2 nd International Conference of the ISCI, November 2009, Sydney, Australia

1. Immigrant Children and Child Welfare in the USA: Demographics, Research, Policy, Legislation and Practice Impacting Public Services 2nd International Conference of the ISCI, November 2009, Sydney, Australia Presented by: Sonia C. Velazquez

2. Outline • Background and salient problems • Seminal papers and launch of initiative: Policy Roundtable • Birth of a coalition: Migration and Child Welfare National Network • Resulting strategy and accomplishments – 2006 to date: • research and findings • policy changes • embedding practice tools and models • advocacy efforts • transnational initiatives • Sustainability: American Humane Association, Annie E Casey Foundation, and a dozen other partners who contribute in-kind support and a variety of resources to cause social change

3. Loss of Child Protection? • Children not accessing services • Children not eligible or perceived not eligible • Children horrendously impacted by immigration raids • Inhumane treatment of families at deportation • Frequent loss of child identity and culture when removed • Criminalizing immigrant youth by “gang” activity and immediate deportation • Loss of family connections • Effects of linguistic isolation of family on children • Possible immigration reliefs seldom exercised for the child

4. Loss of Ability to Protect? • Lack of awareness, skills, and knowledge by child welfare agencies and workers on immigration issues • Absence of emerging practices and practice models that could strengthen immigrant families • Is the immigration status of a child in care considered when determining a case plan? • To what extent do child welfare and immigration professionals collaborate? • Does child welfare participate in services for unaccompanied children and refugees? • Transnational resources that remain untapped • Unawareness / non-compliance with international conventions

5. Migration: A Critical issue for Child Welfare* (seminal paper) • Social work with children and families in America inextricably linked with the history of immigration to the United States • At the end of the 19th century, concerns on child well being were focused on poor European immigrants • Are the “American Dream” values sustained by society nowadays? • More than a century later, a second peak of immigration adds to the mix racial, cultural, language differences • ¼ of all children and youth in the US either foreign born or foreign born parents • Impact of migration and implications for child welfare • Latino parenting styles and expectations of children * Velazquez, Vidal, Mindell 2006, Protecting Children, Volume 21, 2, 2006

6. Demographics: Authorized and Unauthorized Immigrants and Refugees Unauthorized immigrants (11.1 million) 30% Refugees (2.6 million) 7% Legal temporary residents (1.3 million) 3% Naturalized citizens (11.5 million) 31% Legal permanent residents (LPR) (10.5 million) 28% * 37 million foreign-born in 2005 (Passel 2006)

7. Demographics: Most Children of Immigrants are U.S. Born Citizens 73.9 Million Children in 2005 (March 2005 Population Survey)

8. Migratory Trends: Immigrant Population Growth by Three Groups of Destination States Immigration Destination Categories 6 Main Destination States (67% of Immigrants in 2000 22 New Growth States (1990-2000 > 91%) Top 10 Growth States 1990-2000 (135-274%) Source: Randy Capps, Urban Institute, 2006

9. Level of Activity of State Legislation Related to Immigration and Immigrants in 2005-2009 Years and Number of Bills in the States Source: National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 2009

10. Child Welfare and the Challenges of New Americans* • Latino children continue to be the most uninsured racial and ethnic group in the United States • Young children of immigrants are less likely to receive public benefits such as food stamps, temporary assistance, or child care • Child welfare needs to consider linguistic and cultural factors , as well as legal, social welfare and civil and human rights. * Velazquez, Earner, Lincroft, 2007, Children’s Voice, CWLA

11. Unique Challenges for Immigrant Families in the Child Welfare System* • “I came to this country to give my children a better life, but all they • see is someone who doesn’t speak English, who doesn’t know anything. They think we don’t care about our families. They took my daughter and did nothing to help me.” • “A caseworker who did not speak Chinese came to the house”, explains an immigrant mother. “I sent my daughter to talk to her; I thought she was a missionary. All my daughter said was that she would call me • back. I later found out the school had reported me for abuse because I punished my daughter for misbehaving. No one ever explained what • was going on to me, only to my daughter.” * Interview with Velazquez, Lincroft, 2009, Voice Magazine, CFS

12. Emerging Issues at the Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare: Results from a Transnational Research and Policy Forum* (paper # 2) Immigration and Child Welfare Goals of Safety, Permanency, and Wellbeing Research: population, needs, practices Workforce and Training: Understanding well-being, acculturation, immigration, complexity of cases and workload, familiarity with policies, bicultural staff Cross-System Collaboration: immigration law and child welfare, law enforcement and child protection, mental health and educational needs, family supports, and collaboration across countries Policy and Advocacy: unable to safely maintain children in their homes, threats to permanency, families afraid of accessing benefits * Dettlaff, Vidal, Velazquez, Mindell, Bruce, Child Welfare, 2009, CWLA

