The Refugee Integration Survey and Evaluation (RISE) Year Five: Final Report

The Refugee Integration Survey and Evaluation (RISE) Year Five: Final Report summarizes the results of a longitudinal survey administered to a cohort of 467 newly arrived refugees in Denver from 2011 to 2015 with the goal of assessing their integration into U.S. society during the initial years of resettlement. The survey was based on the principles of Community-based Research and Ager and Strand's framework assessing refugee integration across 10 pathways such as employment, housing, language and safety. An overall high retention rate of 70 percent of respondents was due to the "community connector" model through which embedded members of target communities assisted with data collection and interpreting. Using quantitative measures, as well as qualitative data from interviews and focus groups, the analysis of overall integration showed that 98 percent of respondents advanced toward high integration with men and women progressing at the same rate. Low integrators tended to be older refugees with a high degree of social isolation and a lack of English skills, cultural knowledge and ability to improve their integration level. In addition, cluster analyses identify high- and low-integrating groups, the latter scoring lower on economic sufficiency, social bridging and language. The authors conclude with suggestions for a number of follow-up studies, including geo-mapping the influence of neighborhood on integration outcomes, an examination of how family variables influence integration, and a "critical pathways study," a shortened version of Rise that could be administered easily by refugee service organizations. (Jasmina Popaja for The Immigrant Learning Center Public Education Institute)

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