Latest news with #CommonwealthCatholicCharities
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local organization looks for more foster parents to help meet growing need
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – May is Foster Care Awareness Month, and organizations like Commonwealth Catholic Charities (CCC) are looking for more foster parents in the area. There are about 400,000 children in foster care nationwide. According to data from the Virginia Department of Social Services (DSS), more than 5,600 children are in foster care in Virginia as of May 1st. That is higher than it was at the same time last year. In Roanoke City, 264 children are in foster care, which is the second highest total of any Virginia locality. CCC has provided foster care services in the area since the 1980s and wants more people to sign up to help lower those numbers. Youngkin signs bills designed to improve foster care in Virginia 'I believe that every child should have a safe, loving, healthy home,' Caroline Stanfill, a foster parent with CCC for the past 2.5 years, said. 'Every child in our community should, and I think that if we all come together and pitch in, we can definitely make sure that happens for every kid that's in foster care.' Stanfill mentioned how rewarding it is to build relationships with the kids and watch them develop in a safe environment. With that said, the job does not come without challenges. 'We don't know when a child might come into care, and we don't know when a child will leave care or where they'll be going,' Stanfill said. 'There are a lot of unknowns that we have to be flexible and settle into.' About 58% of foster children in both Roanoke and Virginia are 10 years old or older. With CCC, people interested can choose the age group that best fits their home. 'Some will say they want little ones, and some people would rather have a teenager who may be a little bit more independent in some of the tasks of daily living,' Stanfill said. 'For me, I love children of all ages, and I've worked with children of all ages.' One of the big requirements to foster a child with CCC is having a clean, safe home with enough room for someone else. More information and requirements can be found on the organization's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Refugee services still wonder what future holds
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Commonwealth Catholic Charities is part of the world's largest refugee resettlement agency, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It places international refugees in the Roanoke, Richmond, and Hampton Roads areas. Kristen Larcher, director of refugee and immigration services at CCC says the impacts of President Donald Trump's order pausing refugee entry came 'fast and furious.' Trump ordered a pause on refugee arrivals in January, ending reimbursements for programs like the CCC's. His order included a 90-day review, which would have landed on April 27. Then in February, that review was seemingly scrapped when the state department terminated grant agreements with the ten resettlement agencies in the U.S. 'I don't really know what that means, I don't see after a termination that now they would come back and revisit how this is going to look,' said Larcher. 'What I have heard from the network USCCB is that helping refugees might resurface in the future but it might look different and it might not happen through these ten agencies.' The Trump administration argued in the January 20 order that 'The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans.' Roanoke Police looking for missing girl 'I think cities are well prepared and have always been,' Larcher responded in an interview Tuesday. 'I mean the 1980 Refugee Act, it's not a new program, it's been around for decades.' The order says refugee admissions can resume when they align 'with the interests of the United States.' Larcher and her team continued to offer 90-day services to refugees who arrived before January 20, despite not receiving reimbursements from the federal government. The CCC Roanoke office had to let go nine of its 17 member staff. They typically help about 315 refugees in one fiscal year (October to September). By January, 88 arrived, so Larcher's team started looking for alternatives funding. 'Past donors, churches, volunteers,' she explained. 'We had to pull together funds pretty quickly to cover those expenses that are promised to refugees coming through the reception and placement program.' The funding helps provide housing when they get to the U.S. and education in conversational English and other typical American life skills. The program also helps refugees find work so they can get on their feet after their first 90 days. The U.S. is still helping refugees who came to America before the order. 'Losing the reception and placement program is like losing one engine,' Larcher explained. 'We're still operating on this other engine. Funding does come through the Office of Refugee Resettlement and that's a completely different program that allows us, as I said before, to work with refugees for 3, 4, 5 years. That's the ongoing refugee services that go beyond the first 90 days.' As of right now, Larcher says they expect to have that funding next fiscal year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How public and private partnerships deliver promised, essential social services
