Changing the Way Nonprofits Prepare: Lessons Learned from Early Resettlement of Rohingya Unaccompanied Refugee Minors

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority, have faced institutionalized discrimination and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. Between 2013–2019, a cohort of 152 Rohingya youth were resettled to the US through the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) foster care program. The data in this study come from ten focus groups with 23 service providers. The data provide recommendations and best practices in nonprofit management and preparation for the next time the US resettles youth who are part of a cultural/ethnic group that is new to the URM Program. The challenges that foster care programs faced in welcoming Rohingya youth included: difficulty securing interpretation services, obstacles in providing adequate training to staff and foster parents prior to resettlement, and challenges in delivery of mental health services. The results show that service providers suggest future resettlement of new populations: use a geographic cohort model, supplement cultural orientation, and increase alternative mental health programming.