CAIR Coalition’s Detained Children’s Program is happy to announce our recent expansion into long-term foster care! In November of 2013, we began serving unaccompanied immigrant children living with local foster families in Richmond, Virginia. This federal long-term foster care program is provided through the Commonwealth of Catholic Charities, and is overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These children are some of the most deserving of our help, and hail from other juvenile immigration facilities located throughout the U.S. As they settle into their new surroundings, CAIR Coalition provides stability by representing each and every one of the new arrivals. For example, this is the story of Layla (name changed) who we are currently assisting:
Layla fled the African country of her birth when she was only 15 years old. She grew up in a tumultuous environment. Her father would verbally abuse both Layla and her mother for not obeying him. He placed Layla in an orphanage where she remained for some years before an uncle removed her. She lived for a few years with this uncle who also turned out to be abusive and threatened her life. Worried for her safety, Layla's mother decided it was best to send her daughter far away. Her mother managed to save money to buy a plane ticket for Layla to travel to Mexico. In Mexico, Layla was approached by a man who promised to find her work. He treated her terribly, forcing her to perform sexual favors with his "clients." After a couple of months, Layla was able to escape and sought protection from the U.S. border patrol. From there, she was placed in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Now in Richmond, we are assisting Layla to get Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
Layla is just one example of the type of children we are now assisting through Richmond's long-term foster care program. Although we have consistently served children who have been victims of abuse, neglect and abandonment, CAIR Coalition's model of providing direct representation to long-term foster children is somewhat different from the services we traditionally provide to the other three ORR detention centers in Virginia. Notably, for over three years, CAIR Coalition has predominantly relied (and will continue to rely on) on pro bono attorneys to represent children detained at the three low to high security juvenile detention centers in Virginia that also house unaccompanied immigrant children.
Under federal standards, ORR places a child in long-term foster care when they have identified that he or she has no other viable reunification options and when s/he qualifies for a form of immigration relief. As a result, CAIR Coalition staff plays an active role in screening every case before ORR accepts a child into Richmond's long-term foster care program. Upon a child's arrival, CAIR Coalition staff meets and interviews each child, then continues to assist them and represent them throughout the immigration process. Through our expansion, we expect to assist at least ten foster care children in 2014.
One of the unique aspects of working with the long-term foster care is the variety of backgrounds these children come from. Most of the children we serve at the three low to high security detention centers in Virginia are from Central America and are primarily Spanish-speaking. In contrast, the children we are representing or we have screened through Richmond's long-term foster care are mostly from other continents, including Asia and Africa.
Regardless of where the children come from, the common thread is that each child is trying to escape a life of abandonment, neglect, abuse, or violence. The long journey that the children embark on is a testament to their strength and their will to find better opportunities and achieve brighter futures. They have now arrived in the United States but, in many ways, their journeys have only just begun. We are lucky enough to accompany these children on their “journey” in the best way we know how -- by providing legal services. The continuing representation for these youth in long-term foster care provides a unique opportunity for our staff to bond with and learn from each and every inspiring unaccompanied immigrant child we serve.
