Association of Jewish Family and Children Services 2007 Annual Conference April 15 – 17, 2007

1. Coming Together to Strengthen Diverse Families Association of Jewish Family and Children Services2007 Annual ConferenceApril 15 – 17, 2007 Tatyana Fertelmeyster, LCPC Director, Cultural Competency Programs JCFS of Chicago, IL Irina Nikishin. M.Ed Manager, Resettlement and Health Families Programs JFCS of Atlanta, GA Masha Teverovsky, MSSA Associate Director Refugee Family Enrichment Program Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society New York, NY

2. Program History • In partnership with USCCB implemented a one-year pilot refugee family enrichment project funded by ORR (2003) • Received funds to develop a three-year Refugee Family Enrichment program for refugees (2003-2006) • Received funds to develop a two-year Technical assistance program to assist other ORR grantees to develop family strengthening programs • Received multimillion dollar five-year funding from ORR to implement the two healthy marriage programs

3. Categories of Grantees Priority 1 Technical Assistance Refugee Family Enrichment Support Service (solely Operated by HIAS) Priority 2 VOLAG agencies (National Refugee Family Enrichment Program operated by HIAS) Priority 3 Mutual Assistance agencies Refugee Healthy Family Programs operated by JFCS of Atlanta and JCFS of Chicago In addition: JFCS of Atlanta and JCFS of Chicago Have sub grants with HIAS to implement the Refugee Family Enrichment Program and Refugee Enrichment Support Services

4. Key Strategic Elements of The Program Strengthening Refugee Families and Marriages is strength based, culturally competent, family communication and conflict resolution skills development educational program 1 2 3 Culturally competent research based life education curricula taught in various class settings Shalom Bayut (peace in the family); mitzvoth Commandment of good deeds); and musar(instruction)

5. Refugee Family Strengthening Program Main Focus Means of Education Target Refugee Groups Family communication and conflict resolution education Cultural adjustment of refugee families Research based curricula adapted to be culturally appropriate 8-10 hour workshops Interactive style, role modeling, story telling Special approaches for illiterate population Couples, engaged, dating Single men and women, married attending separately Young adults Older adults Parents Mentors

6. Best Practices Special workshops for older adults Use of ethnic art as an element of education Whole family sessions The individualized approach in working with small gatherings at private homes ease the concern with confidentiality Special Curricula for illiterate populations

7. Coalition and Relationship Building • Coalition building • Being pro-active in relationships with the funders • Promoting the program on all levels • Establishing and promoting national expert statuses of program personalities • Exploring and establishing rapport with professional community engaged in in program activities ( e.g. marriage educators, program developers, relationship coaches, etc.)

8. Multilayered Cooperation

9. Promoting the Program • Organizing national events • Participating in federal events • Presenting as much as possible • Printed materials • Newsletters • Updates sent to the government • Assistance of any kind, upon request • Proactive assistance • Participate in policy development

10. Expert Status • Identifying experts in your team • Working with experts to shape their expert profile • Market experts through conferences, workshops, advisory committees, etc.

11. Results • Influenced the policy Helped ORR develop guidelines on program implementation; developed domestic violence protocol; advised on cultural adaptations of models • Acquired national expert status on federal level • The sole recipient of Technical Assistance award • The biggest winner of Refugee Healthy Marriage grant • JFCS of Atlanta and Chicago won Category 3 awards

12. Emphasis on Cultural Competency JCFS of Chicago

13. Our Philosophy • Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project and Russian/Jewish Family Strengthening Project emphasize the need for culturally competent approach to marriage and family life education • Every culture has it’s own definition of healthy relationships, strong marriages and good parenting. Every culture has a way to communicate productively as well as poorly. In every culture people have ways of resolving their conflicts or making them worse. • We are not teaching our refugee clients to forget who they are and start building their family “American Way”. We are helping them be more conscious about their family relationships and mindful about using/developing relationship skills. This approach allows to choose what works the best in both cultures

14. Cultural Elements in FLE Adult Education Speaking Listening Communication Styles Nonverbals Cultural Adjustment Traditions Rules/Roles Conflict Resolution

15. Cultural Adaptations of Curricula Notes for the Leader (sample) • Make sure to prepare a demonstration that will make most sense to the population with which you are working. • These concepts can be new and difficult for refugees. Even in an individual-oriented culture like the US people have to be taught to say “I feel upset when you don’t do what you promised”. In conflict it’s much more common to hear “You are a liar! You are ruining my life!” • It is important to emphasize again and again that we are offering tools our participants may find helpful to have at their disposal; we are not giving them new rules by which to live their lives. • Engage your clients as much as possible in the discussion of cultural differences. Conscious awareness of these differences is among the most helpful skills for cultural adjustment.

16. Speaking of Language • How do you say “Marriage Education”? • Translation • Language of Learning and Teaching • Language as Power

17. Implementing the Program Locally JFCS of Atlanta

18. Healthy Families Program • An award winning program • National “Best Practice Award” by the Administration of Children & Families (ACF) • State of Georgia “The Best Practice Award”by Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF)

19. Coalition Building Local Government Agencies (e.g., Board of Health) Faith-Based Groups (churches, mosques, synagogues, other congregations) Community Leaders and Businesses Refugee-Serving Agencies: Resettlement, Mutual Assistance Schools ESL Classes Universities Refugee Advisory Councils (local, state national) Mental Health Service Providers and Professional Groups

20. Outreach/Community Building • Creating a seamless bond with partner communities. • Providing workshops and training sessions. • Attending community symposia and events. • Meeting with community leaders. • Serving over 20 different refugee populations, including Bosnians, Kurdish, Iranians, Cubans, Russians, Somalians + • Advocacy on behalf of refugees

21. Healthy Families Coalition

22. Choosing Curricula • Using well established marriage education models (www.smartmarriages.com) • All materials and curricula are adjusted to be culturally appropriate and relevant • All sessions are conducted in the native language of the audience or with the use of qualified interpreters • Educational sessions are conducted in the form of intercultural exchange • Do not underestimate participants ability to learn relationship skills Power of Two

23. Incentives Goals • Recruitment and retention • Motivation • Recognition Examples • Sponsoring community & cultural events (e.g., family day camp, GA Aquarium) • Graduation ceremonies with awards • Sponsoring attendance at Smart Marriage conf. • Gift cards for participants (e.g., tokens for transportation; Target; Wal-Mart)

24. Program Quality To maintain best practice and continuous quality management, the Healthy Family Program has a series of program assessments: • Surveys following each group and training session • Feedback from program participants • Internal continuous quality management • Currently developing outcome measurement tool which will be translated in different languages.

25. Faces of the Refugee HealthyMarriage Program Persian Group celebrating their graduation from the Healthy Families Program