Across the country, states are facing labor shortages—particularly in healthcare, logistics and transportation, and education. Yet hundreds of thousands of New Americans and refugees who have been educated, licensed, and worked professionally in these fields in their home countries face barriers when entering these sectors here in the United States. The Lab has worked to create pathways for people to return to their field of expertise.

Across the United States, 21 million people are English language learners. Yet state and local institutions are often only able to provide limited, if any, translation for them. We are committed to ensuring that language ability does not prevent new residents from understanding their rights and accessing critical services, programs, and benefits from state and local institutions.

Access to schooling, and higher education in particular, is critical to the long-term success of all newly arrived community members and their ability to achieve their full potential. Yet in many cases, the policies in place fall short. The Lab has worked to revise and strengthen existing state policies regarding access to education for both children and adults.

States can take many approaches to create and fund structures and programs that ensure refugees and other newcomers have access to the information, services, and opportunities they need to thrive. From state Offices of New Americans to state budget resources towards refugee resettlement, there is immense value in state governments institutionalizing and coordinating their approach to inclusion across agencies; providing resources to these functions and programs; and ensuring their approaches are informed by and responsive to the needs of impacted communities.