Ethiopian Outreach Guide for Decision Makers

Addressing Systemic Issues of Access

Many best practices for decision makers focus on increasing access to social service and public health systems and sharing information with your local Ethiopian community. Local educators, administrators, business and nonprofit leadership, and elected officials such as mayors, council members, and others all play a role in reducing barriers to services. We provide a brief overview in this section about some cultural and demographic aspects that can better inform your strategy and policy efforts. The concepts here do not replace working with Ethiopian community leaders and organizations to achieve your goals but provide ideas and areas where you can start your efforts. 

Decision makers are responsible for developing accessible systems to better serve their community members in need.

Creating Accessible Systems

Improve technology systems AND meet people where they are at.

Leverage technology to aid those who can use it. Focus your efforts on providing more personalized help to those who struggle with technology systems.

Better support immigrant families in education systems through targeted support and communication models.

Immigrant families may be less familiar with the U.S. education system and need coaching on available services. Additionally, non-electronic communication is needed to stay in contact with families.

Invest in universal technology infrastructure and training now.

Internet access and computers/tablets are now basic needs in the U.S. Provide training on how to use technology tools- just giving tools to the community aren’t enough.

Develop policies and programs that account for gig workers.

Provide guidance on how policies and organizations should approach or help gig workers to avoid direct service provider confusion and inconsistent application.

If you want people to work, provide or subsidize childcare.

Childcare access was very limited during the pandemic but it is an ongoing issue for many Ethiopian and immigrant families. Without support, the burden may fall on older children who are already struggling to balance their own educational needs.

Improve technology systems AND meet people where they are at.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the underlying cracks in our social systems, with the unemployment insurance (“UI”) system breaking down under the sheer amount of applications. While we hope nothing like this pandemic will happen again, cycles of economic instability are inevitable. Our systems should be able to withstand and process high volumes of newly unemployed workers, regardless of language, race, or ethnicity. Equity means assisting communities in their preferred communication method. The Tesfa Program witnessed how the Ethiopian community especially struggled to navigate through the unemployment system, given the system’s reliance on online tools and limited in-person or telephone communication.

Lack of clear definition of what is unemployment insurance

Some Ethiopian community members did not understand how unemployment insurance worked and/or were suspicious of government payments (i.e. whether they would need to repay this money). Not being able to speak to UI workers, either in-person or on the phone, about their specific situation made many Ethiopians hesitant to apply and receive much-needed services.

Lack of clear contact and process information


Without direct outreach, program information may not be easily accessible to the Ethiopian community. Over 50% of the questions submitted to the Tesfa Program (228 questions between April ‘20-April ‘21) were asking for information such as phone numbers, addresses, and website addresses.

While not the main focus of this section, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is another clear example of information not getting to the Ethiopian community in a timely fashion. By the time small business owners found out about the program and understood they were eligible, they were not able to apply for assistance.

Community Challenges with the WA State Unemployment Application System

UI System Issues...And Their Magnified Impact on the Ethiopian Community
Lack of Process Communication: Community members waited after applying for benefits and did not hear anything for more than a month.

Over-reliance on Online Portals: Community members struggled to use online portals to check the status of their applications.

No In-person Assistance & Limited Phone Service: The community is used to in-person services.

Limited-to-No Phone Assistance: Individual customer service assistance was inaccessible with incredibly long hold times, sometimes resulting in the caller being disconnected from the call.

Ethiopian community members had issue-specific questions that went unanswered-

Immigration Concerns: People were worried that accepting any type of government payments would potentially impact their immigration applications or current status.

Gig Economy Confusion: Many community members are contract workers whose work suddenly disappeared overnight.

Unclear appeal process via letter or online system: Applicants who were denied struggled to ask for more clarification on their specific application.Denial Due to Name Inconsistency: People who changed their names or had their names listed differently on official documents were denied benefits.

Key takeaways for decision makers

Fund and improve technology system usability rather than just functionality. Investing in the user experience means fewer people may need individual help.

Keep investing in call center & in-person outreach for community members who need more assistance. Those people who still need individualized help are those who may be ESL speakers, immigrants with legal questions, people who struggle with technology, and those with more complicated cases generally.

