[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 53 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA: A REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND 
                       JOB TRAINING SUCCESS STORY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 30, 2012

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, over the past four decades, tens of 
thousands of refugees who have fled lands of conflict, persecution, or 
turmoil have traveled to Minnesota to find a new home and start a new 
life. Often, these families or individuals, young and old, arrive in 
Minnesota without possessions, without language skills, and without 
certainty about their futures. Minnesota has welcomed refugees from 
Laos, Vietnam, Russia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Liberia, Somalia, Burma, 
Bosnia, and dozens of other countries who are now our friends, 
neighbors, and co-workers. There are thousands of success stories, but 
starting a new life in Minnesota requires support, assistance, and a 
willing partner.
  The St. Paul-based International Institute of Minnesota, IIM, is one 
of America's premier refugee resettlement agencies. Since 1975, IIM has 
sponsored and resettled more than 22,000 refugees. Their resettlement 
work, along with the extensive education and training programs they 
provide for new Minnesotans, has resulted in refugees transitioning 
from conflict and uncertainty to stability and economic self-
sufficiency. IIM's work is both valuable and essential to the 
contributions refugees continue to make, as they become New Americans, 
to Minnesota's economy and the strengths they bring to our communities.
  One of IIM's innovative and successful job training programs is the 
Medical Careers Pathway for New Americans, a sectoral-based training 
model within the healthcare industry. IIM developed the program that 
defines a pathway to employment and economic independence for newcomers 
in Minnesota. It has evolved over the years to meet both the needs of 
low-income New Americans and the demand from the industry for a well 
trained and qualified healthcare workforce. The program includes three 
areas of training--Nursing Assistant Training, NAR; College Readiness 
Classes, CR; and Medical Career Advancement, MCA.
  This established career pathway helps participants move from entry to 
advanced positions in healthcare by helping them navigate complex 
higher education systems so that their long-term goal of career 
advancement and economic independence are attained. Critical language, 
academic support services and life skills tools are provided, including 
strategies for balancing work, family and the stress of living in 
poverty. The pathway recently added a FastTRAC Initiative with St. Paul 
College and Roseville Adult Basic Education to increase passing rates 
for students in the Anatomy and Physiology course.
  The program has graduated and certified nearly 1,800 nursing 
assistants. Eighty-five percent of these certified graduates have been 
employed. Two-thirds of these IIM clients were unemployed when they 
entered the training program. Because of their dedication to their work 
and caring for the elderly, eighty-eight percent of graduates are still 
employed at one year, helping several longterm care business partners 
stabilize their workforce. The Director of Nursing from St. Anthony 
Park Home recently said, ``I do not know what we would do without this 
training program.''
  The Pathway program has helped nearly 400 New Americans advance from 
entry-level positions in healthcare to nursing and other professional 
jobs within the industry. These program graduates are providing quality 
healthcare to hospital patients and long-term care residents, some of 
whom require bilingual caregivers, while easing the expected healthcare 
labor shortage in Minnesota.
  The IIM is a model for refugee resettlement in the U.S., but the 
innovation and success of their Pathway program should also be 
considered a refugee job training model deserving of expansion, as well 
as replication across the country. I want to commend IIM for their 
valuable work and urge state and federal partners working on refugee 
resettlement and job training to continue to support IIM's success.

                          ____________________