This paper considers the earnings of refugees and their utilization of financial assistance programs, including Food Stamps and several cash assistance programs. The first section provides a summary of available data on refugee earnings, emphasizing the 1975 cohort of Indochinese refugees, on whom substantial information is available; data on later arrivals is presented as well. The data are presented in the form of statistical tables which are analyzed. The second section discusses what is known or can be estimated about the use of cash and Food Stamp programs by refugees. Factors which appear to correlate with high or low use rates are discussed. The third section considers four policy issues the United States faces in making decisions about refugee assistance utilization: (1) the nation's motivation in being concerned about Indochinese refugees' utilization of public funds; (2) the treatment of this disadvantaged group as compared to that of other disadvantaged groups; (3) the role of cash and food stamp assistance programs for refugees as compared to the role (and size) of other programs for refugees designed to make them more self-sufficient; and (4) alternative approaches to humanely reduce refugee dependence on assistance programs. The paper includes two methodological appendices which discuss: (1) the techniques used to estimate the total utilization of assistance programs, and (2) the continuing data collection and analysis problems in the resettlement field. (CG)