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April 20, 2022

Responding To: Innovating Protection for Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Children in U.S. Communities

Safe Passages: A Path Towards Permanency

Kathleen Goss, Associate Director for Foster Care, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services; Johanna Neece, Program Specialist for the Foster Care Team, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services

Children arriving to the United States unaccompanied are among the most vulnerable among us, and yet they arrive with individual stories, strengths, and incredible resiliency that can contribute to their long-term success. Unaccompanied children have been separated from their parents and guardians under various circumstances and come to the United States fleeing violence, abuse, poverty, exploitation, and other often traumatic circumstances. Since 1994, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS) has worked with a national network of direct care providers to deliver child welfare services to these youth through Safe Passages programming. USCCB/MRS’ Safe Passages programs belong to a network of providers funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to provide critical support to unaccompanied children. Following harrowing journeys, children arrive to the United States often alone and afraid. USCCB/MRS and our network, aligned with our faith-based mission to tend to the vulnerable and uphold the dignity of the human person, are called to care for these youth.

Needs of the Children We Serve

The majority of children served through Safe Passages programming come from areas of the Northern Triangle region of Central America prone to violence and poverty. In transit, some may have experienced violence, been victims of trafficking, traveled without an adult, or been separated from their adult family members or caregivers during their journey. Many children have mental and physical health concerns. Often, the children have gaps in their formal education or never received a formal education. Additionally, many of the children in the care of Safe Passages programs have little or no English proficiency and must learn English as a second language in the United States. These children also arrive with minimal information or misinformation regarding their legal rights and U.S. laws. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has served to exacerbate the peril and risk to health that children from Central America endure before, during, and after their journey to the United States.

Beyond these basic concerns, following reunification with adult caregivers, children, and their families frequently face ongoing challenges. After many years of separation, both children and their caregivers often navigate a complex web of expectations and emotions; many children express anger, sadness, or confusion about initially being left behind in their home country. Children and caregivers alike may struggle with unmet expectations after the initial “honeymoon period” of being reunited. These challenges are exacerbated by the feelings of isolation that can come with being in a new place, lacking social connections, and facing difficulties accessing community and social services. Caregivers of unaccompanied children may also experience insufficient employment, housing instability, a lack of reliable transportation, and language barriers. When children enter a community after reunification, they may be at risk for trafficking or entering the labor market at a young age after facing barriers to school enrollment or feeling pressure to help support their family’s financial needs.

USCCB/MRS providers across the country work to address these challenges and prepare children and their caregivers for success after reunification. Children in the Safe Passages program receive case management and access to medical, dental, vision, and mental health care; individualized education; and legal screenings. Particularly vulnerable children receive post-release services for up to 90 days following reunification, which includes: assessment and action planning with families; psycho-educational information and resources to families to address any areas of need and concern; connection to community resources and services; and referrals to immigration legal services. These services are aimed at promoting the safety, stability, and well-being of unaccompanied children while they are in immigration proceedings. Children in longer-term foster care programs and those who receive post-release services are provided with resources to acclimate them to U.S. schools, such as tutoring and intensive English support in addition to wraparound services and cultural orientation. Children are also connected with a legal services provider regarding their immigration cases and to receive education on their rights and U.S. laws. For older children or parenting youth, programs also provide job readiness training, employment support, housing resources, transportation assistance, and parenting classes.

Our Model and Approach

USCCB/MRS works with a national network of faith-based providers to address the needs of refugee and other migrating youth, including unaccompanied children from Central America. Our Children’s Services providers are in every region of the continental United States and include 17 agencies providing foster care services across 13 states and 16 agencies providing family reunification services across 11 states.

Some central tenets of our model and approach to serving these children include:

  • A national model: USCCB/MRS’ network of providers spans the continental United States, and member providers share and benefit from the expertise of and lessons learned by one another. Trends, learnings, and best practices developed by any of our providers serve to strengthen the network and reinforce quality programming and innovation.
  • A long history of serving refugee and immigrant children with high-quality services: Specializing in the intersection between migration and child welfare, USCCB/MRS and our network draw from a rich institutional history of serving unaccompanied and other migrant children. USCCB/MRS has served these populations through culturally-appropriate programs nationwide since 1980.
  • A commitment to small-scale community-based care: Through our network of providers, USCCB/MRS promotes permanency and well-being for unaccompanied children through small-scale shelter and foster care, home studies, and post-release services. We believe that children are best cared for by their families, where possible and when child safety is not a concern. When family members are not available, children’s best interests are served in a least restrictive setting appropriate to their needs. Our model prefers small-scale community-based settings where children can receive individualized care and services tailored to their unique needs.
  • Continuity of Care: In some instances, children in our foster care network can be served through a series of programs co-located at a single agency in an effort to minimize disruption to placement. ORR-funded programming for foster care for this population consists of Transitional Foster Care and Shelter Care, Long-term Foster Care, and the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program. Depending on a child’s family reunification options, legal status, and other eligibility criteria and considerations, (s)he may be served by one or more of these programs during her or his path toward permanency. Where possible, USCCB/MRS works to support agencies to co-locate multiple programs so that a child need not be moved to another agency (or foster care placement) when transferring or redesignating to another program. For example, if a child needs to transfer from short-term care to Long-Term Foster Care, or if a child gains legal relief, (s)he can transfer to this new type of care with no or minimal disruption to their daily life, often remaining in the same home, benefiting from consistent connections to foster parents, program staff, local schools, and the community.

USCCB/MRS and our providers aim to place unaccompanied child migrants in stable, long-term, or permanent homes so they can thrive, grow, and heal from any past trauma they may have experienced. We work with an extraordinary, vulnerable, and resilient population of migrants and aim to support them by constantly innovating and advocating for expanded support and continuity of care. At USCCB/MRS, we work with an incredible and dedicated network of providers who ensure that children in our programs receive the best care possible. Rooted in our belief that every person has a unique and sacred dignity and that we must help protect and defend the vulnerable, USCCB/MRS will continue to uphold these values and standards in our continued services to unaccompanied children.

Kathleen Goss is the associate director for foster care with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services. She has served in various roles at the USCCB since 2017.

Johanna Neece is the program specialist for the foster care team of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services.


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