Immigrant & Refugee Resource Collaborative
Preschool & Child Care
Ingham preschool is a website for families of children who are 3 and 4 years old to apply for tuition-free preschool through Head Start and the Great Start Readiness Program. The site routes children’s applications to either of these programs, and the programs then contact families about enrollment. Programs are offered throughout Ingham County. Many locations offer a school day program that is run four days per week during the academic year.
Great start to quality is the state of Michigan's search engine for families to find a licensed child-care provider through a center, group home provider, or family home provider. Families can also see if the provider is participating in the quality rating system, and the program’s current rating. The site generates a list of providers based on criteria a family enters in the system. The family then contacts the provider to find out if there are current openings, the cost, the enrollment process, etc.
The following link is the Department of Health and Human services website for families to apply for Food Assistance, Program (FAP), Medicaid, Cash Assistance,State Emergency Relief, and Child Development and Care.
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If there is any difficulty to find information about any program on this website, Allen Neighborhood Center, Northwest Initiative, Capital Area District Libraries, STVCC, Information Enrollment services at Ingham County Health Department and others can help with navigation.
Refugee Resettlement Support
St. Vincent Catholic Charities is the designated refugee resettlement agency for adults and families in Lansing and Mid-Michigan. Through a private/public partnership, our team assist with the basic essentials to welcome refugees to the Lansing community and help them reach self-sufficiency.
Refugee Services - St. Vincent Catholic Charities (stvcc.org)
The Refugee Development Center (RDC) is a grassroots organization offering formal and informal learning opportunities. We offer adult ESL classes, youth programming, and other community education opportunities.
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We offer document translation and Interpretation services and can assist clients with cultural intelligence programming, ESL support, multilingual staffing, and other services. 7C Pros is our latest initiative which focuses on professional development.
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Samaritas serves unaccompanied refugee minors and unaccompanied children who flee from war, violence or persecution in dozens of countries. We help connect our youth with foster parents, homes, and services to assist them in making a life in our community. They offer a variety of enrichment programs to support refugee integration. Youth must be referred to Samaritas by LIRS or ORR to receive services.
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Legal Resources
The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) is a legal resource center for Michigan's immigrant communities. MIRC works to build a thriving Michigan where immigrant communities experience equity and belonging. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is a program of Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services (MSAS) and Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP).
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The Immigration Law Clinic advocates for vulnerable immigrant populations, including abused, abandoned and neglected children; crime and trafficking victims; and persons fleeing persecution, all of whom are otherwise unable to afford legal representation. Through this work, the Immigration Law Clinic provides opportunities for students to practice a complex and often high-stakes field of law in a well-supervised, academically rigorous program.
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English may not be your first language. We understand. More importantly, we know that the immigration process is complicated and often confusing. So helping you understand the law is our goal. As an immigration attorney, Pamela provides legal services and serves her community in a significant, meaningful and rewarding way.
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St. Vincent Catholic Charities’ Immigration Law Clinic provides a wide spectrum of immigration legal services, such as family reunification, adjustment of status, citizenship, asylum and removal defense to community members from across the state of Michigan, regardless of immigration status. The expertise of our attorneys is available to the public without referral and services are offered on a sliding scale fee basis.
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