Refugee Services Overview

The Department of Children and Families’ Refugee Services Program is federally funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services to assist refugees to achieve economic self-sufficiency and social adjustment within the shortest possible time after their arrival in the United States.

While in recent years the number of arrivals has decreased nationwide, the State of Florida’s refugee program is the largest in the nation, receiving more than 5,000 refugees, asylees, and Cuban/Haitian entrants each year.

Refugee Services’ clients all have a legal immigration status. Some are admitted to the United States by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) through its refugee “Reception and Placement” program. DOS contracts with national refugee resettlement agencies to assist resettled refugees during their first three months in the United States. However, only about 8% of Florida’s refugee client population enters the U.S. through the DOS program. A majority of our refugee clients are Cuban entrants who enter the United States through other programs or channels.

Nationalities of Florida’s Resettlement Populations FFY 2020

Cubans account for more than 80% of the arrivals to the state each year. However, the state’s refugee program serves clients from more than 50 countries in 40 or more Florida counties. Arrivals to Florida come from many nations, including Haiti, Venezuela, Ukraine, Iraq, Burma, Egypt, Colombia, Nicaragua, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Approximately 25% of each year’s arrivals are children under the age of 19 and fewer than 5% are over the age of 55.

Traditionally, the majority of Cubans arriving in Florida reunite with family already here; 80% settle in Miami, which is also home to many Haitian, Venezuelan and Colombian refugees and asylees. The second largest refugee group in Florida is Haitians, who often present for services as asylum applicants or asylees. Jacksonville is a primary resettlement site for refugees that arrive through the DOS resettlement program. As such, Jacksonville receives diverse refugee populations, including Burmese, Bhutanese, Iraqis, Eritreans, and others. Resettlement on Florida’s west coast varies greatly. Hillsborough and Pinellas counties (Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater) receive many Cubans, but also other nationalities, including Burmese and Egyptians. In central Florida, the Orlando area also sees a number of Cuban and Haitian arrivals as well as a smaller numbers of refugees of other nationalities.

Populations Eligible for Services

Many people are not familiar with the different immigration classifications for individuals entering this country. The term “immigrant” encompasses a wide range of people who enter the United States through different channels, both regular and irregular, and who have different immigration statuses. Congress determines which groups are eligible for benefits and services provided through the Refugee Services program. All eligible Refugee Services clients have one of the following legal immigration statuses:

Refugees:

The U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 defines a refugee as:

• a person who is outside his or her country
• is unwilling or unable to return to his or her home country, and
• is able to demonstrate persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Refugees who come to the United States through the State Department’s Refugee resettlement program were accorded refugee status by the United Nations in another country after fleeing their country of origin. They are interviewed and approved for resettlement by the U.S. State Department and vetted by the Department of Homeland Security. Less than one percent of the world’s refugees are resettled in the United States.

Asylees:

Persons who arrive to the United States through various channels and who apply from inside the U.S. for protection from persecution in their homeland (asylum). The U.S. Refugee Act of 1980 defines an asylee as a person who is:

• physically present in the U.S. or a port of entry
• able to meet the definition of refugee (see above)

Cuban/Haitian Entrants:

Persons from Cuba or Haiti who have been granted special immigration status by the U.S. (most often “humanitarian parole”) that makes them eligible for refugee benefits and services.

Foreign Victims of Human Trafficking:

Non U.S. citizens/residents who, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, have performed a commercial sex act, or have been recruited, harbored, transported, provided or obtained for labor or services for the purpose of involuntary servitude, debt bondage, or slavery. To be eligible for services, an individual 18 years of age or older must be “certified” by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) or a T-visa holder. Child victims of human trafficking do NOT need to be “certified” or be a T-visa holder, but require a letter of eligibility from ORR.

Coordination of Services

The Director of Refugee Services is based in Tallahassee. Program staff are mostly located in Tallahassee and Miami; Refugee Services Community Liaisons, who are the program’s direct link to community partners and refugees, are located in each DCF Regional Office: Northeast (Jacksonville), Northwest (Tallahassee), Central (Orlando), Suncoast (Tampa), Southeast (West Palm Beach), and Southern (Miami). Community Liaisons facilitate Refugee Task Force meetings in each community with large numbers of refugees. The Task Forces meet bi-monthly and include refugee resettlement agencies, contracted providers, federal, state and local government agencies, refugee-led self-help organizations, and other entities and individuals concerned with refugees. The meetings provide opportunities to coordinate referrals and services, assess emerging needs of refugees, solve problems, and disseminate federal and state policies.

Benefits and Services

Refugee cash and medical assistance benefits are available for a maximum of eight months following arrival to the United States to needy refugees who are not eligible for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid. This refugee assistance is paid entirely from federal funds through the Department’s existing FLORIDA system within the ACCESS/Economic Self-Sufficiency program structure.

Support services are provided through contracts with nonprofit organizations, local government agencies, and private entities to assist refugees and entrants meet the goal of economic self-sufficiency and successful integration. Services are contracted within the state’s regulations governing the acquisition of services, including competitive bidding requirements. Current services include:

• Employment Services
  Employment services are provided to assist eligible refugees/entrants in achieving economic self-sufficiency and effective resettlement through gainful employment. Services primarily target refugees in their first two years in the United States, but refugees remain eligible for up to 60 months. Employment services include pre-employment counseling and orientation, direct job preparation and placement, 90 and 180 day follow-up, On-the-Job Training (OJT), re-credentialing/recertification, and career laddering services for refugees with professional backgrounds.
• Adult and Vocational Education
  Adult education services include English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Vocational Training, Vocational English for Speakers of Other Languages (VESOL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and General Education Diploma (GED) preparation classes.
• Employability Status Assistance (Legal) Services
  Services include: assistance with obtaining Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), permanent residency applications, and other employment-related immigration status issues.
• Child Care
  Child Care services are provided to children of eligible refugee/entrants who are enrolled in Refugee Services-funded employment and adult education services. Services are limited to 12 months.
• Comprehensive Refugee Services (CRS)
  CRS is an integrated service delivery system where a single provider coordinates services in a multi-county area that are essential to refugee/entrant families’ self-sufficiency, effective resettlement, and successful integration into the local community. Services offered may include but are not limited to employment, adult and vocational education, employability status assistance, youth, and child care services. These services are available in Northwest Region, Central Region and SunCoast Region of Florida.
• Youth Services
  Tutoring, academic enrichment, and orientation services are provided to refugee youth to promote academic success and prevent school dropouts and juvenile delinquency. Services are available in Collier, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, Duval, Pasco, Palm Beach, and Pinellas Counties.
• Eligibility Training
  Refugee Program eligibility training is provided to local contracted service providers to ensure proper determination of program eligibility for all refugee program services based on the most up-to-date federal eligibility requirements.
• Interpreter Services
  Telephonic interpreter services and vital document translation services are provided to Refugee Services contracted providers, departmental programs, and local Community Based Organizations to increase service access to refugee/entrants and other limited English proficient individuals.
• Health Screenings
  Services are administered statewide to newly arrived refugees and entrants by the Department of Health, Refugee Health Services Office. Federally approved protocol for completing health screenings of refugees are followed and provided within 90 days of arriving to Florida. Health screenings include TB test(s), vaccinations, and vision and hearing screening.
• Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) Program
  Unaccompanied refugee minors are provided services equivalent to youth in foster care and services oriented toward the special needs of refugee youth (i.e. ESOL, cultural identity and adjustment, family tracing and trauma treatment services).