Opportunities

Research Participation Opportunity

The Center on Immigration and Child Welfare (CICW) is recruiting child welfare professionals and legal service providers in California to participate in a 30–40 minute survey and interview for our study, Empowering Child Welfare Practice at the Intersections of Immigration and Child Wellbeing. This research brings together child welfare practitioners, legal service providers, and immigrant families to advance culturally responsive and trauma-informed practice across California. Participants will receive a $30 honorarium. For more information or to participate, please contact: PI, Dr. Kristina Lovato at childwelfarefamilyvoices@gmail.com.

2-Day Intensive: Conducting Mental Health Assessments for Immigration Cases

Girasol Organizational Support • February 5, 2026 • 8amPT/11amET

This is a two-day intensive workshop introducing mental health professionals to conducting assessments in support of immigration cases.

Webinar: Family Detention – Mental Health Impacts & Responses

St. Edward’s University Social Work Program and NASW-Texas • February 3, 2026 • 10:30am PT/1:30pmET

This webinar will cover the history and harms of family detention in immigration enforcement and offers practical skills for providing services and advocacy to affected individuals, families, and communities.

Webinar: Messaging Research & Recommendations – Building Support for Immigrant Children & Families

Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, CLASP, CTAN, and Goodwin Simon Strategic Research • Feb 19, 2026 • 12pm PT/3pm ET

This webinar will share new messaging research to help advocates effectively communicate with audiences about the challenges faced by children in immigrant families during heightened enforcement.

Webinar: Caring Through Hard Times – Supporting Immigrant Families & Ourselves

NASW Texas Chapter • February 27, 2026 • 7amPT/10amET

This session will train social workers in culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches for supporting immigrant clients facing fear, separation, and legal uncertainty during heightened enforcement, while also addressing practitioners’ own wellbeing through self-care and collective care strategies to prevent burnout.

Webinar: Researcher Safety Training

The Im/migrant Well-Being Scholar Collaborative • February 27, 2026 • 9amPT/12 pmET

This training with immigration attorney Katie Blankenship covers how to safely conduct research with immigrant communities during the current challenging enforcement climate.

Call for Papers: Democracy and the Nature of Familial and Unaccompanied Mobilities in the 21st Century

University of Virginia • March 1, 2026

This University of Virginia conference (April 24-26, 2026) invites papers examining familial and unaccompanied migration to the U.S. through humanities and social sciences lenses, exploring how border securitization, migrant experiences, and shifting democratic norms intersect with issues of detention, deportation, and the political framing of undocumented migrants.

CICW 2025 Year-in-Review

Center on Immigration & Child Welfare Initiative (December 2025)

This 2025 “year-in-review” highlights the CICW’s work throughout 2025. Thank you to all our partners and collaborators for your continued support. We look forward to continuing our efforts to support immigrant children and families in 2026.

Working with Traumatized Children

Child Welfare League of America • Thursdays, January 8, 15 & 22, 2026 • 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET

CWLA is offering a three-part virtual training series based on the third edition of “Working with Traumatized Children – A Handbook for Healing,” which will teach participants how to recognize trauma symptoms, understand trauma’s impact on children’s brains, create safe environments, and implement effective healing strategies while practicing self-care.

Beyond “Shock and Awe”: Immigration Actions in the First Year under Trump 2.0

Migration Policy Institute • January 13, 2026 • 10amPT/1pmET

This webinar will analyze Trump’s first-year immigration actions, including mass deportations, refugee restrictions, and travel bans on 39 countries, examining their legal basis and actual effects on labor markets, communities, and future immigration to the United States.