels • Establishing and promoting national expert

statuses of program personalities• Exploring and establishing rapport with

professional community engaged in in program activities ( e.g. marriage educators, program developers, relationship coaches, etc.)

Multilayered CooperationHIAS

NationalAgency

Level AProgram

Implementation

Level CFederal Level

PromotingAssisting

Expert opinion

Jewish Family Service

Agencies( affiliates and

partners)

MAA agencies(collaborators

and Assistance recipients)

ACFORR

Program Officers

ACF local reps

Level BProfessional Collaborators

Program development

Curricula Developers often grant Reviewers)

Professional community

reps

Developing coalitionsOn state

level

Promoting the Program

• Organizing national events• Participating in federal events• Presenting as much as possible• Printed materials • Newsletters• Updates sent to the government• Assistance of any kind, upon request• Proactive assistance• Participate in policy development

Expert Status

•Identifying experts in your team•Working with experts to shape their

expert profile•Market experts through conferences,

workshops, advisory committees, etc.

Results

• Influenced the policyHelped ORR develop guidelines on program implementation; developed domestic violence protocol; advised on cultural adaptations of models

• Acquired national expert status on federal level

• The sole recipient of Technical Assistance award

• The biggest winner of Refugee Healthy Marriage grant

• JFCS of Atlanta and Chicago won Category 3 awards

Emphasis on Cultural Competency

JCFS of Chicago

Our Philosophy

• Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project and Russian/Jewish Family Strengthening Project emphasize the need for culturally competent approach to marriage and family life education

• Every culture has it’s own definition of healthy relationships, strong marriages and good parenting. Every culture has a way to communicate productively as well as poorly. In every culture people have ways of resolving their conflicts or making them worse.

• We are not teaching our refugee clients to forget who they are and start building their family “American Way”. We are helping them be more conscious about their family relationships and mindful about using/developing relationship skills. This approach allows to choose what works the best in both cultures

Ad

ult

Ed

uca

tion

Styles

Nonverbals

Speaking Listening

Cultural Elements in FLE

TraditionsRules/Roles

Communication

Conflict Resolution

CulturalAdjustment

Cultural Adaptations of Curricula

Notes for the Leader (sample)

 

• Make sure to prepare a demonstration that will make most sense to the population with which you are working.

• These concepts can be new and difficult for refugees. Even in an individual-oriented culture like the US people have to be taught to say “I feel upset when you don’t do what you promised”. In conflict it’s much more common to hear “You are a liar! You are ruining my life!”

• It is important to emphasize again and again that we are offering tools our participants may find helpful to have at their disposal; we are not giving them new rules by which to live their lives.

• Engage your clients as much as possible in the discussion of cultural differences. Conscious awareness of these differences is among the most helpful skills for cultural adjustment.

Speaking of Language

• How do you say “Marriage Education”?

• Translation

• Language of Learning and Teaching

• Language as Power

Implementing the Program Locally

JFCS of Atlanta

Healthy Families Program

• An award winning program • National “Best Practice Award”

by the Administration of Children & Families (ACF)

• State of Georgia “The Best Practice Award”by Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF)

Coalition Building

Local Government Agencies(e.g., Board of Health)

Faith-Based Groups(churches, mosques,synagogues, other

congregations)

Refugee AdvisoryCouncils

(local, statenational)

Refugee-ServingAgencies:

Resettlement,Mutual Assistance

SchoolsESL ClassesUniversities

CommunityLeaders and Businesses

Mental HealthService Providers andProfessional Groups

Outreach/Community Building

• Creating a seamless bond with partner communities.

• Providing workshops and training sessions.

• Attending community symposia and events.

• Meeting with community leaders.• Serving over 20 different refugee

populations, including Bosnians, Kurdish, Iranians, Cubans, Russians, Somalians +

• Advocacy on behalf of refugees

Healthy Families Coalition

JF&CS Healthy Families Partner Agencies & Populations

Catholic Charities

CPACS IRC RRISA RAF JUST CAUSE

DCBOH WWA

New Life Church

DHR- PSSF

Khoi Foundation

Vietnamese Vietnamese

Cuban Russian Iranian

Somali

Cuban

Iranian Meskhetian- Turks Cuban

Russian Congolese Sudanese Liberian

Nigerian Kenyan Indian

Burmese

Burundi

•Using well established marriage education models (www.smartmarriages.com)

•All materials and curricula are adjusted to be culturally appropriate and relevant

•All sessions are conducted in the native language of the audience or with the use of qualified interpreters

•Educational sessions are conducted in the form of intercultural exchange

•Do not underestimate participants ability to learn relationship skills

Choosing Curricula

IncentivesGoals

• Recruitment and retention• Motivation• Recognition

Examples• Sponsoring community & cultural events

(e.g., family day camp, GA Aquarium)• Graduation ceremonies with awards• Sponsoring attendance at Smart Marriage

conf.• Gift cards for participants (e.g., tokens for

transportation; Target; Wal-Mart)

Program Quality

To maintain best practice and continuous quality management, the Healthy Family Program has a series of program assessments:

• Surveys following each group and training session

• Feedback from program participants• Internal continuous quality management• Currently developing outcome

measurement tool which will be translated in different languages.

Faces of the Refugee Healthy Marriage Program

Persian Group celebrating their graduation from the Healthy Families Program