Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth
A high proportion of refugees coming into the U.S. are under the age of 18, and many continue to struggle to attain basic educational qualifications which may lead to viable economic opportunity. Recently, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) began issuing youth mentoring (YM) grants to support...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| author | Fiza Mairaj |
| author_facet | Fiza Mairaj |
| author_sort | Fiza Mairaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A high proportion of refugees coming into the U.S. are under the age of 18, and many continue to struggle to attain basic educational qualifications which may lead to viable economic opportunity. Recently, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) began issuing youth mentoring (YM) grants to support the integration of refugee youth. This paper explores the decision-making processes of resettlement organizations in a vertically complex network of organizations which implemented the YM programs for refugee youth in one large city of Texas. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with program implementers, findings suggest that resettlement agencies remain powerless in making key programmatic decisions, including implementation of the programs and designing accountability and effectiveness measures, which can truly evaluate the program quality. Other findings suggest that across the network of organizations involved in implementation of the YM programs, compliance with federal regulation is prioritized over accountability. The lack of program effectiveness and accountability measures have implications for one of the most vulnerable population, refugee youth. The main recommendation for policy and practice argues for the lead public agency’s increased involvement in defining key outcomes for the program recipients in a vertically complex network. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-60f206797e8b4edaa49b36d770d39b0d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-60f206797e8b4edaa49b36d770d39b0d2024-11-26T18:22:14ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602024-10-01131158610.3390/socsci13110586Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee YouthFiza Mairaj0College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USAA high proportion of refugees coming into the U.S. are under the age of 18, and many continue to struggle to attain basic educational qualifications which may lead to viable economic opportunity. Recently, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) began issuing youth mentoring (YM) grants to support the integration of refugee youth. This paper explores the decision-making processes of resettlement organizations in a vertically complex network of organizations which implemented the YM programs for refugee youth in one large city of Texas. Through a series of semi-structured interviews with program implementers, findings suggest that resettlement agencies remain powerless in making key programmatic decisions, including implementation of the programs and designing accountability and effectiveness measures, which can truly evaluate the program quality. Other findings suggest that across the network of organizations involved in implementation of the YM programs, compliance with federal regulation is prioritized over accountability. The lack of program effectiveness and accountability measures have implications for one of the most vulnerable population, refugee youth. The main recommendation for policy and practice argues for the lead public agency’s increased involvement in defining key outcomes for the program recipients in a vertically complex network.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/11/586refugeesaccountabilityyouth mentoringvertical complexity |
| spellingShingle | Fiza Mairaj Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth Social Sciences refugees accountability youth mentoring vertical complexity |
| title | Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth |
| title_full | Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth |
| title_fullStr | Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth |
| title_short | Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth |
| title_sort | lacking accountability and effectiveness measures exploring the implementation of mentoring programs for refugee youth |
| topic | refugees accountability youth mentoring vertical complexity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/11/586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fizamairaj lackingaccountabilityandeffectivenessmeasuresexploringtheimplementationofmentoringprogramsforrefugeeyouth |