Considerations for Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in the Child Welfare Reform Debate

Abstract

Unaccompanied immigrant children represent a growing portion of children involved in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS). Yet, the abolition or reform of the CWS debate has overlooked the system that serves unaccompanied children—the Office of Refugee Resettlement . This paper examines unaccompanied children’s needs within this debate, and applies key concepts to issues including preemptive investigations, reunification, community strengthening, and balancing monitoring with independence. Given the dearth of literature necessary to argue for one side or another, we do not take a stance in the debate. We instead discuss implications for policy, practice, and research, including the need for access to ORR data and more participatory research.