Levitt Reports

• The Fiscal Impact of Refugee Resettlement In the Mohawk Valley
  Prof. Paul Hagstrom
• Adaptation of Refugees During Cross-Cultural Transitions: Bosnian Refugees in Upstate New York
  Dr. Reed Coughlan (Empire State College)
  Dr. Judith Owens-Manley (Hamilton College)

Prof. Paul Hagstrom, Timothy Palmer '00 and Dr. Judith Owens-Manley look over data received from questionnaires sent to Bosnian refugees living in Utica, New York.

The following article by Dr. Judith Owens-Manley gives more explanation on the background of these studies.

Students survey impact of refugees

The Utica area has the fourth highest density of refugees in reference to total population in the United States. From 1979-2000, there were 8,691 refugees resettled in Utica. The largest refugee groups were Bosnians (3,430); Asian and Vietnamese (2,000); and those from the former Soviet Union (1,872). In all, refugees relocated from 22 or more countries, and most have had to learn English as a second language after arriving.

There has been a great deal of interest in the surrounding community regarding the impact that these refugees resettling in Oneida County have had on the area. Congressman Sherwood Boehlert also expressed his interest in having the Levitt Center do an independent study of the economic impact of refugees.

From 1999 - 2000, a research project was underway at the Levitt Center involving students as a class project and as paid research assistants. Other components of the research project involved Hamilton faculty and another area college, Empire State College.

Professor Paul Hagstrom began preparing for the economic impact study over the summer together with Judy Owens-Manley, Ph.D., MSW, Associate Director for Community Research at the Levitt Center. Ani Drescher, '00 gathered data and worked with a database provided by the Mohawk Valley Center for Refugees to establish a baseline of information from which to draw. Amela Porcia '99 worked together with Dr. Owens-Manley to enlarge the scope of the research through a survey of Bosnian refugees that studied refugee adaptation to the community as well as providing economic information from refugees resettling five years apart.

Professor Gary Wyckoff led a seminar in Public Policy during the fall with six students who made an economic impact study specifically of the Bosnian refugees. The students did research in teams of two that studied costs and benefits for educational services, social services, employment, etc. Their findings were preliminarily presented to a group of Hamilton College faculty and a few invited members of the community and were basically positive regarding the benefits that refugees bring.

The hands-on research was a lesson in itself, for students and faculty learned that a survey of large numbers of refugees does not work well. Because the refugees tend to be a transitory population, large numbers of surveys could not be delivered due to outdated addresses. Although one of Professor Wyckoff's students in particular, Joseph Nebbia '00, made a heroic effort to go through the phone book and update addresses to resend surveys, even the most recent phone book was already out-of-date for many!

In addition, the team learned that giving personal information was an uncomfortable process for people who have so recently been persecuted. This was helpful to the Oneida County Executive's office as they planned for the 2000 census.

Professor Hagstrom worked with Timothy Palmer '00 whose computer skills made him a valuable research assistant. The research was aided by a partnership with Empire State College, a division of the SUNY system. Professor Reed Coughlan received a grant from the SUNY Research Foundation for a sabbatical that included funds for research assistants, and three Hamilton students, Joseph Nebbia '02, L. D. Platt '01, and Tim Palmer, provided assistance through these funds.

Professor Coughlan, together with Dr. Owens-Manley, studied refugee adaptation to the community, but the method was revised. The research was done through personal interviews of Bosnian refugees selected because they had some measure of "successful" adaptation, either they were pursuing United States citizenship or had become homeowners in the greater Utica community. The interviews utilized the original survey questionnaire with some modifications.

The survey questionnaire was also adapted as a program evaluation tool for the Refugee Center itself. The questionnaire will be given to refugees after they have been here four months, the usual time it takes to find a job. The data will then be used to provide feedback to the Refugee Center about services needed, and it will also provide information about the economic and adaptive aspects of resettlement during the refugees' first year.

Professor Coughlan and Dr. Owens-Manley presented a paper, "Cross-Cultural Transition: Bosnian Refugees in Upstate New York," at the University of Bergen in Norway.   Hamilton College students will be continuing this vital research.