The micronesian resource center one-stop shop (MRCOSS) is entering its ninth year of assisting, educating, and empowering migrant families as they integrate into life in guam and beyond

The Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs awarded a $250,000 Project Grant through the Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories program (CFDA 15.875) to the nonprofit organization Manelu, doing business as BBBS Guam, to operate the Micronesian Resource Center One-Stop Shop (MRCOSS) in Guam. The MRCOSS project is entering its ninth year and focuses on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services and resources to assist Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrant families with integrating into the local community. Proposed activities under this grant include personalized case management services, educational workshops on topics such as driver's license acquisition and parenting, community outreach and engagement, and strengthening regional partnerships to streamline service delivery for the COFA migrant population. Through these comprehensive support services, the MRCOSS project aims to be a one-stop shop addressing the unique challenges faced by COFA families in Guam.

The mrocss project focuses on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate information and services to cofa migrants, ensuring smooth integration with this vulnerable population. Proposed activities for the upcoming grant period include: case management services: offering personalized assistance to address barriers faced by cofa migrants by tracking the progress of individual cases, ensuring clients and families receive services. Services include assistance in obtaining essential personal documentation, accessing public assistance programs, and connecting them with relevant services. Educational and informational workshops: conducting workshops to provide essential skills and knowledge for smoother integration, such as the HFA adai orientation (a migrant orientation workshop), ready to drive workshop (the process of acquiring a guam drivers license and a study session of the guam drivers license written exam), parenting workshops, alcohol and drug prevention presentations, and building a common ground workshops (a training for services providers to understand and connect well with clients from the cofa communities and a youth version that teaches about E micronesian region and the diverse cultural values). Community outreach: engaging in face-to-face interactions, door-to-door canvassing, and community-wide events to reach the cofa migrant populations. MRCOSS will use its two mobile access to information (MAI) vans to visit hard-to-reach communities in the different villages weekly, providing assistance, workshops, and engagement activities with youth and their families. Stakeholders forum: organizing annual meetings to enhance cooperation between government agencies, non-profit organizations, cultural groups, and the cofa communities to foster collaboration and inclusivity in addressing barriers faced by the cofa migrant population in guam. Strengthening regional partnership: establishing partnerships with agencies and service providers in the freely associated states to leverage resources and streamline the processes of providing needed services to the cofa migrants.through these activities, MRCOSS aims to be a one-stop shop for all the needs of the cofa communities in guam by continually improving its services, addressing the unique challenges faced by cofa families, and fostering stronger relationships within the community and with regional partners.