National Suicide Prevention Month
by: Rosalind Ghafar Rogers, PhD, LMHC, Clinical Behavioral Health Subject Matter Expert  September is National Suicide Prevention Month and...
READ FULL STORYIn 2005, USCRI began providing legal and case management services to unaccompanied children who had recently arrived in the U.S. When unaccompanied children are placed in federal custody, the goal is to safely unite them with a family member or sponsor as quickly as possible. The most vulnerable children are referred for home assessments prior to release to ensure they are released to safe environments and that sponsors are prepared to meet their needs. Children also receive follow-up services to ensure their successful integration into the community.
USCRI provides these services to unaccompanied children and their sponsors through the Home Study and Post-Release Services program. The goal of these services is to ensure that children are safe and that their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional needs are met so that they can thrive in their new communities. Once released, case managers assist with school enrollment and connect families with legal, medical, mental health and other community resources that families may need. Case managers conduct home visits to ensure children are safe and provide education to facilitate their successful integration into the community. USCRI and its partners provide services to more than 25,000 children and their sponsors across the country each year.
For more information contact: Criselda Gonzalez at [email protected]
The Unaccompanied Children Resource Center (UCRC) is an online platform, operated by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), that offers information and resources to unaccompanied children, their families, and the providers who work with them. We provide educational content to help unaccompanied children and their families learn how to succeed in their new communities. The UCRC also aims to strengthen the ability of providers and communities to improve outcomes and address the needs of unaccompanied children through outreach, education, training, and live and self-paced e-learning opportunities. Our Community Outreach and Education team works on improving outcomes and overcoming challenges for unaccompanied children through networking, advocacy, trainings, technical assistance, and partnership-building on a regional level. The team joins various coalitions and gives community presentations to increase awareness of the unaccompanied children population and their specific needs. Find more information at UCResourceCenter.org
For more information contact: Unaccompanied Children Resource Center at [email protected]
USCRI’s Relationships, Education, Advancement, and Development for Youth for Life (READY4Life) program aims to promote positive socioemotional development and healthy relationships amongst immigrant and refugee youth through three main components: 1. skills-based workshops, 2. case management, and 3. research.
The program is open to all immigrant and refugee youth between the ages of 14 and 24 in six locations across the country. The READY4Life program uses the Growth, Relationships, Opportunity, and Well-Being (G.R.O.W.) Together curriculum developed by USCRI, which has a basis in social and emotional learning (SEL) principles. The G.R.O.W. Together curriculum is taught by trained facilitators over 12 hours in one or two-hour sessions. Through thoughtful activities and movement, participants explore the core competencies of self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, healthy relationships, and social awareness.
For more information contact: READY4Life at [email protected]
USCRI uses discretionary funds to support unaccompanied children who experience a significant need for emergency assistance in urgent situations, as well as to support the positive development of children and youth with limited finances to participate in extracurricular or community-based activities. USCRI utilizes these funds to assist families who are experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, support survivors of domestic violence, pay for necessary medical treatment, assist with recovery from a natural or man-made disaster, and other extenuating circumstances. Funds also cover extracurricular or community-based actives for children and youth such as costs associated with participating in sports, school clubs, field trips, community-based activities, supplemental educational programs (certificate courses, GED, job training, ESL.), and arts programming (drama, music, visual arts).
USCRI provides housing support services to parents and children impacted by the Trump administration’s family separation policies in 2019. Case managers assist eligible individuals with securing housing, eviction prevention, rental assistance, and connect them with local resources.
For more information contact: Housing Support Services for Separated Families at [email protected]
With support from the OAK Foundation, USCRI’s Nuevo Comienzo program promotes the long-term stability and success of unaccompanied children in North Carolina and the Washington, DC metro area. Participants receive holistic services that include comprehensive case management, individual and family mental health treatment, and legal representation in immigration proceedings. Therapists provide Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in home and school settings while immigration attorneys specialize in asylum applications, Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions, T-Visas, U-Visas, and other forms of immigration relief.
USCRI, under a subcontract with ICF International, conducts audits of facilities funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to ensure compliance with prevention of sexual abuse regulations. Auditors evaluate program policies, interview staff and unaccompanied children, review program documentation, and conduct tours of facilities. Auditors provide technical assistance and assist facilities with corrective action plans to enhance children safety while in federal custody.
The Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program, which is funded by ORR, provides specialized foster care for refugee and other eligible populations of children and youth. USCRI manages inquiries from prospective foster parents for URM in the Dallas/Fort Worth areas and sends foster care applications to local URM providers.
For more information contact: Dallas/Fort Worth URM Prospective Foster Parent Intake at [email protected]
In some cases, ORR refers cases to providers like USCRI to conduct a home study prior to the the child’s release from ORR care, to ensure children are released to safe environments and that sponsors are prepared to meet their needs. A home study is required in cases of children with special needs, a history of abuse or trafficking, or UCs whose sponsor appears to pose a risk to the safety of the child, and at the discretion of ORR.
Post Release Services (PRS) are follow-up case management services provided to some UCs and families who are identified by ORR as needing additional support. PRS workers from USCRI and other providers complete home visits and phone calls with families to:
by: Rosalind Ghafar Rogers, PhD, LMHC, Clinical Behavioral Health Subject Matter Expert  September is National Suicide Prevention Month and...
READ FULL STORYEvery year, on August 19, the world comes together to observe World Humanitarian Day, a day dedicated to acknowledging the...
READ FULL STORYWritten by: Rosalind Ghafar Rogers, PhD, LMHC, Clinical Behavioral Health Subject Matter Expert with USCRI’s Refugee Health Services in Arlington,...
READ FULL STORY