Serving Latino Undocumented Families in Child Welfare
The Problem
According to Zong and Batalova (2015), as of 2013, the United States has approximately 41.3 million immigrants . With the state of California having one of the largest child welfare systems in the nation and being close the border of Mexico, it is unknown exactly how many children or undocumented families come into contact with the child welfare system, since data is not collected by the state welfare reporting system (Dettlaff, Earner, & Phillips, 2009 ). The number of Latino undocumented families is increasing in neighborhoods, along with an increased of involvement in child protection investigations (Dettlaff, Earner, & Phillips, 2009 ). According to Lincroft and Earner, …show more content…
Existing policy, such as the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, section 153 of the Federal Immigration Act of 1990, in child welfare, it is aimed at helping undocumented children in the United Stated who have been abused and/or neglected by their parents, as well as abandoned, and have become dependents of the courts (U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services, 2014 ).
Policy Recommendations
According to the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Policy, it states that it helps undocumented children obtain residency or citizenship depending on their situation. However, it does not state what is being done for the families that come across the child welfare system who have U.S. born children, but their parents are undocumented and often get deported or are waiting deportation; or about the family members of these undocumented youth who take them into their home so they will not enter the system, but get denied Kin-GAP benefits? With the number of undocumented families growing in the United States and the risk of child maltreatment and child welfare involvement, I recommend that child welfare agencies across California …show more content…
This policy brief hopes that changes will be made that are geared more specifically on service options for this population. I recommend that the policy be adjusted similar to that of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). ICWA was passed due to the high number of Indian children being removed and the reason behind it was to protect these children and the families in their best interests and for stability (National Indian Child Welfare Association, 2015 ). This option can be funded by the California Health and Human Services Department and possibly pull in aid from the Mexican Consulate. When workers investigate a child abuse referral, ask if the family is undocumented, if the family is, then the worker will refer the case over to a worker specifically for that unit and work to find the best solution for the family. A problem with the child welfare agencies in helping these families is the lack of engagement between child welfare agencies and immigrant
The Problem
According to Zong and Batalova (2015), as of 2013, the United States has approximately 41.3 million immigrants . With the state of California having one of the largest child welfare systems in the nation and being close the border of Mexico, it is unknown exactly how many children or undocumented families come into contact with the child welfare system, since data is not collected by the state welfare reporting system (Dettlaff, Earner, & Phillips, 2009 ). The number of Latino undocumented families is increasing in neighborhoods, along with an increased of involvement in child protection investigations (Dettlaff, Earner, & Phillips, 2009 ). According to Lincroft and Earner, …show more content…
Existing policy, such as the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, section 153 of the Federal Immigration Act of 1990, in child welfare, it is aimed at helping undocumented children in the United Stated who have been abused and/or neglected by their parents, as well as abandoned, and have become dependents of the courts (U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services, 2014 ).
Policy Recommendations
According to the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Policy, it states that it helps undocumented children obtain residency or citizenship depending on their situation. However, it does not state what is being done for the families that come across the child welfare system who have U.S. born children, but their parents are undocumented and often get deported or are waiting deportation; or about the family members of these undocumented youth who take them into their home so they will not enter the system, but get denied Kin-GAP benefits? With the number of undocumented families growing in the United States and the risk of child maltreatment and child welfare involvement, I recommend that child welfare agencies across California …show more content…
This policy brief hopes that changes will be made that are geared more specifically on service options for this population. I recommend that the policy be adjusted similar to that of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). ICWA was passed due to the high number of Indian children being removed and the reason behind it was to protect these children and the families in their best interests and for stability (National Indian Child Welfare Association, 2015 ). This option can be funded by the California Health and Human Services Department and possibly pull in aid from the Mexican Consulate. When workers investigate a child abuse referral, ask if the family is undocumented, if the family is, then the worker will refer the case over to a worker specifically for that unit and work to find the best solution for the family. A problem with the child welfare agencies in helping these families is the lack of engagement between child welfare agencies and immigrant