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Year in Review:

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Table of ContentsExecutive Summary

Who We Are

Who We Help

What We Do

Social Adjustment

Medical Services

Self-Sufficiency

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Our Board Committee

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Executive Summary

This year marked the end of our first multi-year agreement with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to coordinate refugee services across the State of Tennessee and to receive, distribute, monitor, and report on some of the federal funds provided for those

services. Thanks to our partners and to the resiliency and determination of our clients, we have achieved great things together. This report will highlight just a few of those achievements from the past year. Over the past five years we’ve grown in many ways. Most significantly, I’m proud of:

I thank you for your support over the past five years and ask you to continue to stand with us as we embark on an uncertain future in the field of refugee resettlement.

We take this very seriously and our fiscal team ensures that every dollar spent by us and by our partners is spent in accordance with federal regulations.

Our fiscal responsibility

I continue to be humbled by those who are forced to leave behind their history and life as they’ve known it and start over in a completely foreign country. Most significantly, they do this in an incredibly short period of time. Children are succeeding in school, families are healthy, the elderly receive special attention, and adults are working and meeting their expenses – and all of this is achieved within about seven months. This is certainly a testament to the strength of these people whose stories would make you cry, give you nightmares, and encourage you to spend more time valuing all that you have.

Our clients

We look good because they are good. The work of our partner agencies and our volunteer board committee members ensures that what we do everyday benefits the people we collectively serve. We are tremendously proud to be associated with such committed, inspiring, and hard-working people.

Our partners

In the same way we take our fiscal responsibility seriously, we take very seriously our responsibility to report accurate and complete data. Owing to a versatile and comprehensive database and multiple data collection methods, we are able to provide reports to ORR that paint an accurate picture of refugee resettlement in Tennessee.

Our data collection methods

Because of the outstanding work done by our partners, the data we submit to ORR shows that the programs we fund are successful in helping refugees become self-sufficient members of their new communities.

Our programmatic success

Sincerely,

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Who We Are

8 Staff Members 61

Years Serving Refugees

Our mission is to foster growth, integration and self-sufficiency by providing financial,

technical and professional support to refugees and the agencies who serve them

in the State of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Refugee Program helps refugees statewide access cash and medical assistance, medical screenings, employment, English language training, social adjustment, and other specialized services that meet their

individual needs. The goal of all of these programs is self-sufficiency.

The Tennessee Refugee Program is administered by Tennessee Office for Refugees (TOR), a department of Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. While in most states government agencies administer refugee programs, the Tennessee Refugee Program is administered as a Wilson/Fish program, allowing a non-profit agency to oversee the provision of initial cash and medical assistance and social services. By developing creative provision strategies employing a holistic approach to cash assistance, case management, and employment services, the Tennessee Office for Refugees promotes early employment and economic self-sufficiency.

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What We Do

The Tennessee Office for Refugees is funded by the Office of Refugee

Resettlement, an office of the Administration for Children and Families. TOR partners with refugee serving agencies through contracted services, technical assistance, and administrative support. Partner agencies in turn provide direct services to eligible populations.

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Who We Help

157827% Working-age WomenRefugees

resettled in Tennessee in

FFY 2015: October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2015.

Children39%

33% Working-age Men

Seniors1%

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TOR does not serve only refugees

Of those resettled in Tennessee, most were refugees, but there were four other important categories.

Refugees

Cuban/Haitian

Entrants

SIVs

Asylees

Trafficking Victims

<1% People forced into sexual exploitation, commercial labor, or slavery.

4% Those who arrived in the US on their own, legally, and then apply for asylum for the same reasons a person could be granted refugee status.

4%(Special Immigrant Visa holders)Iraqi or Afghan nationals who worked for US Military as translators or interpreters, or have been employed by a contractor of the US government overseas.

11%Cuban or Haitian nationals who have been admitted or paroled into the US on or after April 21, 1980 but have not received a permanent status, have a pending application for asylum, or have a pending deportation.

82% People forced to flee their homes when their lives are threatened because of who they are or what they believe.

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Refugee Country of Origin

County of Refugee Resettlement

Dav

idso

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Shel

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Kno

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All

Oth

ers

Ham

ilton

71% 12% 11% 6% 5%

Burma24.6%

Iraq20.7%

Somalia13.4%

DR Congo12.9%

Bhutan8.6%

Cuba3.8%

Sudan3.6%

Burundi3.3%

Afghanistan2.9%

Syria1.9%

all otherscombined

2.9%

Colombia0.9%

Iran0.8%

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Social Adjustment

54042%

82%

Refugees received English language training - important for getting a higher wage job, participating in their

children’s education, and becoming active members of their communities.

226 of the 540 students who received English language training were in “literacy level” classes, meaning they were not able to read and write fluently in their first language.

60 of the 73 students who were not in literacy level courses and completed a full term qualified to move up to the next level.

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241

Teachers and school personnel received training to increase their understanding of refugee culture and

knowledge of community resources.

90% 236 participants showed increased understanding after the training.

Parents and students attended an orientation to the American school system.

77%186 parents and kids achieved higher scores on a post-test assessing their understanding of the school system and comfort interacting with school staff.

9 Refugee elders applied for US citizenship.

5obtained citizenship, overcoming tremendous language and literacy obstacles, showing they comprehend the US system of government and their willingness to commit to it.

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Medical Services

TOR partners provide medical screenings, orientations, and case

management so that refugee families can focus on becoming self-sufficient, and so refugee children can do well in school.

of participants in orientation to

the US health care system increased their understanding upon completion of post-testing.

77% of participants reported an

increased understanding of a health related topic of interest after a single training session.

95%

individuals received

comprehensive health care screenings, resulting in 6737 vaccinations.

1655mental health providers,

teachers, and refugee advocates received training on recognizing and responding to the symptoms of torture-related trauma in refugees.

176

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Self-Sufficiency

Refugees come to the US with nearly nothing. Within eight months

they are expected to function in English, earn a living wage, participate in their children’s education, and contribute to their communities. Despite, for many, little or no formal education, many families are able to quit receiving cash assistance before those first eight months end.

Of those refugees receiving TOR employment services in FFY 2015, 81% gained employment. Among that group, 76% were employed

within 8 months of arrival. 81%

The average hourly wage among refugees working full time and receiving cash assistance in FFY 2015 was $9.38. That is 29

percent higher than minimum wage.$9.38

120Resettlement agencies build relationships with employers eager to hire refugees. In FFY 2015 refugees were directly employed by 120 different

companies or staffing agencies. Many of those employed by staffing agencies went on to permanent positions at their placements.

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Our Board Committee

Connect With Us

Mike Allen - President, Catholic Charities of West Tennessee

Allen Arender - Partner, VP of Development, Holladay Properties; Member, Catholic Charities of Tennessee Board of Directors; Member, NAIOP Board of Directors

Steve Bachus - Retired, Investment Administration, Vanderbilt University; Head of Finance Committee, Aquinas College Board of Directors; Member, Finance Committee, St. Matthew Catholic Church

Abdelghani Barre - Social Data Analyst, Metropolitan Nashville Social Services; Member, Tennessee Fair Housing Council

Anne Blaufuss - AVP, Budget and Planning, Ardent Health Services; Member, Catholic Charities of Tennessee Board of Directors

Fr. Mark Hunt - pastor, Holy Rosary Church

2806 McGavock PikeNashville TN, 37214

tnrefugees@cctenn.org

877.300.3993 615.352.9520

www.cctenn.org/tor