Family Reunion and Integration Service

Team: Alison Strang (Principal Investigator), Arek Dakessian, Helen Baillot, Leyla Kerlaff and Bryony Nisbet

Using a research model developed by IGHD researchers, and in partnership with Barnardo’s and British Red Cross, this project aims to better understand the role of social networks in integration. It has explored the social connections amongst and between refugee families and their communities over time, and has shown how these connections influence integration into a new location. Within the context of the FRIS extension period we aim to test the effectiveness of the Social Connections Mapping Tool (SCMT) questionnaire and embed it into practitioners’ work with recently recognised and reunited refugee families in the UK. The aim is to enhance casework delivery and integration planning. It is intended to be used as a practical tool to help measure, assess and review refugee families’ existing social connections.