Essey Workie
Director, Human Services Initiative
Essey Workie is Director of MPI's Human Services Initiative. Her work focuses on unaccompanied children, immigrant families, and access to local, state, and federal health and human service programs.
|
Media Requests |
Ms. Workie previously worked as the Director of Refugee Health and the Director of Planning and Development at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, where she established the national refugee medical assistance and medical screening programs in multiple states. Previously, she served as the senior federal official and regional spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families in the mid-Atlantic region, where she led the intersection of human service programs including refugee resettlement, early childhood development, child welfare, youth, and workforce development. She also founded the division of refugee health at the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Ms. Workie contributed to several federal regulations, policy guidance, research studies, and reports, including a study on unaccompanied children in Ethiopia, the health of Congolese refugees in Rwanda, and the use of two-generation strategies in the U.S. refugee resettlement program.
Ms. Workie began her career in nonprofit organizations and local government as a social worker, specializing in child and adolescent mental health. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from James Madison University and a master’s degree in social work from Temple University. She is also a leadership coach with an executive certificate in leadership coaching from Georgetown University, and provides pro-bono coaching services to immigrants, minorities, and other marginalized groups.
Bio Page Tabs
Marking the release of an MPI report, this webinar takes stock of lessons learned about remote learning during the pandemic and examines how governments, schools, and service providers can advance digital equity for children in immigrant families.
Featuring findings from a recent MPI report, speakers examined the process of releasing unaccompanied children to sponsors, the current structure of federal post-release services, and the most significant needs these children and their U.S. sponsors experience.
On this webinar, experts and state refugee resettlement program leaders discuss activities that can be key parts of a broader strategy for sustaining and improving employment services for refugees, including partnerships with experts in workforce development strategies, access to federal workforce development funding, and other policies and resources.
Recent Activity
Marking the release of an MPI report, this webinar takes stock of lessons learned about remote learning during the pandemic and examines how governments, schools, and service providers can advance digital equity for children in immigrant families.
Since the pandemic began, technology has become an even more central part of Americans’ lives. Yet access to digital devices, the internet, and digital skills training has long been uneven. For many teenagers in immigrant families, including those who are English Learners, this digital divide has made remote learning challenging. This study identifies promising practices for increasing digital access and literacy among immigrant-origin youth.
El gobierno de los Estados Unidos ha relanzado el Programa de Menores Centroamericanos, que fue creado para ofrecer a ciertos niños que viven en condiciones peligrosas en El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras una forma segura y legal de reunirse con sus padres en los Estados Unidos. Este informe identifica las lecciones aprendidas de la versión anterior del programa y hace recomendaciones sobre cómo fortalecerlo en el futuro.
The U.S. government has relaunched the Central American Minors (CAM) Program, which was created to offer certain children living in dangerous conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras a safe, legal way to join their parents in the United States. This report identifies shortcomings in the earlier version of the program, examines the new one, and makes recommendations for how to strengthen it going forward.
Afghans evacuated to the United States are entering with a range of legal statuses, with important implications for their ability to access benefits and services that will help them settle into their new communities. This commentary outlines the different statuses and resulting consequences for eligibility for assistance, based on whether the arrivals are recognized as refugees, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients, or parolees.
Featuring findings from a recent MPI report, speakers examined the process of releasing unaccompanied children to sponsors, the current structure of federal post-release services, and the most significant needs these children and their U.S. sponsors experience. The discussion also explored efforts by philanthropic, state, and local actors to address the needs of this population and their communities, what service gaps exist, and key recommendations to improve access to services.
While asylees are eligible for many of the same public benefits and services as resettled refugees, including health care and employment assistance, there is no system to inform them of their eligibility and to help connect them to resources. MPI estimates that fewer than 20 percent of those granted asylum in recent years received Office of Refugee Resettlement benefits during their first year. The U.S. government could address this gap with a few simple measures.
While record monthly arrivals of unaccompanied minors in early 2021 have drawn considerable attention, important questions surround what happens once the children are released from federal custody to parents or other sponsors. This report examines federal post-release services, support needs among children and sponsors, how service providers are meeting these needs, and ways to improve services—to the benefit of the children and the communities in which they live.
Different Statuses, Different Benefits: Determining Federal Assistance for Afghan Evacuees
A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits