This study will explore opportunities to strengthen a systems alignment approach to the refugee resettlement process in Virginia. This process is overrun with systemic racism as barriers to housing, healthcare, employment, and education negatively impact refugee health and well-being. The current consultation process to coordinate refugee arrival and resettlement inadequately addresses these barriers while also failing to meaningfully include representatives from the medical, social, public health, and community sectors. The research team at American Institutes for Research (AIR) will identify modalities for fortifying the systems alignment of the resettlement process and create a working group to address resettlement barriers. They will examine existing haps in the operations of the Virginia Community Capacity Initiatives Consultations (VCCI) and incorporate the voices of local refugees and refugee-leg organizations within medical, social, and public health systems. The team will assess the procedural, logistical, and budgetary feasibility of a systems alignment approach through three meetings of the working group and a feasibility assessment survey. AIR will create an implementation guide that provides practical recommendations for building a working group, identifying and addressing systemic racism and structural barriers, as well as strategies for aligning systems in resettlement services.
This one-year pilot study will be completed in partnership with the American Institutes for Research, Virginia Department of Social Services, Virginia Department of Health, and the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
Principal Investigators:
Maliha Ali, DrPH, MPH, MBBS
Senior Researcher, American Institutes for Research
Daisy Soriano
American Institutes for Research
Co-Investigators:
Trenita Childers, PhD
Senior Researcher, American Institutes for Research
Danielle Agraviador, MPH
Researcher, American Institutes for Research
Charlene Nguyen, BSc
Research Associate, American Institutes for Research
Project Details:
Year: 2024
Funding Amount: $99,976
Status: Active