Good day! Please excuse cross-postings. I am sending this along from GOPIF [Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future]:
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On Aug. 3, 2023, Governor Janet Mills signed an Executive Order (PDF) directing her Administration to develop a plan to establish an Office of New Americans in Maine State government.
The Executive Order directed GOPIF to work with stakeholders – including other State agencies, municipalities, schools and colleges, employers, community-based organizations, and the immigrant,
refugee, and asylum-seeking communities – to create a plan for the establishment of the new office to be delivered to the Governor by January 19, 2024.
This plan has been delivered to Governor Mills consistent with her executive order. It outlines the mission and structure of the office, the timing of its establishment, and the scope of its work,
with the overarching goal of ensuring that Maine is effectively incorporating immigrants into its workforce and communities to strengthen the economy over the long-term.
Announcement:
Governor Mills Unveils Plan to Establish an Office of New Americans in Maine State Government (1/19/2024)
Download the Plan:
English (PDF)
Download the Executive Summary:
French (PDF),
Spanish (PDF),
Portuguese (PDF),
Arabic (PDF),
Somali (PDF),
Lingala (PDF)
Under the plan, the Office of New Americans (ONA) would be charged with “making Maine a home of opportunity for all, by welcoming and supporting immigrants to strengthen Maine’s workforce, enhance
the vibrancy of Maine's communities, and build a strong and inclusive economy.”
The plan calls for an office of four people and the creation of a 19-member advisory council to advise ONA on matters related to the long-term economic and civic integration of immigrants in Maine.
The plan also proposes that ONA focuses on strengthening English-language acquisition opportunities, building workforce pathways and support for entrepreneurs, improving coordination of organizations
and entities that support immigrants, including communities, schools, and employers, engaging in federal immigration policies to benefit Maine, and improving Maine’s data about its immigrant populations.
Throughout the fall of 2023, the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and Future undertook an extensive stakeholder outreach effort to solicit input on the ONA plan, which included over 100 meetings
with more than 800 individuals from every county in Maine representing municipalities, schools and colleges, employers, chambers of commerce, community-based organizations, and immigrant communities.
We thank all organizations who hosted us to discuss the ONA plan, and are grateful to everyone who met with our team to share their thoughts, ideas, and feedback about an Office of New Americans
in Maine.
For inquiries about the plan, or for more information about translations or other language supports, please contact us using the button below. Thank you for your partnership in this important work.
181 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333
Maine.gov/Future/ONA
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Please note that I had to reformat the original email to fit the parameters of the listservs. If you have trouble with any links or other parts of the message, please let me know and I will forward
the full original email to you.
Maine Libraries, and particularly Curtis Memorial Library, are mentioned in Appendix C under the List of Participating organizations who attended stakeholder sessions in fall of 2023 to help develop
this proposed plan.
Respectfully,
Lisa
Lisa M. Shaw [she/elle/ella/ye/그녀/iyada/вона/ea]
Small/Rural Libraries & Workforce Development Specialist
Division of Library Development
Maine State Library
242 State Street
SHS 64
Augusta ME 04330
(207 ) 747-8717 (text or call)
What I’m reading:
Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz
What I’m listening to: “Paradigme” – La Femme; “Wairua” – Maimoa; “Sell the World” – The HU
“If you want to see something clearly, look in the opposite direction.”
[Midsomer Murders]