Mr. President. I would like to bring to my colleagues attention an innovative refugee assistance program in Oregon which has proven to be especially cost effective in helping newly arrived refugees achieve economic selfsufficiency. The Refugee Early Employment Project CREEP] is a federally funded demonstration project based in Portland. OR. which carries national significance. A 3year study of REEP has recently been completed by the Refugee Policy Group (RPG). a Washingtonbased refugee advocacy organization. The study is a fitting tribute to the many Oregonians who have dedicated themselves to enhancing the lives of refugees in Oregon. The aim of REEP is to facilitate employment and economic selfsufficiency among refugees. in addition to exploring alternative strategies for the delivery of cash assistance. social services. and case management. REEP has managed to accomplish these goals. while reducing expenditures by a margin of 18.5 percent compared to Oregons previous refugee assistance program. More important than cost savings. however. is the direct effect that this program has had on refugees struggling to begin a new life in the United States. REEP attained one of its primary objectives by placing at least 75 percent of employable refugees in permanent. fulltime employment within 18 months of their arrival in this country. As a result of this increased employment rate. more refugee families can be expected to obtain economic selfsufficiency at an earlier time. thus reducing the expenditures required to support these families during their first 18 months in America. If REEP can be successfully replicated in other regions of the United States. and all indications are that it can. it will result in a considerable financial savings to refugee assistance programs. and it will provide a tremendous boost to the livelihood of refugees seeking a new life far away from their own wartom and often repressive nations. Special gratitude is owed to Ron Spendal and Shari Cook of the Oregon Adult and Family Services Division for their imaginative leadership during the project. Their efforts. together with the coordinated contributions of many others. are helping to bring about a brighter future for refugees In the United States. Mr. President. I ask that the contents of the Refugee Policy Group executive summary on "The Refugee Early Employment Project" be printed in the RECORD following my remarks. The summary follows:
Keywords matched
Refugee refugee refugees