Unaccompanied and separated children are among the most vulnerable populations affected by conflict and humanitarian crises. They face heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and neglect, with significant barriers to accessing essential services and protection mechanisms. In East Africa and surrounding subregions, children have been forced to migrate as violence, unrest, and climate shocks worsen. To […]
Category: Child Migration
When Home is Gone: Unaccompanied & Separated Children in East Africa
Imagine you are a child, living in armed conflict when suddenly explosions fill your community and destruction surrounds you—you flee—and as people scatter, screaming and running for safety, you lose sight of your parents in the chaos. Home is gone and so is your family. Imagine you are a child, and severe drought has gripped […]
United Voices: Answering the Call of Immigrant Children & Youth
Without the inclusion of children and youth in our present, there can be no sustainable future or peace. They are the next generation; not only will they inherit the consequences of our decisions, but they already bear the greatest burdens of our inaction. Children and youth are grappling with a lack of safety and stability […]
Not Invisible: Strengthening Protection for Children with Disabilities in Migration and Displacement
When air raid sirens sound, a deaf child cannot hear them. When a family migrates through the Darién Gap’s jungle terrain, a blind child cannot see the way. When war erupts and a family must flee, a child in a wheelchair is left behind. When a non-verbal child arrives in a refugee camp’s reception center, […]
Displaced and Alone: Protections for Unaccompanied Children from Haiti
This month, the global community will mark World Refugee Day to honor and stand in solidarity with refugees and those forced to flee their homes. Over 110 million people are forcibly displaced around the world; 40 percent of those people are children. As conflicts and crises become increasingly protracted and new escalations of violence erupt, […]
A Path to Evidence-Based Services for Unaccompanied Children
When an unaccompanied child is released from federal custody there is very little data regarding their outcomes after their release. No significant evaluation has been conducted on the effectiveness of services supporting their integration. As the largest provider of these services, USCRI works to ensure that children are safe and that their physical, cognitive, social, […]
Steps Forward. Steps Back: A Year’s Efforts to Combat the Labor Exploitation of Unaccompanied Children
This February marked one year since the New York Times published a report detailing the exploitation of hundreds of unaccompanied children for their labor across the United States. Despite the increased attention and advocacy on the issue through the year, cases of child labor have increased and unaccompanied children continue to be exploited. Child Labor […]
Recovering Childhood: Access to Education & Protection for Children in Kenya’s Refugee Camps
In August and September 2023, USCRI Policy Analyst Victoria Walker travelled to Kenya to visit both Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps and Kalobeyei Settlement to examine the experiences of refugee children in the camps and to assess their access to education and child protection services within the camps. This report presents key findings from the […]
Learning is a Lifeline: Access to Education for Refugee Children in Kenya
Across the globe conflicts are becoming increasingly protracted, new escalations of violence are occurring, climate disasters are more frequent, and humanitarian crises are worsening. Such realities are displacing more children than ever before and for longer periods of time. Many children are now spending their entire childhoods displaced, and for some, their entire childhoods in […]
Policy Brief: “The Abyss of Despair” – A Need to Act for Haiti and Its Children
Often far removed from the headlines is a humanitarian crisis worsening by the day: the situation in Haiti. In recent months, a resurgence of armed violence has plagued daily life in Haiti with brutality and insecurity, particularly in the capital of Port-au-Prince and neighboring areas. It is estimated that over 200 gangs currently operate throughout […]
