Aug. 2--The International Institute of Erie is ready for the biggest change in its 90-year history.

The agency's goal is that no one, especially the approximately 380 refugees it will help resettle this year, experiences much of a difference.

The locally based nonprofit institute, at 517 E. 26th St., is set to merge with its much larger national affiliate, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants Inc., based in Arlington, Va.

The International Institute will keep its name, continue its resettlement efforts and remain in the same location after the merger, according to court records and interviews.

In terms of services, "essentially, nothing is going to change," said Lavinia Limon, the USCRI's president. "The programs won't change. We don't anticipate any wholesale staffing changes."

The merger, which is awaiting court approval, is intended to provide financial stability for the institute, which was in danger of closing in 2007. Its funding dwindled as federal immigration policies tightened after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

At the institute's request, the USCRI in 2007 intervened with money and took over the institute's management. Both groups said a merger was the eventual goal.

The International Institute of Erie, founded in 1919, receives government funding and private donations to provide resettlement services.

This year's clients will likely number about 380, said John Flanagan, the institute's director. Clients' native countries have included the Sudan, Iraq, Somalia and Burundi. Before the Sept. 11 attacks, the institute resettled about 450 refugees a year.

Limon said the USCRI has been impressed with the International Institute.

"I really like Erie," she said. "It is small enough to be quite manageable for people to come in, but it is large enough to provide opportunity."

The merger, Limon said, will put institute employees under the USCRI's personnel policy and salary schedule, which Limon said is better than the institute's salary scale.

Forty to 60 people work at the institute, including its day-care services, Flanagan said. He said the number reaches about 85 when the institute counts the interpreters it contracts out to other agencies.

Institute caseworkers earn an average of $24,000 a year, which will increase to $30,000 after the merger, he said.

"It is a win-win situation for the city," he said of the merger. "Make no mistake about it -- a couple of years ago, the institute was in bad shape."

Legal issues

The merger will end local control of the International Institute, whose board of directors is composed of Erie-area residents.