13. Statement by the Participants at the Migration: A Critical Issue for Child Welfare, 2006 Transnational Research and Policy Forum convened by the American Humane Association, Chicago, 2006 “Child welfare services should be available to all children regardless of immigration status” “Federal, state, and local policies encourage full integration of immigrant families into US society through an expanded delivery of child welfare services” • Velazquez, Protecting Children Journal, American Humane Association, Volume 22, 2, 2007

14. Children of Immigrants and Latino Children of Immigrants in the Child Welfare System: Findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW)* (paper # 3) Nationally representative sample of children who were subjects of reports of maltreatment to child protective services agencies between 1999 and 2000 Children living in an in-home setting with a biological parent • 64% children had a parent who was US-born • 36% children had a parent who was foreign-born • Latino children with a foreign-born parent comprise 5.2% of all children involved with the child welfare system • Among Latino children of immigrants, 4 out of 5 are US-born. Dettlaff, Earner, 2009, Research funded by American Humane Association

15. Latino Children of ImmigrantsParent and Family Risk Factors Dettlaff, Earner, 2009, Draft

16. Latino Children of ImmigrantsNeighborhood and Community Factors Dettlaff, Earner, 2009, Draft

17. Implications of Findings • Assessment of strengths and protective factors • Elements that facilitate service delivery • Natural networks of care • Importance of assessing risk factors • Impact of immigration and acculturation • How public policies affect ability to function Detlaff, Earner, 2009, Draft

18. Practice Laboratory* (paper # 4) A Learning Laboratory: Practice Informs Research (paper # 4) Velazquez, Detlaff, Flores, Bruce, 2009, (Phase I)

19. Project Approach and Activities to Date • Brief literature review and environmental scan of resources • Focus on existing and established practices and services (not intended to address immigrants’ needs but delivered in areas of high immigrant concentration) – border areas • Desing of questionnaires, IRB, Spanish translation • Key informant interviews and focus groups of families, youth, workers, supervisors, administrators • Analysis of data beginning • (future) case reviews

20. Preliminary Recommendations from Learning Laboratory • Assist the agency in the identification of the population to better serve them • Identify community supports and referrals (especially prevention and ongoing services) • Provide cross-agency training, clarify roles, and clarify and disseminate policies and procedures for working with immigrant families • Provide training that assists working in multi-cultural settings.

21. Other Planned - Sponsored - Research Projects • CalWorks and Child Only Cases: Non-Qualified Immigrants – family outcomes • Children who received Special Immigrant Juvenile Status in California • Level of knowledge and attitudes of child welfare administrators on immigration issues

22. A Social Worker’s Toolkit for Working with Immigrant Families* A Social Worker’s Toolkit for Working with Immigrant Families Vital documents for immigrant children in the child welfare system Communication between child welfare and immigration legal counsel Screening questions to determine potential avenues for legal status Summary of immigration relief options for youth in dependency proceedings Glossary of immigration terms A child welfare flowchart to work with immigration professionals Lincroft, Borelli, 2009, Family to Family, AECF, 2009

23. Some Activities at State and Federal Policy Level • Numerous actions to support bills that impact immigrant children at state level • Coalition (MCWNN) established coordination with Department of Homeland Security • Invited to DHS workgroups • New funding award to one of the members for repatriation services • MCWNN’s Position on U.S. Repatriation of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children • Coordination with Office of Refugee Resettlement and DUCS (Department of Unnaccompanied Children Services)

24. Conclusions to Date - Key Aspects – Effective Strategies A Social Worker’s Toolkit for Working with Immigrant Families • Magnitude of the problems and gaps at the intersection • How it impacts children and services to children: child welfare and also education, health, parenting, language • Multidisciplinary national coalition • Main stream organizations • Protection and humane treatment to immigrant, refugees, unaccompanied children and families • Immigration reliefs for children should not come at the cost of family connections • Best interest of the child: example - reunification inside or outside the US • Immigration polarization: Far from being resolved

25. ‘The lack of specific provisions on children in most migration laws, and the failure to take into account the specific condition and needs of migrant children in public policies only exacerbates these problems for child migrants and leaves them exposed to further abuses’ Jorge Bustamante, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of immigrants. Report presented to the general assembly of the united nationsoctober 27, 2009

26. Contact Information: Sonia C. Velazquez Vice President, Children’s Division American Humane Association soniav@americanhumane.org www.americanhumane.org/migration