The Office of New Americans (ONA), which consists of two program divisions (Immigrant Services and Refugee Services), was created under § 63.2-209.1 in 2020 as an office within the Department of Social Services (DSS). The ONA incorporated the existing Office of Newcomer Services into a new office specifically to assist immigrant integration within the Commonwealth on an economic, social and cultural level.

Under the authorizing code, the Office shall:

1. Implement a statewide strategy to promote the economic, linguistic, and civic integration of new Americans in the Commonwealth;

2. Work with localities to coordinate and support local efforts that align with the statewide strategy to promote the economic, linguistic, and civic integration of new Americans in the Commonwealth;

3. Provide advice and assistance to new Americans regarding (i) the citizenship application process and (ii) securing employment, housing, and services for which such persons may be eligible;

4. Provide advice and assistance to state agencies regarding (i) the coordination of relevant policies across state agencies responsible for education, workforce, and training programs, including professional licensure guidance, small business development, worker protection, refugee resettlement, citizenship and voter education or engagement programs, housing programs, and other related programs, and (ii) the dissemination of information to localities and immigration service organizations regarding state programs that help new Americans find and secure employment, housing, and services for which they may be eligible;

5. Educate localities and immigration service organizations on health epidemics and unlawful predatory actions, such as human trafficking, gang recruitment, and fraudulent financial and other schemes, to which communities of such persons may be especially vulnerable;

6. Serve as the primary liaison with external stakeholders, particularly immigrant-serving and refugee serving organizations and businesses, on immigrant integration priorities and policies;

7. Partner with state agencies and immigrant-serving and refugee-serving organizations and businesses to identify and disseminate beneficial immigrant integration policies and practices throughout the Commonwealth;

8. Manage competitive grant programs that replicate beneficial practices or test new innovations that improve the effectiveness and efficacy of immigrant integration strategies; and

9. Advise the Governor, cabinet members, and the General Assembly on strategies to improve state programs to support the economic, linguistic, and civic integration of new Americans throughout the Commonwealth.

Item 340.F. of the 2022 Appropriation Act establishes the following reporting mandate for the Department of Social Services:

F. The Department of Social Services shall provide an annual report on the activities of the Office of New Americans by December 1 of each year.

Major activities and outcomes achieved during this report period include:

• As part of a statewide strategy to promote economic, linguistic and civic integration of new Americans, the ONA is developing a strategic plan that builds on previous research regarding the needs and barriers new Americans experience when trying to integrate. This research rendered visible gaps in services and areas of Virginia without service providers and formed a foundation that ONA used to create six resource handbooks to connect people with organizations and promote integration across the Commonwealth.

• The ONA conducted extensive outreach into new American communities, in the form of health and resource fairs, educational trainings, cultural events, as well as administration of programs specifically serving youth and older refugees. This has involved working with localities across the state and creating networks of stakeholders that come together to solve problems and develop solutions.

• The ONA refugee programs have funded citizenship classes, vocational training, job placement services, and other civics training to thousands of new Americans through grants to resettlement agencies. ONA works with a coalition of nationwide groups to create career pathways guides and employment tools to help immigrants get training and certification, especially in needed fields such as education, mental health, and healthcare fields.

• The ONA has worked with various state agencies, including the departments of Education (DOE), Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), and Health (VDH) to assess needs in the immigrant and refugee communities, ensure that refugee youth’s needs are met, collect and disseminate information among immigrant communities, and devise ways to help pave pathways for licensing and employment training. ONA assisted DBHDS share an opportunity for community-based organizations serving new Americans to connect with their local community services boards to receive free translation for any written materials they needed translated into other languages.

• ONA helped organize and coordinate resource fairs and other events around the Commonwealth attended by local organizations and individuals and participates in a number of state and local coalitions, including participating in the equity committee of the STRONG Accountable Care Community’s equity committee. The purpose of these events is to educate and connect community-based organizations and immigrants to resources and highlight the resource handbooks referenced above. Positioning itself as the primary liaison with stakeholders in immigrant and refugee policy in Virginia, ONA created a clearinghouse in which all service providers will have the ability to keep their own listings current, find other providers, and in which individuals will be able to look for providers in their area. Additionally, the ONA created networks of stakeholders, including the regionally-held Virginia Community Capacity Initiative as well as other informal networks who come together to discuss topics, raise issues, and solve problems that affect their work and the integration of immigrants in Virginia.

• Partnerships ONA developed with state agencies, as well as immigrant and refugee serving organizations have strengthened the office’s role as subject-matter experts on policy and practice in Virginia. The state-wide needs assessment study completed in 2022 provided needed data on unmet needs, and the office has begun designing programs to meet those needs. For example, through a partnership with DBHDS in a federal grant application to provide needed mental health services to Afghan veterans and in developing regional conferences to promote trauma and prevention on mental health and language access for refugees and immigrants. ONA also works to educate and liaise with local departments of social services to ensure that refugees receive benefits they are eligible for, and shares policy guidance resources with other agencies to ensure the even flow of information about eligibility for New Americans.

• ONA continues to administer competitive grants for federal funds to agencies who provide innovative and effective refugee services. With more capacity, ONA will look forward to managing further competitive grants for non-refugee immigrant serving organizations.

The accomplishments and activities of the ONA have promoted the linguistic, civic, and economic integration of immigrant and refugee populations in the Commonwealth. This has been done in the last year against a backdrop of unprecedented arrivals of Afghan and Ukrainian newcomers, as well as in the context of a newly expanded office with minimal capacity on the Immigrant Services team. In partnership with stakeholders state-wide, including resettlement agencies, service providers, organizations large and small, university researchers, and immigrant communities themselves, we have built capacity, conducted outreach, education and research, provided direct services, administered federal funds, and promoted integration for new Americans across Virginia.