The role of public services in integrating refugees and asylum seekers

1. The role of public services in integrating refugees and asylum seekers Klara Foti Research Manager, Eurofound, Social policies Unit C ‘Hand in hand: Social and economic inclusion of newcomers’ Public hearing EESC-conference, 9th of July 2019

2. Introduction: Key objectives of the research and methodology Aim: exploring integration in a broader context than just labour market integration, i.e. also societal integration measures, such as housing, health, education, social assistance, social integration (including social assistance) Measures in five countries, which are mostly/highly affected by the recent inflow of asylum seekers (Austria, Germany, Sweden, and also the Netherlands and Finland) Methodology: 3 case studies in each countries (4 in Germany), selected to illustrate measures in each areas, within each country context (facilitating factors as well as barriers for integration) Focuson: practical implementation of theselected integration measures Toprovideadditionalempiricalevidenceonthosefactors which hinder or facilitate a successful integration

3. Outline of the report Role of the EU in integration measures Policy and regulatory context within the countries in focus by each integration area Statistical background and overview of integration measures in the selected countries Comparative analysis of the measures by each integration area Conclusions and policy messages

4. Overview of the selected measures by integration areas

5. Measures for social inclusion in the area of education Need forspecially designed language courses, such as literacy courses Challenges to engage hard-to-reach target groups, such as: • Illiteratepersons • Unskilled persons (those lacking basic education) • Examples for these: a.) Austrian Integration Fund – funding; the courses implemented throughout Austria b.) Jugendcollege (also in Austria) – aim: to provide the newcomers of 15-25 of age with the necessary language skills and a basic education, combined with practical work experience

6. Measures for social inclusion in the area of housing Swedish resettlement programme: all municipalities are required to participate in it; they are responsible for providing accommodation, and the municipalities support the newcomers right from their arrival (transport, basic food, furniture, etc.) – support also for other social inclusion measures during the first two years. Help of “mentor municipalities” to less experienced local authorities The Netherlands: Housing solutions (Platform OpnieuwThuis) – unconventional solutions to the lack of housing, such as using empty office buildings for social housing purposes, guide on ‘house sharing’ for single refugees Early registration for refugees (The Netherlands) in order to accelerate registration process in order to make access to housing easier (first: pilot, then rolled out at national level)

7. Measures for social inclusion in the area of health “Step by Step” – providing psychotherapic care in Germany: care for traumatised refugees in the state of Hesse, initiated by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration (the care is carried out in a reception centre). A total of 70 members of staff and 140 volunteers were involved in the implementation of the project Handbook on mental health for working with refugees – PALOMA (Finland):a reference for professionals working with refugees, in order to help them identify, prevent and treat mental health issues

8. Measures for social integration Values and orientation courses in Austria: Basic knowledge about society: a short course, covering key topics relevant to everyday life in Austria, such as history, language, education, labour market and economy, healthcare, housing, good neighbourliness, legal and cultural integration. First: pilot, then rolled out at national level and became compulsory Holistic approach at the municipality level in the Netherlands: Zeist WegWijZ: the local authority of Zeist designed the WegWijZ initiative, launched as a pilot in 2016. The focus is on involving all local organisations, providing relevant services. The ‘social matchmaker’ is the focal point, which maps the individual needs of refugees and makes tailored referrals to the appropriate services. Supporting mobile phone apps – as a channel to keep stakeholders and refugees involved

9. Social integration measures (cont’d) Provision of orientation and advice in Germany: IvAF– a national programme of projects with the aim at ensuring efficient networking between employment agencies, job centres, migrant registration offices, employers, providers of job training, education institutions at the local level. The projects focus on small groups and/or individuals, and tailor made on a case by case basis; heterogeneity among refugees and asylum-seekers is recognised; the activities target to the needs of specific groups. Involvement of NGOs, chambers of commerce at local level. Advice and support on refugee integration to local municipalities in the Netherlands-OTAV: Established to meet the wider integration needs than housing. Its strong presence in the regions facilitated a tailor-made approach. It built on a large network of stakeholders to foster public support through knowledge exchange and the involvement of communication experts (which helped in communication with the local community).

10. Key findings and lessons learnt Coordination and cooperation among stakeholders was key to success, especially in complex projects which adopted a holistic approach. When a particularly high number of actors from a wide variety of stakeholders were involved, however, coordination and cooperation was sometimes difficult. The poor mental health of asylum seekers and refugees was an issue in all the selected countries. In addition, cultural barriers and difficulties in communication, coupled with the cost of treatment, can make it problematic for refugees to access appropriate care once arrived in the host communities. The experience with the measure “Step-by-Step” in Germany, which focused specifically on provision of psychological and mental health support, showed how important it is to identify trauma in a timely manner and to be able to assess the specific needs of different groups of refugees with respect to mental health. Very few other measures paid particular attention to these issues – they were mostly preoccupied with fast labour market integration or fast language acquisition. A notable exception is the IvAF network: it cooperates with a specific initiative for traumatised persons and the service provider is supported by a trained psychologist, who can identify traumatised refugees and initiate clinical treatment.

11. Policy messages Low-skilled refugees need specific attention by offering activities which target this group. There is a need for individual focus (information tailored to participants’ needs). There is a need for flexibility and continuous adaptation to newly emerging needs Continuous monitoring of mental health issues and provision of psychological support may be needed. These, including traumatic experiences, should be considered even during the planning and design phase of an integration project. Moreover, the integration process in general could be more sustainable if the underlying mental health issues are identified on time and addressed. Outreach to target groups proved challenging in several initiatives. Cultural differences may also play a role in low outreach; involving a migrant person with ample experience in the given country could help address differences Negative attitudes could also be lessened by ensuring that people in local communities are well informed of the planned measures: prior communication on the adoption of a measure at local level could help with its successful implementation – strong municipal leadership is needed, as the example of the Swedish resettlement programme has shown) Even with decline in the number of asylum seekers, there is continuing, long-term need for effective integration measures

12. Background information (Some statistics)

13. Number of first-timeasylumapplicants2015, 2016, 2017 Source: Eurostat

14. Recognitionrate of applications, 2015-2017 (% of total) Source: Eurostat

15. Statusesgranted, 2015-2017(% of total)

16. Agedistribution of first-timeapplicants, 2015-2017 (% of thetotal) Source: Eurostat

17. Sex distribution of first-timeapplicants