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WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENTthese funds for the programs that we have featured. 23 Nonetheless, it is important that local economic developmentand integration efforts focusing on workforce development reach out to local Workforce Investment Boards andother traditional local workforce development infrastructure so that efforts with immigrants are coordinated withmore traditional workforce programs.Refugee Resettlement Agencies - Refugees arriving in the U.S. are placed with privateresettlement agencies (voluntary agencies, known as “VOLAGs”) that have signed a Cooperative Agreement withthe State Department and, more specifically, one of the more than 350 local affiliates these agencies have spreadthroughout the U.S. 24 The affiliates are responsible for assuring that a core group of services are provided duringthe first 30-90 days after a refugee’s arrival, including food, housing, clothing, employment services, follow-upmedical care, and other necessary services.All refugees are eligible for federally-funded benefits and services during their first eight months. Refugeesdetermined ineligible for the State-Federal programs that support families in need – Temporary Assistancefor Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid – are eligible for Refugee Cash Assistance and Refugee MedicalAssistance for their first eight months in the U.S. These refugee programs are federally supported, but alsoleverage significant private and voluntary resources which can be critical components for addressing the longtermintegration and welcoming of new refugee populations. Thesebenefits are ended after the eight-month period, after which refugeesmust rely upon state benefit eligibility requirements that governother legal residents.All refugees are entitled to receive authorization for employmentand enabling economic self-sufficiency is a guiding objectiveof U.S. refugee resettlement policy. Refugees are protected by civilrights legislation and cannot be discriminated in the workplace. InAll refugees are eligible for federallyfundedbenefits and services duringtheir first eight months.order to prepare refugees for successful contributions to the workforce, refugee resettlement programs concentrateon employment, workforce development, and job preparation services. Among the top listed best practices in theseprograms are developing relationships with potential and current refugee employers. 25 Refugee agencies also citejob readiness training workshops including resume building, workplace English training, computer training, andinterview preparations as a best practice. Innovative practices like social media advertising, placing highly proficientEnglish speakers first to train future refugee employees, collaboration with local partners and placement agencies,and financial literacy training as additional ways to increase refugee economic self-sufficiency rates.“Higher” (formerly known as RefugeeWorks) is a job placement resource to assist in finding refugee employmenttraining programs and ideas. The agency maintains a significant inventory of downloadable tools services on theirwebsite that include a variety of English language employment tools, program design manuals for workforcedevelopment practitioners, sample employer outreach brochures, mentoring resources, facts and research. 2623One example of how state workforce funds have been used to support local workforce integration efforts targeting immigrants isIowa’s New Iowan Centers. Unfortunately, more in depth research into this program was unable to be completed by publication time(and, in part, due to the program’s website being under construction), but more information on the New Iowan Centers can be foundat Sarah Bzdege, “New Iowan Centers One-Stop Shop for Newcomers,” businessrecord.com, Business Record, July 11, 2009, http://www.businessrecord.com/Content/Default/Archives/Article/New-Iowan-Centers-one-stop-shop-for-newcomers/-3/988/38464 andPetsod, et al, “Investing in Our Communities: Strategies for Immigrant Integration,” p. 130.24A state-by-state list of affiliate agencies is locate at http://www.wrapsnet.org/Portals/1/Affiliate%20Directory%20Posting/FY%202013%20Affiliate%20Directory/Affiliate-Public.pdf.25Trevor Fleck, “Finding Employment: Factors Influencing Self-Sufficiency Rates in the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s MatchingGrant Program,” unc.edu. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, March 23, 2012, http://www.mpa.unc.edu/sites/www.mpa.unc.edu/files/Trevor%20Fleck_0.pdf.26Higher’s downloadable tools can be found at http://www.higheradvantage.org/downloadable-tools/WELCOMING AMERICA | GUIDE TO IMMIGRANT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | CHAPTER 5.3.5.