This screening sheet aims to assist child welfare professionals in identifying potential avenues toward legal status for immigrant youth.
For immigrant children and youth in the custody of state and local child welfare systems, gaining legal status is essential for overall permanency, well-being, and long-term stability. Permanent legal status removes the threat of potential deportation and opens the door to federal and state benefits, including health insurance; the ability to work; financial aid; and more. In this webinar, featured speaker Randi Mandelbaum, Director of the Rutgers Law School Child Advocacy Center, reviews legal relief options commonly available to immigrant children and youth in the child welfare system, recommended screening procedures, and child welfare agency obligations for supporting immigrant children and youth toward obtaining permanent legal status. The webinar also brings together legal experts and child welfare agency representatives to discuss helpful tools and established models for connecting immigrant children and youth to needed legal representation.
RESOURCES
A Pathway to Permanency: Collaborating for the Futures of Children who are Immigrants in the Child Welfare System
Joanne Gottesman, Randi Mandelbaum & Meredith Pindar; Child Welfare League of America (2019)
This article explores the unique statewide collaboration between Rutgers Law School and the New Jersey Department of Children and Families to provide immigration legal services to children in foster care, including the purpose, structure, and staffing of the collaboration and services offered.
Best Practices for Child Welfare in Working with Families with Immigrant Members
Migration Policy Institute & American Public Human Services Association (November 2021)
This practice guide provides recommendations and steps child welfare agencies can take to improve how they address the needs of immigrant families and promote child well-being.
Child Welfare Screening Sheet: Determining Potential Avenues for Legal Status
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (September 2021)
Immigrant Families & Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs & Promising Policies
Mark Greenberg, Randy Capps, Andrew Kalweit, Jennifer Grishkin, and Ann Flagg, Migration Policy Institute (April 2019)
This report presents key policy issues for child welfare agencies with respect to working with immigrant families as well as promising best practices and agency approaches.
Immigration Referral Tool for Caseworkers
ABA Center for Children & the Law (December 2023)
This referral tool is designed to help caseworkers identify whether a child in foster care may benefit from the services of an immigration attorney.
Immigration Referral Tool for Child Welfare Attorneys
ABA Center for Children & the Law (December 2023)
This referral tool is designed to help attorneys of children in foster care identify if a child may benefit from services from an immigration attorney and make a meaningful referral to that attorney.
Resources on California’s Reuniting Immigrant Families Act (SB 1064)
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (August 2014)
This page compiles various resources on California’s Reuniting Immigrant Families Act (“SB 1064”), the nation’s first law addressing the reunification barriers faced by many immigrant families involved with the child welfare system.
Serving Immigrant Children and Families with Child Welfare System Involvement: Promising Models for Meeting Complex Needs at the Intersection of Immigration and Child Welfare
Center on Immigration and Child Welfare (December 2023)
The resource explores the specialized models that child welfare agencies in CA, NJ, NM, NYC, and OR have implemented in order to meet the unique needs of immigrant children and families who become involved with the child welfare system.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Predicate Order Resource Center
Project Lifeline
This resource center provides a repository of resources on the law and best practices for representing undocumented children in state juvenile courts and understanding where to look for more information. It includes a Predicate Order State-by-State Age-Out Analysis as a quick reference guide on SIJS laws/statutes in different states.
Strengthening Child Welfare Practice for Immigrant Children & Families: A Toolkit for Child Welfare Professionals in California
Immigrant Legal Resource Center (August 12, 2019)
This toolkit provides guidance to child welfare agencies in California working with immigrant children and families, and its recommendations have important implications for child welfare practice across the country.
The New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department Immigration Unit: A Model for Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice Systems Serving Immigrant Children and Their Families
Center on Immigration & Child Welfare and New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department (November 2022)
This resource provides an overview of the key services and activities of the NM Children, Youth & Families Department Immigration Unit as a model and guide for child welfare and juvenile justice systems serving immigrant children and families.
