Policy Research Shop Testimony: June 20, 2012

PRS Students Testify Before Officials from the New Hampshire Office of Minority Health and Refugee Affairs

On Wednesday, June 20, 2012, three PRS students, Brandon ’14, Carolyn Gaut ’13, and Richard D’Amato ’13, from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center Policy Research Shop, made a presentation in Concord, NH to the staff of the New Hampshire Office of Minority Health and Refugee Affairs, including Dr. Trinidad Tellez, Director of the office, Ms. Barbara Seebart, the State Refugee Coordinator as well as other staff members from the refugee program. The students presented findings from two papers, “New Hampshire Refugee Resettlement: A Community Integration Framework” and “Methodologies for Tracking Refugees Longitudinally: Nationwide Analysis and Policy Options.”  

The first paper presents a framework for understanding the priorities of long-term refugee integration and examines options in policy and practice that could be applicable to New Hampshire. Based on a nationwide analysis, the second paper investigates models for longitudinally tracking resettled refugees, and describes options for improving the effectiveness of data collection systems. Following the presentation and questions from the audience, the students and administrators discussed the implications of their research for New Hampshire’s resettlement programs.