Corporation
of New York
Vol. 4/No. 3
Fall 2007
Afghanistan at the Tipping Point
Easing the Transition from Immigrant to Citizen
International Philanthropy: Strategies for Change
Learning from Program Evaluation: Interview with Johann Mouton
Also in this issue:
A Long Island, New York, Perspective
Past Issues:
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Easing the Transition from
Immigrant to Citizen
A Unifying Force
Building on the success of the citizenship initiative, Governor Rod Blagojevich,
the son of Serbian immigrants, signed the New Americans Executive Order
on November 21, 2005, with the goal of developing a more cohesive approach
to immigrant integration in Illinois. It was the first such executive
order in the nation and, as noted later in this article, other states
are considering it as a model or have implemented similar actions. Research
is showing that helping immigrants become citizens provides them with
the basis for positive outcomes in education, healthcare and the workplace,
and that society benefits by having citizens who actively participate
politically, socially and culturally.
The Illinois executive order is a partnership between the Governor’s Office and the immigrant community, staffed by ICIRR and the Governor’s Office of New Americans. In the Governor’s Office, the order created the Office of New Americans Policy and Advocacy and the State Interagency Task Force, made up of directors of state agencies and staffed by the office. On the community side, the New Americans Executive Order created the New Americans Policy Council, made up of 26 leaders from around the state, and the National Advisory Panel, both staffed by ICIRR. The Blagojevich administration has also launched the All Kids Program, which ensures healthcare for all children in the state, and Preschool for All, legislation that makes preschool available to all three- and four-year-olds in the state.
“The New Americans Executive Order is the unifier
of the many things that have been happening around the state [in immigrant
and refugee integration],” says Grace Hou, Assistant Secretary in
the Illinois Department of Human Services, adding that it is not the intention
of the order to develop a new group of programs and services. “This
put an exclamation point behind everything that we are doing and set the
stage for what we want to do in the future and how we can sustain some
of the efforts we have put forth so far.”
With one-in-five residents of Illinois being immigrants or the children
of immigrants, Hou says, “It would be irresponsible for a state
government to turn its back on this population because it’s who
we serve. We need to be dynamic and flexible and reactive to the people
we serve. That’s how we framed it, and so it has been well received.”
The New Americans Policy Council is comprised of 26 leaders from all over the state, including a farmer, a police chief, educators, social service providers and business representatives. In the first year of the project (2006), the council addressed citizenship, English acquisition, human services, health care and education. In 2007 the council members addressed issues of housing, home ownership, police-community relations, workforce development and entrepreneurship. They are developing recommendations that will be published in the fall of 2007. “What distinguishes our policy council is that it is a true partnership with the Governor’s Office,” says Lisa Thakkar, New Americans Executive Order Policy Project Coordinator. “Throughout the process, we talk with [staff members of] the Governor’s Office about the council’s recommendations to determine which are realistic, cost-effective solutions that will benefit the most people.” She continues, “This partnership really gives the project ‘teeth’ because we have buy-in from the office from the beginning, which will allow us to actually get things implemented.”
Grants from private foundations to help launch executive order programs include a two-year grant of $250,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 2005; a two-year, $150,000 grant from the Joyce Foundation awarded in 2006; and a $50,000, one-year grant awarded by Carnegie Corporation, also in 2005. “I’m very, very impressed with the really thoughtful collaboration between an advocacy organization and the state,” says Julia Stasch, MacArthur Foundation Vice President, Human and Community Development. “It’s been a marriage of fine purpose.”
Despite the advances being made there is concern about state funding for the executive order and its programs. “It’s great that an additional $3 million—and possibly another half-million—may be included in the state budget, but the governor should be doing so much more; otherwise, the executive order becomes not much more than a piece of paper,” says Daranee Petsod, Executive Director of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR). “For example, the We Want to Learn English program, which is a major feature of the recommendations, should be funded at a significant level. Demand for ESL classes in every state far outweighs the availability of classes, and this demand will increase exponentially should a comprehensive immigration reform measure pass in the future, as learning English will likely become a requirement of gaining legal status.” The We Want to Learn English authorizing legislation was approved overwhelmingly by both the Illinois House of Representatives and the State Senate, and actual funding levels will be set during what is turning out to be one of the most contentious budget negotiations in the history of the state.
Thirteen months after the executive order was signed into law, the council released For the Benefit of All, a 28-page report of its recommendations for immigration integration in Illinois (http://www.icirr.org/naeo/docs/pcreport.pdf). In a statement that accompanies the report, Blagojevich wrote, “These strategic recommendations will help Illinois lead the nation when it comes to providing opportunities for newcomers, and will allow us to standardize and improve key services that Illinois provides to immigrants and refugees.” Recommendations address four challenges that focus on assisting newcomers and their children through the process of becoming contributing and integrated members of society and ensuring them practical, local access to statewide services and opportunities.