Written by Ann Park, this article discusses the barriers to family reunification that children in foster care experience when they have a detained or deported parent. The author identifies federal and state legislation that helps to reduce these barriers and provides practice recommendations for child welfare agencies, dependency courts, and attorneys.
Read the full textIn March of 2014, the California Department of Social Services issued this all county letter, which provides information on the key components of Senate Bill 1064.
Read LetterCreated by Barbara Kagan, Lindsay Marshall, Lauren Dasse, Laurie Melrood, and Cindy Schlosser, this English language manual provides guidance for immigrant parents in Arizona on developing a plan to protect their parental rights in the event that they are apprehended by ICE.
Access ManualThis is a recording of the The Reuniting Immigrant Families Act: A Case Study on California’s Senate Bill 1064 webinar. Speakers included Yali Lincroft, Consultant, First Focus Campaign for Children; Wendy Cervantes, Vice President, Immigration and Child Rights Policy, First Focus Campaign for Children; Alex Salgado, Legislative Aide to California Senator Kevin de Leon; and Laurie Melrood, Children’s Advocate, Arizona.
Listen to Webinar RecordingThis special issue includes articles that address the intersection between the legal and child welfare systems.
Read Full Journal IssueThis brief, written by Howard Davidson, Director of the ABA Center on Children and the Law, American Bar Association, reviews a number of state appellate court decisions that have involved immigration issues in child welfare cases. For each case, a summary of the appellate court opinion is presented, along with implications for child welfare and legal systems.
Read Policy Brief
Presented by Yali Lincroft (First Focus) South Carolina Department of Social Services and Court Staff, Columbia, SC, October 2012
View PresentationSigned into law October 1, 2012, the Reuniting Immigrant Families Act prioritizes keeping children with their families and out of the public child welfare system when possible. SB1064 authorizes more time for child welfare agencies to find and reunite detained and deported parents with their children or find placement with relatives, regardless of their immigration status. It requires the California Department of Social Services to provide guidance on filing special immigrant relief options and for working with foreign consulates regarding the custody of children of deported parents.
View BillWritten by Kristen Jackson, this article discusses the use of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status as a form of immigration relief for immigrant youth.
Access Article
© 2025 CICW.