July 16. Senator TuNNEY and I met with Julia Taft. Director of the Interagency Task Force on Indochina. the ad.ministering agency for refugee programs. In this discussion. it became clear that we were in considerable disagreement over the refugee impact on schools. The administration sees just a scattering of refugee children throughout the schools. In areas of extreme impaction. HEW proposes a onetime payment of $300 per refugee child. I believe this policy is neither realistic nor fair. It ignores the potential for significant numbers of refugee children to be present in the public schools this fall or later in the school year. It skirts the firm promise of the Federal Government to help avoid financial hardship in local communities. And it ignores cutbacks in school programs that may have to be made in order to accommodate additional children. In House debate on the refugee assistance bill in May. Congresswoman PATSY MINK. speaking from her experience as representative of a State with substantial immigration each year. said: When we bring in a student from a foreign area who is completely unfamiliar with not only our language. but our ways. our culture. our government. and our school system. it is going to require a comprehensive program to make that child quickly a part of our community.
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immigration refugee