Cultural and structural factors can determine how school social workers provide services to Soviet refugee children and their families. These factors include the history of the refugee group before and after migration, the family’s ethnic background in the former Soviet Union, the family’s interactions with the institutions of the former Soviet state, the date of immigration, immigration status, the family system in the United States, and the attitudes of parents regarding their roles and the child’s roles in and outside the family system. Emphasis should be placed on the diversity of Soviet refugees. Attention should be paid to the likelihood that a refugee child is under great stress and is also likely to be grieving for the loss of companions and of a way of life in the homeland. Several suggestions for intervention strategies at micro and macro levels are offered, including guidelines for orientation and normalization for all students and for individual work with students as appropriate. © 1992 National Association of Social Workers, Inc.

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