New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research

2023-24 Award - Systems & Policy Change - $200,000

The partnership between the New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research, Somali Community Services of Seattle, Partners in Employment, Iraqi Community Center of Washington and Horn of Africa Services is looking to give refugees a platform to voice their needs to policy makers in order to tackle the inequities in economic opportunities available to them. On a county and state level, NAAPR is pushing for the implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems for the Limited English Proficiency Pathway (LEP) program, which helps refugees and families on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to gain employment. This data collection will provide evidence to support requests for increased funding to give refugees the means to acquire and maintain good job opportunities. On a federal level, NAAPR is looking to raise awareness among decisionmakers around the repercussions of current refugee resettlement employment regulations and to secure sponsors for a bill to lengthen the time refugees receive benefits so that they can learn English, and address their health, mental health and housing needs before they are pushed into “survival jobs” with short-term and limited economic prospects.