Lawmakers Request Financial Assistance to Districts Regarding Haitian Refugees, Immigrants and Returning Citizens

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting additional financial aid to school districts facing an influx of Haitian refugees, Haitian immigrants and Haitian-Americans returning to the U.S. because of the recent earthquake.

The two legislators called for a funding increase in the School Impact grant program, and a one-time emergency grant program for the most heavily affected school districts, saying they are necessary for schools to properly accommodate the children.

“The tremendous damage in Haiti is horrifying and sobering for all of us as New Yorkers and Americans,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The outpouring of support from individuals across the country has been inspiring. With our communities welcoming families and children fleeing the disaster in Haiti, the federal government has a duty to provide our local governments with the resources and support they need.”

Rep. Engel, Chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said, “The earthquake in Haiti devastated the country, killed more than two hundred thousand people, and ripped apart thousands of families. We expect a great number of Haitians to join their relatives in New York. Their children will be going to school and our districts will need greater resources so we can give them the support and education those children require. We also want to ensure that the addition of these children in the school system will not adversely affect children already in the system by diluting already-scarce resources. It is our moral responsibility to help the victims of this tragedy and the dedicated educators throughout the State of New York.”

The Congressman and Senator represent a large Haitian community living in Rockland, and school district superintendents there have already asked for additional financial assistance with new students from Haiti already arriving.

The funding of the Refugee School Impact grant program has stayed at $15 million for the past five years. The situation in Haiti presents a clear need to provide more funds to the program. Rep. Engel and Sen. Gillibrand asked that some of President Obama’s FY11 requested budget increase of $25 million for the Social Grant Programs provided through the Office of Refugee Resettlement be used to supplement the Refugee School Impact grant program. The request seeks a one-time emergency grant program for the most heavily-affected school districts.

Rep. Engel added, “School districts normally fight for every dime of federal and state funding that they can get. With the economic situation facing our country and the State of New York, those funding needs are dire. We must provide the support needed to help our schools and to provide those returning from the devastation in Haiti with a brighter future.”

Rep. Engel and Sen. Gillibrand are members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, and Congressman Engel is a senior member of the Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee.