Quick Guide to Federal Child Welfare and Immigration Law
by ABA (March 15, 2017)
This document offers a brief overview of law and resources for child welfare attorneys and others who seek options for immigrant children or parents.
Get the GuideFamily Preparedness Plan
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (March 2017)
This planning guide (also available in Spanish and Chinese) helps immigrant parents in undocumented or mixed-status families prepare for the unexpected through concrete steps like arranging for alternative care for children if it should be needed.
Get the GuideRepresenting Children in Immigration Proceedings
Immigration Advocates Network (2017)
This page contains resources for professionals who are representing children in immigration proceedings.
Access the ResourcesTranslating “Best Interests”: Child Welfare Decisions at the US–México Border
Naomi Glenn-Levin Rodriguez, Political and Legal Anthropology Review (Sept 2016)
The “best interest” principle is examined as effects judicial decisions affecting children. (Link provides abstract only without institutional or paid access.)
Read the AbstractReunification: Bringing Your Children Home From Foster Care
Child Welfare Information Gateway, Factsheets for Families (2016)
This factsheet describes the reunification process for foster children and their families, including resources and expectations of what may happen during and after foster care and how to best facilitate the return home.
Get the FactsheetImmigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff
United We Dream’s Dream Educational Empowerment Program, National Immigration Law Center, First Focus, American Federation of Teachers (2016)
This guide gives practical advice to educators and school support staff that can inform their actions and be shared with immigrant families.
Get the GuideA Guide to Children Arriving at the Border: Laws, Policies, and Responses
American Immigration Council (June 2015)
This guide provides information about the tens of thousands of children who have fled their homes in Central America and arrived at our southern border. It seeks to explain the basics about who these children are, what happens to them when they arrive in the U.S., laws in place to help them, and proposed legislation to help these children.
Read MoreImmigration Status and Relief Options
A Social Worker’s Toolkit for Working With Immigrant Families
(Updated June 2015)
This toolkit provides a basic overview of the dynamics of the U.S. immigration system as it impacts children and families in the child welfare system. The toolkit includes practical appendices with resources for accessing vital documents, facilitating communication between child welfare and immigration legal counsel, and a summary of immigration relief options applicable to youth in care.
Get the ToolkitWhat Kind of Welcome? Integration of Central American Unaccompanied Children into Local Communities
Elżbieta M. Goździak, Director of Research, Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University (February 2015)
A report on the history and current reality of child migration as well as implications for working with these populations and for future research.
Read Full ReportEmerging Issues in State-Based Immigration Reform
The Government Law Center, Albany Law School, 2015 Warren M. Anderson Legislative Breakfast Series (February 2015)
View the recording of the Albany Law School’s 2015 Warren M. Anderson Breakfast Seminar and access supplementary materials about state-based immigration reform, including information on unaccompanied minors, state benefits and state-issued identification documents for immigrants, and state support for immigrant legal services.
View Seminar Recording Access Supplementary Materials