Bridge Builders: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experiences of Former Refugees Working as Caseworkers in the United States

Abstract

Individuals who come to the United States as refugees and work as resettlement caseworkers offer peer support, modeling, and assistance with integration to newly arriving refugees, despite often having limited training or experience in social service provision. A phenomenological approach was utilized to gain understanding about the experiences of refugee caseworkers. Nine caseworkers who came to the United States as refugees completed in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify primary themes, including: a) the caseworker's bridge-building role with clients; b) their role in building bridges with others in the community, including the resettlement agency; and c) the caseworkers' experience as bridge builders, including motivations, perspectives toward their role, and needed supports. Refugee service providers face unique challenges in negotiating boundaries with clients and meeting the expectations of their ethnolinguistic community members. Their strengths in understanding household experiences and in building agency and community understanding highlight their ability to contribute to positive resettlement outcomes. The findings from this study have implications for agencies serving refugees and for other social services that utilize peer-support strategies, particularly in regards to staff training and support. Findings highlight the need for research examining effective resettlement strategies and the perspectives of refugees toward resettlement approaches.

Listening to refugees: How traditional mental health interventions may miss the mark

“…These roles mirror the functions of many former refugees working as resettlement caseworkers in resettlement programs in the United States (Shaw, 2014) and provide support to the notion that peer-led group support can have a positive impact on overall well-being. The importance of the development and maintenance of a strong social support network has been well documented (Beiser, 1999;Davies and Bath, 2001;Hernandez-Plaza et al, 2006;Stewart et al, 2012).…”

Findings from an Extended Case Management U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program

“…However, the finding that service access needs did not vary according to caseworker match suggests matched households did not request assistance with additional needs. Caseworkers from the same ethno-linguistic community as the households they serve may face unique challenges (Shaw 2014), and additional research is needed to examine the benefits of service provider characteristics in resettlement services. Households where the PA spoke good English tended to score agency services higher, suggesting that an ability to communicate directly with multiple staff members, not only through one's caseworker, may have led to a greater awareness of agency services and thus higher levels of satisfaction.…”

Paper integration: The structural constraints and consequences of the US refugee resettlement program

“…However, they may struggle with their dual identities as caseworkers and co-ethnics and may not have formal training in social service provision (Shaw 2014). Caseworkers put themselves at risk in order to address urgent concerns of their clients' wellbeing, at times making themselves more vulnerable to government scrutiny.…”

“…Caseworkers serve as the hub that connects refugees to services and community institutions beyond the RA, such as housing, medical care, employment, school, and welfare benefits, including Medicaid and food stamps. The RA staff may include caseworkers from the same linguistic and cultural backgrounds as their refugee clients, some of whom may also have arrived in the U.S. as refugees(Shaw 2014). RAs are an important first point of institutional contact for arriving refugees, and caseworkers serve as intermediaries who can significantly shape refugees' initial experiences (Caron and Tshabangu-Soko 2012; Darrow 2015a, 2015b; Shaw and Poulin 2015).…”