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Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth

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  • Fiza Mairaj

    (College of Education, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiza Mairaj, 2024. "Lacking Accountability and Effectiveness Measures: Exploring the Implementation of Mentoring Programs for Refugee Youth," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:11:p:586-:d:1508966
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amir A. Afkhami & Katy Gorentz, 2019. "Addressing the Invisible Affliction: An Assessment of Behavioral Health Services for Newly Resettled Refugees in the United States," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 247-259, February.
    2. H. Brinton Milward, 2014. "The increasingly hollow state: challenges and dilemmas for public administration," Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 70-79, March.
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