Case Management

One of the biggest challenges facing new immigrants in the region is simply navigating unfamiliar systems. Accessing services can be a confusing and laborious process for many people in the region, but immigrant families face additional difficulties, including language barriers, unfamiliarity with local institutions, and a lack of social connections. For many immigrants, having a case manager who helps with navigating local systems can be an immense benefit. The case manager can identify services, make connections to providers, help with paperwork and other requirements, highlight needs that the immigrant may not have known about, and provide enough knowledge to help their client be successful and comfortable utilizing local systems. Those providing case management within the region are often critical for helping with transportation as well, enabling immigrant families to physically access the resources they need.

Case management services will differ substantially in terms of how formal and extensive the support is that they provide. Social service organizations may staff trained social workers who provide case management for clients. Other organizations may employ community connectors, community health workers, coaches, and other navigators with cultural and language skills to help immigrants identify needs and connect to services. A number of small nonprofits and volunteer organizations also conduct extensive case management work, often undertaken by unpaid staff. And very frequently, untrained volunteers, community leaders, members of faith communities, and other individuals with a personal (but not professional) connection to the family will serve in this role, helping to navigate systems and act as advocates.

While ideally all case management would be handled by paid and trained staff, the reality in the region is that individuals and organizations from all of these categories will likely be necessary for the foreseeable future. Special recognition should be given to those smaller nonprofits and volunteer community members who play a case management role for immigrants, including those among the most marginalized in the region. These volunteers and nonprofit staff, many of whom receive little to no compensation for their services, frequently move mountains in support of their immigrant neighbors. Without their committed and dedicated work, the system of support for new immigrant families would be untenable, and many immigrants would fall through the cracks. Volunteers within immigrant communities also play an enormous role in case management, often in ways that go unseen and unrecognized within the larger community.

One of the reasons for the region’s reliance on volunteers is a lack of established support for new, non-refugee immigrants who come here. Throughout the United States, refugee resettlement organizations are generally responsible for settling new refugee families into a community, providing them with housing, helping with job searches, and offering other valuable services during that initial period. These organizations receive federal funding to provide these services and support. However, since 2017 the region has not had a refugee resettlement agency, with the Catherine McAuley Center in Cedar Rapids being the closest organization in Iowa. Also, refugee resettlement generally only refers to immigrants designated as refugees, and doesn’t apply to asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, COFA migrants, or many of the other new immigrant arrivals who come here. This means that local nonprofits serving new immigrants generally do not receive federal funding for case management, but instead rely on the work of volunteers and other funding streams in order to provide services. Most new arrivals (outside of university students) are initially welcomed to the community and connected to services by small nonprofits or volunteers.

While these groups and individuals often do excellent work helping immigrant families and should be commended for their efforts, this situation does raise serious issues:

• Lack of Training: Many community members who work to support immigrant families have little experience with the systems they are helping navigate, or the regulations in place. This is especially true for members of immigrant populations who are assisting those in their own communities, as they may only have recent or infrequent knowledge of how to access services. This can increase the difficulty of obtaining those services, making the process more laborious, less efficient, and potentially less successful.
• Challenges Sharing Knowledge: When volunteers or smaller organizations do learn how to engage with a system or access a service, they may not be able to effectively share that knowledge with other volunteers. This leads to a situation of “re-inventing the wheel,” where multiple, disconnected advocates each struggle to figure out the solution to the same problem.
• Missing Relationships: A wealth of resources are available within the region; however, those resources can be difficult to identify and access. While larger and well-established organizations face problems understanding the landscape of service providers, it is even more challenging for small nonprofits and volunteers, who may have limited relationships with institutions and service providers. This may cause those volunteers to lean heavily on the few relationships they do have, potentially missing other resources and reducing what services are available. And if an immigrant family only has one individual providing case management, this may result in limited options for important needs like jobs, housing, and legal assistance.
• Damaged Relationships: In addition to a lack of relationships, damaged relationships, due to interpersonal conflicts or an absence of trust, can also interrupt the case management process. Two individuals may have a falling out, or argue over an important issue, or simply have a serious miscommunication that leads to a broken partnership. This is especially challenging within immigrant communities, where well intentioned service providers may exacerbate a problematic situation due to a lack of cultural understanding. Damaged relationships between advocates and community leaders can lead to additional challenges and ultimately lead to a decline in services for immigrants. While these problems can arise with larger organizations, the use of professional and paid staff and clearly defined procedures governing behavior and supervision are frequently used tools to avoid serious, lasting damage to relationships.
• Risk of Burnout: Advocates and other individuals that support immigrants are often at high risk of burnout due to the need that exists, the complex challenges facing immigrants, and the very personal and emotional reactions that are elicited by some immigrants’ stories. There have been numerous examples in the region where advocates who feel overwhelmed by their work find it necessary to leave and focus on other priorities. This can be especially true when people in a community identify one person (often with language skills) as a key connector. This risk for burnout can be more pronounced in volunteers because their case management work comes separately from their job, leaving less time, little to no compensation, and a lack of support from coworkers or other institutional mechanisms.
• Key-Individual Risk: Having case management handled by an individual or a small organization also makes it more likely that a support network will fall apart if anything were to happen to that individual. If the important individual becomes burned out or sick, or moves to a different job or region, immigrant families may be left without trusted connections or navigational support. When the immigrant’s relationship is with an organization instead of a volunteer, this risk can be mitigated, and there can be relationships with multiple staff members as well as a system for replacing the lost capacity.
• Risk of Mistakes: While many volunteers are well-meaning and committed advocates, they may be untrained and have only a limited understanding of important issues. This raises the possibility of unintended but serious mistakes. If a volunteer gives improper advice (such as on legal or medical situations), this can potentially have a major impact on immigrants and even lead to problems for the larger community. In other cases, the desire of volunteers to advocate for immigrants may put them in conflict with the policies and requirements of local institutions. Because established organizations should provide training and have policies handling oversight and liability, the risk of a serious mistake becomes less likely and less impactful.
• Risk of Predatory Behavior: Unfortunately, not all volunteers will be well intentioned. Given the marginalized and vulnerable position of many immigrants, and especially immigrant youth, the risk posed by predatory individuals is a real concern that the region should take seriously. Often immigrants, including immigrant minors, rely on volunteers (who may be virtual strangers) for everything from financial support to being driven long distances for legal hearings. Many volunteers do not undergo background checks or regular supervision when they begin providing support to immigrants.

Taken together, these challenges decrease the effectiveness of immigrant support services, and leave open the risk for significant problems. To see recommendations that offer potential pathways to address these issues, click here.

Use the following links to learn more about different issues facing immigrant communities:

• For Education and Youth Support, click here
• For Health, click here
• For Housing, click here
• For Legal Assistance, click here
• For Translation and Interpretation, click here
• For Workforce and Employment, click here

To return to the Immigration Community Assessment welcome page, click here.