ACF’s Employee Well-Being Team centers the “human” in human services staff
June 18, 2024
Today is World Refugee Day , a time to recognize the plight of refugees all over the world, celebrate their resilience, and remind us how much is left to be done to provide a safe haven for millions of people around the globe who need protection.
For 44 years, HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has been offering refugees tools and services to help them become self-sufficient as they rebuild their lives in the U.S. At least 10 ORR-funded employment and economic mobility programs, like Refugee Career Pathways and Employer Engagement, connect our new neighbors to employment services, job training, language classes, and other support to help them earn a sustainable income and make progress toward their professional goals.
Bernard Domingo , a successful business owner and former refugee from Zimbabwe, knows all too well how important those programs can be when you need a little extra help to get started. When he arrived in the U.S. in 2010, he brought his passion for artisanship and his talent for making just about anything from wires and beads—from elephants and dragons to motorcycles and lizards. With the assistance of ORR’s Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program, which help refugees start businesses or save for an important asset, Bernard invested his savings and launched his own business. Leveraging IDA funds, he used loans to buy tools and supplies for his business and pay registration fees for trade shows. Today, he has a successful business that enables him to support himself and his family.
Domingo is one of more than three million refugees ORR has helped to welcome since 1980. Every year, we continue to welcome thousands of new neighbors nationwide through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, USRAP admitted 60,014 refugees to the U.S., including refugees who arrived through the new Welcome Corps program. In FY 2024, ORR is working with its federal, state, and local partners to resettle up to 125,000 refugees, as outlined in the Presidential Determination on refugee admissions.
Once a refugee arrives in the U.S., ORR’s role begins. ORR, through an extensive private-public grant recipient network, including states, resettlement agencies, faith-based, ethnic, and community-based organizations, offers critical resettlement services to facilitate a successful transition to life in our nation. We have always known that refugees and their families make the U.S. a better place to live, and we see it first-hand in the many success stories of our clients, like Domingo.
To have a better understanding of the contributions refugees make to their new communities, HHS conducted a groundbreaking study, released earlier this year, examining the fiscal impact of refugees and asylees during a 15-year period on U.S. government budgets, The Fiscal Impact of Refugees and Asylees at the Federal, State, and Local Levels from 2005-2019 .
This evidence-based data shows that refugees and their families made meaningful contributions to our economy at both the federal and local levels, with new contributions exceeding federal and local outlays by more than $123 billion from 2005-2019. This is the result of income tax and other earnings supported by the refugees’ strong desire to work, become independent, and restart their lives. We know that federal funds spent on refugee services and benefits pay off not only directly by generating a surplus in income for the government on all levels, but also in other meaningful ways through enriching American communities with diverse businesses, languages, traditions, and a unique blend of ethnic foods.
On World Refugee Day today, let’s not lose sight of how much is left to be done. There are continued opportunities to support those in need and do what we do best — come together as neighbors, friends, and as a people to help others. Everyone can help by sponsoring a refugee family through Welcome Corps, donating to or volunteering at a local resettlement organization that delivers services and benefits on the ground, or learning more about ORR refugee programs and services tailored to help our new neighbors succeed in this new chapter of their lives.
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