The United States is a country founded by immigrants, and although the United States is considered to be one of the best countries in the world, it is not perfect and neither are the immigration and child welfare policies that have been implemented over time at the federal and state level. Historically speaking, the United States had a reduction in immigration after the end of World War II, however, as time progressed and more conflicts came to be in other parts of the world, many have placed eyes on the United States as a location of refuge. Due to a rise in patriotism and focus on home-soil policies, the U.S. government has been ill-prepared for the increased volume of immigration—legally and illegally, and thus disagreements about immigration
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Citizen of the same age group would encounter. In order to tackle such a broad topic, one must examine the history of child welfare for immigrant children, who exactly these children and families are today, the policies implemented by the government, the current problems faced, the political controversies, the potential changes in child welfare, and the resources available for both legal and illegal immigrant families. The United States, has indirectly created a biased system for the children of immigrants. In general, laws and policies protecting children in the United States are fairly new and under-developed compared to the rest of the country’s history. The first set of resources for immigrant families and their children came in 1912 through the US Department of Health and Human Services (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). Despite being a country of immigrants, it took until the 1920’s before literature to be published and translated in different languages to provide information to the immigrants. This included information on programs available for nutrition, and information for …show more content…
Research has shown that there are several determining factors that lead to the neglect of these children, mostly due to a flawed policy system in place. Most immigrants are subjected to a higher poverty rate, as most work for less due to other challenges they face socially (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). There is also usually a lack of education, related to the language barriers. Most immigrants do not qualify for services that would provide financial relief, and many families consist of single parent households, as it is very common for the family to come to the United States in parts (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). The cultural differences also could be misunderstood, and what is neglect or abuse to most Americans could be normal in their society. Also, many come from traumatic situations, such as refugees, so there is much to understand about these people that the current child welfare system simply cannot provide answers for. Moreover, this large subgroup of the U.S. population has many more risk factors when it comes to child welfare issues mostly due to the policy, or lack there-of, that the United States has
Citizen of the same age group would encounter. In order to tackle such a broad topic, one must examine the history of child welfare for immigrant children, who exactly these children and families are today, the policies implemented by the government, the current problems faced, the political controversies, the potential changes in child welfare, and the resources available for both legal and illegal immigrant families. The United States, has indirectly created a biased system for the children of immigrants. In general, laws and policies protecting children in the United States are fairly new and under-developed compared to the rest of the country’s history. The first set of resources for immigrant families and their children came in 1912 through the US Department of Health and Human Services (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). Despite being a country of immigrants, it took until the 1920’s before literature to be published and translated in different languages to provide information to the immigrants. This included information on programs available for nutrition, and information for …show more content…
Research has shown that there are several determining factors that lead to the neglect of these children, mostly due to a flawed policy system in place. Most immigrants are subjected to a higher poverty rate, as most work for less due to other challenges they face socially (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). There is also usually a lack of education, related to the language barriers. Most immigrants do not qualify for services that would provide financial relief, and many families consist of single parent households, as it is very common for the family to come to the United States in parts (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2015). The cultural differences also could be misunderstood, and what is neglect or abuse to most Americans could be normal in their society. Also, many come from traumatic situations, such as refugees, so there is much to understand about these people that the current child welfare system simply cannot provide answers for. Moreover, this large subgroup of the U.S. population has many more risk factors when it comes to child welfare issues mostly due to the policy, or lack there-of, that the United States has