Apply all of these concepts and issues to other social service and public health applications and programs. The UI system was the most frequently mentioned example from the Ethiopian community, however, members struggled with other program applications including food benefits, health care services, and school forms.

Resources: Improving Government & Program Systems

Ethiopian Small Business Struggles

Listen to two small business owners describe their struggles to stay afloat during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mirtnesh, the owner of an Ethiopian grocery store, tried to navigate the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) but it was too late. Other business owners they know faced similar struggles once they were aware of the program’s existence.

“We deserve to get something like this but due to lack of information we missed it.”                                                                                              -Mirtnesh, Small Business Owner

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Selam, Tesfa Program Founder, gets two different perspectives on how COVID-19 impacted small businesses in Seattle. First, Selam speaks with Seifu, a taxi cab driver, and then with Mirtnish, owner of the Ethio Market. Topics: Unemployment, COVID-19, Vaccination, Misinformation
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Find all podcast episodes here

Better support immigrant families in education systems through targeted support and communication models

Many Ethiopian immigrant parents grew up in Ethiopia and went through the Ethiopian educational system. They are likely experiencing the US school system for the first time, which is very different from the Ethiopian system. This means they don’t have personal experience to draw from in helping their children navigate the system. At the same time, families are highly committed to supporting their children in their education before and during the pandemic. 

The pandemic highlighted the need for schools and education administrators to better partner with families. It also underlined the lack of existing infrastructures that would allow immigrant families like the Ethiopian community to access information and influence decisions in their child’s education. Parents were confused by the U.S. system (e.g. GPA, communication norms, etc.). 

Invest in community liaisons

Ensure there is a dedicated community liaison for each immigrant community in the district. Engage community liaisons to discuss cultural framing when approaching Ethiopian parents of students who:

  • Have undiagnosed learning delays
  • Are differently-abled
  • May present with mental health concerns

Educate Ethiopian and other immigrant parents via a 101 training on how the U.S. education system works.

Be direct about why you are asking for certain private information.

Communications strategy plan

Use non-technology methods to communicate with Ethiopian and immigrant parents. In-person communication is preferred, followed by phone calls and texts.

Provide Ethiopian and immigrant parents extra ongoing narrative support, especially those parents with students who have special needs.

Invest in technology infrastructure and training now

Providing technology tools and training to Ethiopian communities increases access to public knowledge and safety net resources. Tesfa Program participants frequently mentioned a lack of information resulting in a lot of confusion during the pandemic. 

Ethiopian parents and children alike struggled to use the computer for virtual classes, regardless of whether the computer was provided by the school or at home. In addition to struggling to use the computer, students and parents were challenged by spotty and/or slow internet connections. This made remote learning almost impossible, especially with adding live video to show classroom engagement.  

At the beginning of the pandemic, Ethiopian Community in Seattle (ECS) provided tablets to their community members and trained recipients in-person on how to use programs like Zoom. The members were then able to use these programs throughout social distancing periods and beyond.  

Ways to invest in digital equity

Dedicate more funding and resources to programs that help communities increase their digital literacy and also provide access to digital tools.

Collect and analyze digital literacy and technology access data.

Invest in digital navigators (Check out Connect Washington).

  • Offer multilingual technology support via multiple communication platforms: in-person, phone, and text.
  • Screen and enroll people in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) programs such as Lifeline & Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Resources: Digital Literacy of Children in Immigrant Families

"Children in immigrant families often have disproportionately less access to digital tools and training than their peers, which can lead to knowledge gaps, lower grades, chronic absenteeism, and dis-enrollment."

Migration Policy Institute

Develop policies and programs that account for gig workers

With the rise of the gig economy, systems and policies need to account for gig workers and incorporate changes based on contemporary labor market data. 

