- Collection:
- Georgia Government Publications
- Serial:
- Child welfare in Georgia.
- Title:
- Citizenship and naturalization 2010-2011 service analysis
- Creator:
- Georgia. Division of Family and Children Services. Refugee Programs Unit
- Contributor to Resource:
- Georgia. Division of Family and Children Services.
- Publisher:
- [Atlanta, Ga.] : Georgia Department of Human Services, Division of Family and Children Services, Refugee Programs Unit, 2011
- Date of Original:
- 2010/2011
- Subject:
- Refugees--Services for--Georgia
- Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- state government records
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- Title from PDF caption (Georgia Government Publications database, viewed Dec. 8, 2011)
- External Identifiers:
- Call Number GA H800.F2 S1 C53 2010-2011
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_ggpd_y-ga-bh800-pf2-bs1-bc53-b2010-h2011-belec-p-btext
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_ggpd_y-ga-bh800-pf2-bs1-bc53-b2010-h2011-belec-p-btext
- Language:
- eng
- Holding Institution:
- University of Georgia. Map and Government Information Library
- Rights:
-
Citizenship &
Naturalization
2010 2011 Service Analysis
Funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)
Georgia Department of Human Services
Division of Family & Children Services
Refugee Programs Unit
Citizenship and Naturalization Services
These services provided the assistance refugees needed to meet all their immigration obligations to ensure continued residency in the United States (US). These services may be provided to individuals who have been in the US for up to 5 years or more.
The following agencies have contracts to provide these services. International Rescue Committee (IRC) and World Relief (WR) contracted for Lawful Permanent Residency/Naturalization Application Preparation and Instructions; Georgia Piedmont Technical College (formally DeKalb Technical College) contracted to provide Civic/Citizenship classes. During this year, IRC entered into partnership with Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS), who received a grant from United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to provide free citizenship preparation classes. IRC referred their clients seeking to become citizens to that program, which would provide reinforcement of English skills and support in preparation of their naturalization exam.
During the 2011 contract year, contractors assisted 1,272 refugees to apply for Lawful Permanent Residency (LPR), since this must be attained within the first year of residency. Also, contractors assisted 60 refugee applicants to achieve United States (US) citizenship status. However, only 1 individual completed the civic class, which will be discussed later in this narrative.
Graph (1) Number of Services Provided
1400 1200 1000
800 600 400 200
0
La w ful Pe rm a ne nt
$300,000.00
$250,000.00
$200,000.00
$150,000.00
$100,000.00
$50,000.00
$0.00
Na tura liz a tion Applications
Civics Classes
Number of Services
1272
Cost
$254,400.00
60 $12,000.00
1 $200.00
In the 2011 contract year, $266,932.00 was allocated for the Citizenship and Naturalization Services, which constituted 9.76% of total Social Services and Targeted Assistance Grant Funds ($2,734,433.00).
Graph (2) the percentage of allocated dollars to Citizenship and Naturalization Services
Total SSG & TAG Dollars = $2,734,433.00
9.76%
Citizenship & Naturalization
SSG & TAG Totals
90.24%
Direct one-on-one counseling was provided to the refugees seeking citizenship. Study guides, CDs and flash cards were given to the refugee clients, to provide them with an overview of what to study for naturalization test and interview. Clients were also referred to the library for citizenship tapes and other materials.
Citizenship &
Naturalization
2010 2011 Service Analysis
A total of $30,000.00 was allocated to the Citizenship/Civics classes at Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC). Although GPTC made available civics classes there were not enough refugees enrolled in the class and not enough attendance hours to justify billing. The decision to not charge for citizenship/civics classes, left funds in the citizenship portion of the grant. GPTC requested that the remainder of funds $29,800.00 be transferred to the English Language Instruction portion of the grant.
Funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)
Graph (3) Funds allocated for Citizenship/Civics Classes
Citizenship Classes
$30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000
$5,000 $0
$29,800 $200
Expended funds Unused/transferred funds
Georgia Department of Human Services
Division of Family & Children Services
Refugee Programs Unit
Recommendation:
GPTC did not use the funding allocated for Citizenship/Civics classes. The graph shows that $29,800.00 of funding was unused for the classes. The unused funds were transferred into the English Language Instruction service where it was utilized. Currently, there are free citizenship classes being provided by Literacy Volunteers and JF&CS, funded by a grant from USCIS. GPTC has decided to partner with Literacy Volunteers (LV). GPTC is giving them free classroom space. LV will make classes available at different times which will hopefully encourage and draw more students, to GPTC. However, due to the economic downturn, it is essential that government resources are used to maximum efficiency. At this time, it is recommended that funding for Citizenship/Civics classes be suspended and the funding reallocated to English Language Instruction (ELI), since it is apparent that ELI is a more viable program.