The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) and The Children’s Village present chapter eight of Where We Stand: A 20-Year Retrospective of the Unaccompanied Children’s Program in the United States.

The retrospective reviews the Unaccompanied Children’s Program from the passage of the Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002 until today. It assesses 20 years of legislation, policies, litigation, and, most importantly, the U.S. federal government’s care of unaccompanied migrating children, with a view toward the next steps and improvements for the years ahead.

The eighth chapter provides recommendations on how to improve the Unaccompanied Children’s Program based on the direct care we provide for children through shelters, home studies and post-release services, trafficking assistance, legal representation, and repatriation in El Salvador and Honduras.

Click here to read chapter 8.

Previous chapters:

Chapter 1: The Transfer, a 20-Year Retrospective of the Unaccompanied Children’s Program in the U.S.

Chapter 2: The Flores Saga, a 20-Year Retrospective of the Unaccompanied Children’s Program in the U.S.

Chapter 3: Protections for Unaccompanied Children in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA)

Chapter 4 Part 1: Home Studies and Post–Release Services for Unaccompanied Children

Chapter 4 Part 2: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

Chapter 5: Haiti Earthquake

Chapter 6: Influx of Central American Unaccompanied Children

Chapter 7: Prevention of Sexual Abuse