A group of women at the beach, participating in Commonwealth Catholic Charities' have programming where refugee women in Virginia gather for learning and outings. (Photo courtesy Commonwealth Catholic Charities) Commonwealth Catholic Charities (CCC) has partnered with the government for over 15 years to welcome new Americans through the United States Refugee Admissions program. Despite evidence that refugee arrivals provide significant economic returns and no threat to public safety, the Refugee Admissions program was abruptly halted on January 20. With a change in administration, nonprofit agencies like ours anticipated a temporary pause on new arrivals. We did not anticipate that our government would simply stop payment for services already rendered and withhold support for lawfully admitted refugees. Since the cancellation of contracts providing regulatory structure and financial resources, we have struggled to provide for people welcomed by the U.S. after fleeing war and persecution. We were also forced to lay off or furlough over 20% of our workforce statewide. When one side of a public-private partnership breaks, the whole system breaks. Thousands of nonprofits and communities around the country experienced this firsthand over the past few weeks. Only the generosity of donors and board members ensured that CCC could continue to provide housing and other essentials to new arrivals during this crisis. While contributions from community members have enabled us to provide food and housing to newly arrived refugees, the community navigation and case management normally provided by our team cannot be replicated or replaced without federal support. We are providing a modest level of assistance through other staff members and volunteers, but the loss of dedicated professional staff to help refugees integrate locally will make the transition to life in the United States significantly more challenging. As CCC and other nonprofits have scrambled to continue to provide services, some community members and public leaders have questioned our participation in publicly funded programs, suggesting motives other than our simple desire to fulfill our mission and commitments to our communities. Government funding is essential for high-impact nonprofits to thrive. Public-private partnerships are the lifeblood of the social service delivery system in our country. CCC and organizations like ours, who work with the government, never accept a public-private partnership exclusively for money. We evaluate opportunities based on the people we can serve and the potential impact on our community. Vulnerable people—neglected children who need a loving foster home, refugees who arrive with nothing, and individuals who've spent their entire adult lives on the streets—rely on the promise of government assistance. Government assistance passes through private agencies. Private agencies are full of passionate staff who live in, love, and understand the community they're serving. The government leverages our religious identity, our commitment to mission, our local connections, our volunteer networks, our efficiency, and our expertise. In turn, we leverage government financial assistance to ensure that we can meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable members of our community. Government funds support our work but rarely cover all expenses. We also rely heavily on the generosity of our community—but that generosity also rarely fulfills all needs. Ending public-private partnerships will dismantle the entire social service delivery system. Broken budgets are not what's at stake, but—it's the very lives of our neighbors and the system that communities rely on for services. To talk about the government not fulfilling its promises to its partners only in terms of the institutional consequences for agencies, or in a way that questions the motives of those who serve, is nearly as cruel as leaving vulnerable community members without the help that has been promised them. CCC's mission impels us to serve the community. To serve, we must participate in the programs and systems in place. We cannot let those systems disappear overnight. Participating in government-funded programs is never about the money, it's about scalable, sustainable impact. It's about community. It's about people. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virginia nonprofit ceases refugee resettlement program in wake of federal cuts
Commonwealth Catholic Charities, a faith-based nonprofit that works with immigrant and refugee populations in Hampton Roads, Richmond and Roanoke, laid off 26 people and ceased a refugee resettlement program in the wake of sweeping federal cuts and executive orders. The organization has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on things such as direct support and rental assistance for refugees that will not be reimbursed by the federal government, and must now rely more heavily on donations to assist families who have already relocated to Virginia. 'The last month has been pretty nightmarish,' said Kristen Larcher, the nonprofit's director of the Refugee and Immigration program. 