Refugee School Impact (RSI) and Youth Mentoring (YM) Programs 

As California’s designated lead for the 2025-2026 Refugee School Impact (RSI) and Youth Mentoring (YM) Programs, RIH-CCH plays a pivotal role in advancing educational equity and well-being for refugee and immigrant youth and families. 

RSI and YM are statewide programs with funding allocated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to the California Department of Social Services to provide linguistically and culturally responsive support services to refugee youth and their families who have arrived in the United States within the last five years. UC San Diego’s Refugee and Immigrant Health Unit at the Center for Community Health supports the implementation of the programs across five regions within California – Los Angeles, Sacramento, Central Valley, San Francisco, and San Diego.  

The purpose of the RSI program is to support the academic performance and successful integration of refugee youth and their families. The objective is to engage and connect youth and families with available resources, providing them with the support they need to succeed academically and integrate into their communities.