Refugee Families

This resource explains who a refugee is, where refugees come from, how long it takes to screen and vet a refugee, if refugees can legally work in the U.S., and many other commonly asked questions about refugees in the United States.

This resource explains to teachers what experiences cause stress or trauma in refugee children, what symptoms a child might display, and how teachers and schools can help refugee children.

Creating an environment of safety and security is crucial for inclusion of refugee students in the classroom. This article focuses on how teachers can support refugee students by respecting their experiences, offering routines and communication, and showing compassion.

Learn how educators of refugees can support students’ social-emotional health, academic instruction, and acclimation to a new life in the U.S. This article also offers strategies for smoothing the transition for both refugees and mainstream students and supporting students through the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article gives educators strategies to support dual language learners language development through family engagement, environmental supports, and dual-language models.

This issue brief provides an overview of the experiences of young children of immigrant and refugee families in the U.S. Opportunities for early childhood programs to expand access including integrating trauma-informed strategies, ensuring home-visiting programs are equipped to serve diverse families, and encouraging collaboration and referral among agencies are described.

This article provides educators strategies for working across language and cultural differences to make families feel at home in new schools.

This website describes and provides links for many Illinois programs for refugee families including the Illinois Welcoming Center (IWC), the New Americans Initiative (NAI), and the Immigrant Family Resource Program (IFRP).

Learn more from Dr. Robyn Hess (University of Northern Colorado) about the importance of strengths-based approaches in working with refugees, the impacts of displacement and trauma on children, and the unique factors that affect outreach to refugees in rural communities.

Young children and their families can be tremendously affected by trauma, with significant implications for well-being well into the future. This page offers resources for families and caregivers working with very young children who have experienced trauma as well as connection to specialized mental health professionals who understand the needs of very young children.

This Young Children article provides early childhood educators with strategies to support refugee children and their families in their classrooms including creating play experiences that do not require English, familiarizing families with classrooms, and connecting with related community cultural groups.