CCFCS Secures $5.4 Million Grant for Enhanced Refugee Employment Services Program
In a boost to help newly arriving refugees in Rochester secure local employment, Catholic Charities Family and Community Services (CCFCS) has been awarded a 5-year, $5.4 million job preparation and placement grant from the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), Bureau of Refugee Services (BRS). The funding will be used to ramp up CCFCS' already successful Refugee Employment Services Program (RES), which provides job preparation and job placement for the refugee population.
"This grant recognizes the vital work being done in Rochester not only to welcome our refugee neighbors, but to help them achieve economic and social self-sufficiency," says Lori VanAuken, President and CEO of CCFCS.
CCFCS operates RES as part of its Refugee, Immigration and Employment Department. It maintains a base of more than 100 employers in the Greater Rochester area and has placed more than 370 refugees in local jobs since 2019. Over the same period, more than half the refugees placed in jobs by CCFCS became self-sufficient within 90 days of employment.
The RES team is made up of seven highly diverse staff members who speak more than five languages. Four RES staff are former refugees. Together, they provide a variety of services to prepare refugee clients for work and place them in jobs. These services include employment assessment and resume preparation, job search and completion of job applications, accompaniment to interview and orientations, and follow-up to ensure retention. To learn more, contact RefugeeEmploymentServices@fcscharities.org.
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