'We have received several executive orders, notices of suspension or termination of contracts that have pretty much changed our entire operation.' The organization has resettled about 1,500 individuals in the Newport News area since 2018. When refugees flee violence, persecution or war in their home countries to seek safety in the United States, the process can take years. They often wind up in a second country of asylum while they await a lengthy vetting process. The people Catholic Charities helps have been granted visas to travel to the U.S. and promised assistance to find housing and employment. Until about a month ago, the refugee resettlement program at Catholic Charities worked like this: Before refugees arrived in Virginia, the organization would procure housing and supplies, making sure the fridge was stocked. Then, staff would pick up refugees from the airport and begin an intensive acclimation process, which lasts 90 days. That meant meetings with a case manager. Health screenings. Pre-employment training and job interviews. Financial literacy training. English and cultural orientation classes. In the background, staff was coordinating transportation, helping people look for jobs and booking interpreters. 'I can imagine it's a whirlwind for a new refugee,' said Larcher. 'All these things we're trying to do to educate and just prepare them for life here.' That intensive case management, called the reception and placement program, has been totally suspended as a result of federal policy changes. The first came in January, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the United States Refugee Admissions Program. That effectively barred new refugees from entering the country, except at the discretion of the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security, who could agree to admit new people on a case-by-case basis. While the suspension is supposed to be reviewed every 90 days to determine whether it should resume, the practical effects meant Catholic Charities was no longer able to take in new refugees, ending the cyclical nature of the program. Virginia Politics | VMI's first Black superintendent says ouster is based on politics Virginia Politics | Republicans fight to restore party-run primaries, challenge new state law Virginia Politics | Help could be on the way for Chincoteague water wells contaminated by PFAS Virginia Politics | Norfolk's Commonwealth's Attorney condemns bill that would prevent federal funding for sanctuary cities Virginia Politics | Rep. Jen Kiggans asks Department of Defense to limit veteran workforce cuts in new letter Then the nonprofit, which is contracted through the U.S. Department of State and Office of Refugee Resettlement, received notice that federal funding for programs for new refugees was paused. That means no federal money was coming in to reimburse ongoing services with the resettled families already living in the state. As of Friday, the organization said it will not receive roughly $750,000 in reimbursement on expenses for direct client support, rental assistance and staffing costs. 'We're paying out a lot,' Larcher said. 'We're helping refugees with rent. We are buying them food and clothing, and we're not able to get that funding reimbursed.' Catholic news outlets reported the State Department canceled its contract on Feb. 27 with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the national agency for Commonwealth Catholic Charities. That has meant the elimination of the reception and placement program. Vice President JD Vance has been critical of the Catholic Church's involvement with immigration advocacy and refugee resettlement efforts, suggesting that bishops cared more about their bottom line than humanitarian efforts. Trump has said the refugee resettlement pause is necessary to ensure refugees are 'appropriately' assimilated and that taxpayer money is not wasted. Since October, Commonwealth Catholic Charities has taken on 96 cases, a total of 378 people coming from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and Ukraine. The nonprofit is still assisting 60 families while they look for work. The federal announcements have meant a lot of scrambling, Larcher said, including emergency fundraising efforts to make sure existing refugees in the program are getting basics met, such as rent and utilities. So far, the organization has raised $280,000 to pay for rent for all new arrivals through March. They hope to raise an additional $120,000 to cover rent through April and May. About $41,000 of the anticipated funding gap affects refugees in Hampton Roads. After the initial 90 days, Catholic Charities provides other less intensive support for refugees for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship. That aid includes support services such as ESL classes, food pantries and immigration assistance. Under new federal policy, the 90-day case management program is terminated; the other support services are ongoing. 'Despite that funding and that program suspension and termination, we can't not continue to take care of refugees that have just come that were assigned to us,' Larcher said. 'These are individuals who are going to be part of our community, and we recognize in solidarity with them that we're all part of one human family.' No one the organization currently works with will go homeless or hungry, Larcher said, but it's clear the nonprofit can't continue operate as is. In addition to laying off 26 staff members, a move that the organization said was necessary to continue to pay for direct assistance for new arrivals, refugees using the nonprofit's services are on a much more condensed timeline to become fully independent. The layoffs accounted for about 15% of the organization's total workforce, and more than half of the refugee resettlement team. Though a Supreme Court decision last week upheld a requirement to have Trump resume payments for aid work already done, the administration signaled to faith-based charity groups that receive millions of dollars from the government every year that that time is over. Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881,
