Funded Projects

Worcester Refugee/Immigrant Parenting Education Program

Project Year

2026

City & State

Worcester, Massachusetts

Program Name

Resident

Topic

Immigrant/Migrant/Refugee/Undocumented Health

Program Description

Problem: Parenting can be challenging and overwhelming in many different ways. Specifically for immigrants and refugees, being in a new country with limited access to healthcare, transportation, and childcare, can make parenting isolating and exponentially more difficult. Additionally, parenting norms and expectations in the United States may differ substantially from those in their country of origin. Without adequate guidance and support, parents may face unintended legal consequences including involvement with DCF due to a lack of awareness. Such circumstances can be a source of significant frustration, fear, and mistrust in the U.S. healthcare and legal systems. Additionally, many refugees and immigrants have faced trauma in their countries of origin. Parents are just beginning to learn to cope with these lived experiences themselves, which can have a significant toll on parental mental health and in turn, a child’s mental health and emotional regulation. It is important to acknowledge and respect cultural preferences and to provide trauma-informed parenting guidance that is tailored to align with specific cultural and religious values. The lack of culturally sensitive parenting education and resources for those with a history of trauma can have negative implications on the social and emotional development of children of immigrant and refugee families.  

Primary Setting: The primary setting will be Worcester RISE for Health (Refugee and Immigrant Support and Empowerment) in Worcester, Massachusetts. Worcester RISE is a community organization that provides comprehensive primary care, mental health services, and maternal/child care.  

Number of Children Affected: Per review of the annual report by the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants, there were 1018 new refugee arrivals to the U.S. in 2021. Per data from 2023 and 2024, over 23% of the general population in Worcester, MA are foreign born and 6% of all children living in MA are foreign born.  

Goal: The goal of this project is to provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive education and resources on parenting for immigrant and refugee families settling in the Worcester area. The project aims to enhance parents’ understanding of U.S. parenting norms, share trauma-informed child parenting strategies, and raise awareness of the impact of direct or indirect trauma on child development. Ultimately, the long term goal is to strengthen positive parent–child relationships to support healthy social and emotional development in children of immigrant and refugee families.  

Proposed Intervention: The first phase of this intervention involves a needs assessment through discussions with the Worcester RISE team. A curriculum will then be developed for a 3-session parenting course, which will be presented to the Worcester RISE team for feedback. The final stage of this intervention will involve conducting the parenting sessions at Worcester RISE, for refugee and immigrant parents in the Worcester area.  

Anticipated Outcomes: The primary outcomes of this project include developing a curriculum for a 3-session parenting course and conducting the sessions at Worcester RISE. Upon completion of the 3  sessions, parents will have a better understanding of U.S. parenting expectations, trauma-informed strategies for parenting, and an improved awareness of the consequences of trauma on child development. 

Project Goal

The goal of this project is to provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive education and resources on parenting for immigrant and refugee families settling in the Worcester area. The project aims to enhance parents’ understanding of U.S. parenting norms, share trauma-informed child parenting strategies, and raise awareness of the impact of direct or indirect trauma on child development.  Ultimately, the long term goal is to strengthen positive parent–child relationships to support healthy social and emotional development in children of immigrant and refugee families. 

Project Objective 1

Needs Assessment: The initial 3 months of this project will include attending at least 2 existing staff team meetings at Worcester RISE to  lead discussions about parenting education needs and important considerations of the course. 

Project Objective 2

Curriculum Development: The next 6 months of this project will focus on utilizing ideas from the needs assessment phase to co-develop a  curriculum for 3 distinct, 1-hour parenting sessions, which will be conducted in the last phase of this project. The curriculum development phase will also include at least 2 meetings with Worcester RISE community health workers and the whole staff team to elicit feedback on the proposed curriculum at various stages of development. 

Project Objective 3

Conducting Parenting Education Sessions: The final 3 months of this project will focus on delivering 3 parenting education sessions (1 hour each, 1 per month) at Worcester RISE with the assistance of community health workers. This phase of the project will implement  the curriculum that was developed in the previous phase. We will aim for at least 10 parent participants to sign up for the course and that at least 50%will attend at least 2 sessions. Our goal is that parents who participate in at least 2 sessions will have an improvement in their understanding of effective trauma-informed parenting strategies assessed through qualitative feedback.

AAP District

District I

Institutional Name

UMass Chan / UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center

Contact 1

Lori Sahakian, MD