WIC, participants receive vouchers which are exchanged for specific nutritious foods in retail markets. WIC is developing visual aids and other means of explaining to refugees the values of eating nutritious foods. Department of Agriculture programs for refugees admitted in Fiscal Year 1981 are expected to cost $36.5 million. Total refugee participation is estimated at $175.0 million.

Through a series of separate authorizations, Congress has provided funding to state and local education agencies to help them meet the special educational needs of refugee children, primarily for English langauge training.

The HHS and the Department of Education have signed an interagency agreement under which the Department of Education will administer some $44,268,000 in refugee educational assistance funds appropriated by Congress for Fiscal Year 1981. The agreement will direct the greatest degree of assistance to those school districts most heavily impacted by newly arrived refugee children. Of the total $44,268,000, about $17.8 million will aid refugee children admitted during Fiscal Year 1981.

In addition, the Department of Education is developing programs under several education authorizations to provide special assistance both to children and adults in mastering English language skills which are deemed necessary to facilitate their transition to American life.

Projections for refugee-related costs in other Federal programs are noted on Table IV.

1/ The 1981 appropriations now pending before the Congress provide funding for the admission of 210,000 refugees to the United States. The Administration will attempt to meet any additional costs associated with the revised admissions for Fiscal Year 1981 by reprogramming. If necessary, the Administration may, have to seek supplemental appropriations.

2/ This figure may overstate the cost of care and maintenance for refugees resettled in the U.S. in FY 1981, since it represents U.S. contributions to international and private organizations whose caseloads also include refugees not destined for the U.S. However, in some areas such as Southeast Asia, the majority of the refugees resettled leave for the U.S., yet third-country contributions account for 70 percent of the UNHCR budget.

3/ Administered by Department of Education.

Rev. 9/30/80

These figures are based on estimates by Federal agencies as of February 15, 1980. Funding is generally not earmarked specifically for refugees, nor is an estimate of costs for 1981 arrivals versus prior arrivals available.

Rev. 9/30/80

(4) AN ANALYSIS OF THE ANTICIPATED SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT OF REFUGEE ADMISSIONS TO THE UNITED STATES

DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT

During Fiscal Year 1981, it is anticipated that approximately 217,000 refugees will be admitted to the United States. This admission rate will increase the population of the country by less than one-tenth of one percent (0.18), and will have less numerical effect than will the admission of normal flow immigrants during the same period. The total population of the United States as of July 1980 was about 222.1 million. The rate of increase of the American population is currently about 0.77 percent, or 1.7 million people, annually. As a result of the admission of refugees during Fiscal Years 1980 and 1981, the growth rate has been raised to .87 percent per year, an increase of one-tenth of one percent (0.1%).

The demographic characteristics of refugees to be admitted in Fiscal Year 1981 are expected to be similar to those admitted in Fiscal Year 1980. Refugee groups from various parts of the world will continue to be different from the total American population in terms of age and sex ratios within the admitted groups themselves. The same observation may be made, however, with regard to the various sub-groups of the already resident American population. Eastern European refugees generally have a higher mean age than the American population. Only about 20 percent of them are children, whereas 25 percent of the American population was under 15 years in 1975. The Southeast Asian refugees, on the other hand, are likely to be younger than the resident population. The average age of the earlier Indochinese arrivals, those coming in the 1975-77 period, was between 19 and 20 years. While reliable statistical data is not yet available for the most recent admissions, it appears that this general trend will continue. For those admitted under the Indochinese program between August 1977 and January 1979, 44.5 percent of the refugees admitted were under 18 years of age. The percentage of refugees in this same group who were 45 years of age or older decreased from 11.6 percent to 7.9 percent. For similar reasons, the proportion of males among the Southeast Asian refugees is also about 6 percent higher than that of the U.S. population, in which the male-female ratio is 48.7 percent to 51.3 percent.

Refugee Children

Because of the large proportion of children among the Indochinese refugees, the ratio of dependents to workers will continue to be higher in this population than in the population at large. The proportion of refugees entering schools will also be higher than would be the case for a comparable number of American residents. The new refugee pupils are expected to be largely concentrated in the 10-16 age group. This may pose

special problems because of the need to fit them into the middle or latter half of the elementary and secondary progression. Their lack of English and long periods without schooling may further complicate planning for these pupils. For the older : pupils, job training also becomes an important consideration. Geographic Distribution

The geographic distribution 1/ of the refugee population is similar to that of the resident population, and is influenced by many of the same factors, although on both counts there are notable exceptions. Refugees are placed, to a significant extent, according to the interest, capabilities, and willingness of voluntary resettlement agencies and sponsors in particular locations. The opportunities for such placements are often most available where population base, economic conditions, and ethnic pluralism are suitable for effective resettlement. Further, because the United States gives high priority for admission to family reunification cases, it should be expected that areas of current resettlement will continue to grow with the arrival of relatives of local refugee residents. To the extent that general conditions remain somewhat stable -- such as local economic opportunity and local receptivity geographic patterns will probably not change significantly during the upcoming fiscal year. This is true for refugees from Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and Cuba. Basically, this means that conditions which might be attributed to refugee population density in local areas will continue; however, as local communities of refugees and refugee organizations become more established, their ability to provide support and leadership would be expected to increase, and the effectiveness of resettlement and resolution of difficulties should improve.

Secondary Migration

As evidenced in the current fiscal year, internal migration of refugees, particularly of Southeast Asian refugees, is expected to continue. Known as "secondary migration," the movement of refugees after initial resettlement to other locations is influenced by several major factors, including, in order of generally agreed importance: a desire for better economic opportunity, a desire to live near relatives, a desire to live in an area with a familiar ethnic community, and a desire to live in an area with a familiar climate. As these factors operate and refugees migrate within the United States, it becomes more difficult to determine the importance of these factors since the family and ethnic reunification influences increase with the size of the refugee community itself. It is true, however, that secondary migration of refugees has been generally in the same directions and for at least some of the same reasons as the movement of the mobile American population at large. For example, between January 1978 and January 1979, two States, California and Texas, received net inflows of secondary migrations of about 7,250 and 1,760 refugees, respectively.