Gig workers are making up an increasing portion of the labor force, yet the policies and processes underpinning our safety net programs have not caught up. In a 2020 study conducted in San Francisco, 56% of SF gig workers surveyed were immigrants, coming from dozens of different countries. Of important note, people of color made up a super majority of the workforce (>78%of those surveyed).  Around 20% of gig workers did not have any form of health insurance. 15% of workers had public assistance, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing vouchers, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Women, Infants and Children (WIC). 13% of food delivery workers received SNAP benefits. (UC Santa Cruz)

Gig workers are generally not eligible for unemployment. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, gig workers were eligible for unemployment under Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PAU). This also meant that UI systems and workers had to adjust their policies, processes, and procedures to assist a new type of applicant. In July 2020, 19% of gig workers in online ride-hailing and food-delivery services collected unemployment benefits as compared to a peak of 9% for W-2 workers (JPMorgan Chase Institute).

Account for gig workers

Ensure state unemployment systems and administrative policies are built to distribute emergency unemployment benefits to gig workers (e.g., due to a future pandemic or economic downturn).

Develop clear administrative processes and procedures for collecting and verifying gig work income on social service applications, especially as hours and income regularly fluctuate.

Adopt the ABC test in both wage/hour laws and unemployment insurance laws.

The ABC test is a simple, three-prong test for establishing employee status. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) says the ABC test presumes a worker is an employee unless: (A) the worker is free from the employer’s direction and control, (B) the work is outside of the “usual course” of the employer’s business, and (C) the worker is engaged in an independent trade, occupation, or business. (NELP)

Resource: Gig Economy Data and Recommendations

If you want people to work, provide or subsidize childcare

Although the challenges in childcare are shared among many in the US, it is a keystone issue for Ethiopian and other immigrant communities. When many local school districts went virtual during the pandemic, it was especially difficult for the many parents who work in frontline jobs. A large portion of Ethiopian immigrants work as hourly workers or in the gig economy, such as working as rideshare drivers, healthcare aids, and other customer service roles. Many of these roles also have nontraditional hours (NTH) meaning that they do not work from 9am to 5pm. Financial support for family members and neighbors who can watch children and expanded access to childcare–especially for frontline workers–was and is still critical. 

Some community members sought new employment after being laid off, only to find that they needed childcare when the schools continued with virtual classes. Without childcare, older students cannot entirely focus on schoolwork because they must watch younger siblings while their parents are at work.

Effective strategies to improve child care access

Permanently expand the child care tax credit to families earning little or no income (CBPP)

Offer parents a refundable child care state tax credit or deduction (Mathematica/APHSA)

Design policies to help parents access the care options they need, such as allowing child care subsidies to cover the full range of child care options, including relative care, small home-based providers who are exempt from licensing, and licensed family child care and center-based care (Urban Institute)

Track best practices for serving nonstandard-hour working parents (Mathematica/APHSA)

Invest in strategies to support the range of child care professionals willing to provide care during nontraditional hours (Urban Institute)

Offer provider incentives for offering nonstandard-hour child care (Mathematica/APHSA)

Tesfa Tales

Turning Down Transitional Housing

Transitional housing is a key part of the Homelessness Response System (HRS). There is not a lot of information about why people may or may not choose to enter transitional housing when it is offered (Hous Policy Debate). When interviewing homeless shelter staff, they highlighted how 9 out of 10 immigrant families, including Ethiopian ones, turn down offers to move from the shelter into transitional housing. 

Because immigrant communities share resources via word of mouth, families may be well informed about what others have previously been offered. Families do not want temporary housing, they want permanent solutions. Staff members point out that families might not qualify for permanent housing at that time. Without a consistent income families may not be able to make rent payments, potentially falling back into a cycle of homelessness. 

By turning down transitional housing, immigrant families may reside at shelters for longer periods of time. Staff mention that staying there sets families back in ways they cannot be aware of. Shelters are communal settings so there is a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. Additionally, there is anecdotal evidence that the shelter environment may regress child development. Staff cited that young children who were potty trained reverted back to using diapers. 

Further research and ideas are needed to address this challenge.

Handouts

Unemployment Insurance Struggles

Education & Child Care

Recommended Resources

Voices of Seattle’s East African Communities – An Overview of Community Issues and Opportunities

Racial Equity Toolkit to Assess Policies, Initiatives, Programs, and Budget Issues

Ten Ideas to Encourage Immigrant Engagement

Direct Service Providers

Organizations

Decision Makers