voluntary return counselors forum research. data included in the analysis first survey: may – june...

Voluntary Return Counselors Forum

Research

DATA INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS

• First survey: May – June 200216 Project profiles

• Counselor visits: September - November 200218 visitor questionnaires10 host questionnaires

10 comprehensive surveys (incl. profile, visitor and host questionnaires)

6 partial surveys (either without visitor or without host questionnaire)

Structure of the presentation

1. Introduction of participant projects.

2. Impact of policy and legislative contexts.

3. Selected findings on assistance and services provided in the projects.

4. Transferables, evaluation, conclusion.

Participant projects

• 16 participant projects in the exchange

• 13 NGOs

• 1 governmental organisation (local)

• 1 non-profit company

• 1 organisation funded by churches

Source: project profiles

Participant projects

> Is the project complementary to other projects and/or organizational efforts .. ? <

• 6 projects are complementary at local level.• 5 projects …………….. at regional level.• 10 projects ……………. at national level.• 6 projects ………… at international level.


Project resources.

• Financial resources

• Staff

• Contacts– contacts in host country– contacts in COR

Project resourcesStaff qualifications

• Legal advisors were indicated by 7 of the projects,

• Social workers by 5 projects and

• Translators by 4 projects.


Project resourcesContacts to COR

13 org.s: with international organisations

12 org.s: with NGOs in the COR

10 org.s with official authorities in the COR

7 org.s with self-help organisations in COR

6 org.s with communities in the COR.

5 org.s have a representation in the COR.Source: project profiles

Client groups

• rejected asylum seekers (11 projects)• asylum seekers prior to a decision (9 projects)• recognized refugees (9 projects)• migrants (8 projects)• non-accompanied minors (7 projects)• illegal immigrants (5 projects)• students (5 projects)


Client groups> How many of your clients do have a legal

alternative to returning? <• MOST (DRC, INDE, Initiativet, NRC, NMI,

PsEau)• SOME (AGEF, ACCEM, Cire, Caritas Austria,

Caritas Switzerland, Solwodi, Wereldhuis) • MOST clients do NOT. (Coming Home)


Client groups

12 projects have clients who they cannot assist.

Depending on the project mandate, these are partly rejected asylum seekers and/ or illegal immigrants, partly persons with a residency status, partly citizens from certain COR.

7 of them would like to assist these clients.


Policy & legislative frameworks

> Differences in decision power

> Different understandings of voluntariness

> Different understandings of project ‘success’

> Differences in time pressures

Policy & legislative frameworks

• Different understandings of voluntariness

‘avoiding deportation’ versus ‘making well-informed decisions’

• Different understandings of (project) ‘success’

‘Counting departures’ versus ‘happy endings’

Assistance and Services

Main objectives of the participant projects according to their profiles:

• Counselling: 14 projects• Assistance in return: 13 projects• Reintegration measures: 13 projects• Reconstruction: 3 projects

Counselling practices

How and why do counselling practices differ?

> External factors:

- related to policy and regulatory contexts

> Internal factors:

- related to remit and politics of the project

- related to organizational factors

Counselling. External Factors

Reception conditions

Legislative Framework

Kind of services provided? …Time pressures?

Definitions of voluntariness? Client groups? ...

Counselling. Internal Factors I.

Project politics &

remit

Scale of assistance

Continuity in counselling relationship

Role of family and individual

Provisions for specific groups

Consideration of psychological aspects

Counselling. Internal Factors II.

Organizationalaspects

Evaluation/ monitoring of the counselling

Specialization versus multi-tasking

Recording of client data

Level of standardization

Systematization of information on COR

Composition of staff (language skills, migrant groups, ..)

Assistance in return

Differences between projects regard

- how transport is organized (by IOM, through the project, by the client)

- arrangements regarding physical company to the point of departure

Assistance in return

A financial contribution to travel and transport is offered by the following projects:

Caritas Austria, Cire, DRC, PsEau, Coming Home, Solwodi, INDE, ENTER, Caritas Switzerland, NMI and Choices.


Re-integration seminars

Pre departure-seminars:DRC Caritas Switzerland

Coming Home Choices

NRC

Pre departure and Post-arrival seminars:AGEF NMI

Gothenburg Initiativet Source: project profiles

Re-integration education and training

Pre departure: DRCComing Home INDECaritas Switzerland Wereldhuis

Post arrival: AGEF

Pre departure + Post-arrival:Solwodi ENTER

Gothenburg Initiativet Source: project profiles

Re-integration assistance

A financial contribution to the initial period after return is offered by the following projects:

Caritas Austria, Coming Home, Solwodi, INDE, ENTER, Gothenburg Initiativet, Caritas Switzerland and NMI.

Average amount: 200-300 € Source: project profiles

Follow up of individual refugees

Based on the visitor questionnaires,

3 projects NEVER follow up on the refugees,5 projects SOMETIMES do.5 projects ALWAYS follow up.

(CIRE, DRC, Coming Home, Solwodi and Initiativet)

Reconstruction measures

Were described by the visitors of

DRC, PsEau, Coming Home,

INDE, Solwodi, INITIATIVET.

Partly focusing on individual returnees,

Partly working with the community.

Activities during visit.

> Which aspects of the host project did the counselors get to know during their visit? <

• contacts with other organisations (13)• counselling (11)• contacts with authorities (8)• re-integration measures (7)• general administrative work (7)

Feedback and evaluation of the visits

> Do you think that you have gained some useful input / ideas for your work from the visit? <

12 visitors ticked YES, 1 NO, 1 not sure.

> Has the visit met your overall expectations? <

8 visitors YES, 2 ‘it has exceeded my expectations’.

5 hosts YES, 2 NO.

Transferables / 1

• Courses in the COR rather than in the host country as it is cheaper and more related to the country and situation.

• More efficiency through bureaucratisation/ professionalisation of the administration.

• Employment counselling service, a data base which provides easy access to information about available jobs in the return countries.

Transferables / 2

• formalisation of counselling• More contact with local NGO’s which can help

them in their reintegration process • network system with local NGO’s in the COR• stress on a multicultural and multilingual staff • ….Source: visitor questionnaires

> Particularly interesting? <

Existence of a legal framework for VRPension schemes for for elderly returnees (DK)…..‘The working atmosphere!’ (NRC)…..‘Combination of integration, re-integration and

development projects.’ (INDE)Source: visitor questionnaires

Innovative project aspectsaccording to project profiles

• Return and employment in COR (AGEF)• Development of individual repatriation plans

including counselling, educational & training measures, financial help for initial period, delivery of goods (COMING HOME)

• Support for reintegration of single migrant women without means, mostly without education (Solwodi)

• Free hotline with counselors speaking refugee languages (INDE)

Innovative project aspects according to visitors

• Services that extend beyond just repatriation related assistance (e.g. housing) (Choices)

• Search for private funding (ENTER)• Possibility to return to another country than country

of origin (Caritas Austria)• Follow up of refugees during a long period of time

(Gothenburg Initiativet)• Voluntary engagement of so many people

(Wereldhuis)

Different roles / functions of voluntary return assistance projects.

• Counselling agency for refugees and/ or immigrants with a legal status in the country who consider return as a voluntary option.

• Development agency whose focus is on supporting the returnee’s professional and social re-integration in the COR, mostly through training and education.

• Port of call for rejected asylum seekers and/ or illegal immigrants, who have no legal alternatives to return.

• Assistant or partner of immigration authorities in the host country, helping to secure a smooth return.

WORKSHOP QUESTIONS

1. What is a successful and sustainable return?

2. What are the conditions for it?

3. What are possible obstacles?

Main client groupsThe following slides show the largest actual client groups

according to the project profiles.

The suggested categories were: • Recognized refugees,

• Asylum seekers prior to a decision,

• Rejected asylum seekers,

• Illegal immigrants,

• Migrants (incl. ‘guestworkers’),

• Students,

• Non-accompanied minors,

• Specific employment groups,

• Others.

NRC Residents on humanitarian grounds

(80%)

Rejected asylum seekers (10%)

DRC Recognized refugees (90%)

Migrants (incl. ‘guestworkers’ (10%)

INDE Recognized refugees (90%)

Initiativet Recognized refugees (migrants)

NMI Migrants ‘with status’ (80%)

Caritas Switzer-land

Rejected asylum seekers Asylum seekers prior to a decision

Caritas Austria

Asylum seekers prior to a decision

Illegal immigrants

ACCEM Asylum seekers prior to a decision (51%)


Refugee Action

Asylum seekers prior to a decision (56%)


AGEF Rejected asylum seekers, migrants, students

Coming Home

Displaced persons (70%)

CIRE Illegal immigrants (61%) Migrants (incl. ‘guestworkers’) (18%)

PsEau Illegal immigrants (60%)

Wereld huis

Illegal immigrants and rejected asylum seekers

Solwodi Illegal immigrants (33%) Migrants (incl. ‘guestworkers’) (30%)

Assistance and Servicesaccording to project profiles

16 - Information on return

15 - Information on situation in countries of return

14 - Information on integration perspectives in host country

14 pre departure / 6 post arrival

14 - counselling

12 - Financial contribution to travel & transport costs

12 - Legal advice

12 pre departure / 6 post arrival

Assistance and Servicesaccording to project profiles

9 - Financial contribution to initial period after return 9 - Seminars / information events

9 pre departure / 3 post arrival9 - Education and/or further training measures

8 pre departure / 4 post arrival8 - Follow up care / post arrival-mentoring in COR7- 8 - Enterprise grants 4 - Facilitation of ‘look and see’-trips 4 - Salary subsidies3 - Support of housing / shelter projects 2-3 - Employment placement in COR

voluntary return counselors forum research. data included in the analysis first survey: may – june...

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