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Providing culturally sensitive services to protect the public's health in Florida

Florida Refugee Health Program

Mission: To protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, & community efforts.

Vision: To be the Healthiest State in the Nation.

The goal of the Refugee Health Program (RHP) is to be a leader in providing culturally sensitive health services to persons who have fled their home country due to persecution (political, religious, or economic) in search for a better life and self-sufficiency in the U.S. The RHP reviews overseas medical examination records and provides health assessments and immunizations to refugees to enhance personal health status and protect Florida's public health. The RHP provides these services through funding from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Florida Department of Children and Families, Refugee Services.

Florida is a national leader in refugee resettlement, receiving the largest number of participants in the United States Refugee Resettlement Program. The state received a two-year total (based on the FY 2010 Social Service Formula Allocations) of 42,715 participants, while California received 26,450, Texas received 15,227, and New York received 10,583.

The RHP serves the following groups of individuals: refugees, asylees, Cuban/Haitian asylum applicants, Cuban/Haitian entrants, Amerasians, Iraqi/Afghan special immigrants, and certain victims of severe forms of human trafficking.

The majority of participants who resettle in Florida originate from Cuba (90.3%), Haiti (2.9%), Burma (2.4%), or Venezuela (1.3%). Most of Florida's new arrivals are Cuban entrants, although the state is experiencing a greater influx of refugees and special immigrants, particularly from Iraq (0.8%) and Bhutan (0.4%). Of the 67 counties in Florida, approximately 40 receive refugees on a regular basis. Geographically, new arrivals tend to resettle more frequently in one of nine following Florida counties: Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Duval, Palm Beach, Broward, Orange, Collier, Lee, or Pinellas.


To contact the RHP in your area, view our RHP contact listing (pdf 31 kb).

Refugee Health Guidelines & Forms

 
 
This page was last modified on: 11/9/2012 03:19:03