Thursday, September 27, 2007Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families Annual Conference

(Atlanta, GA)

The Intersection of Child Welfare and Immigrants: Promising Partnerships

Presenters: Conception Cuevas, alumna of foster care/Youth Team Advisor, California CASA

Jorge Cabera, San Diego Field Office Director, Casey Family Programs

Yali Lincroft, Consultant/Pacific Region Family to Family, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Small Group Facilitators:Sonia Velazquez, Vice President/Children’s Services Division, American Humane Association

Lyn Morland, Senior Program Officer, Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services

Workshop Objectives

• To increase understanding on issues affecting immigrant children at risk or in the child welfare system.

• To learn how foundations are partnering to promote strategic policy, practice and research.

• To explore strategies to advance culturally appropriate responses to the challenges posed by increased migration.

• To strengthen the knowledge, skills, and reflective practice of members to make the best use of all resources.

• To help grantmakers explore new areas together; share experiences and perspectives; launch collaborative and cooperative action; and learn about each other's programs, initiatives, innovations, and strategies.

• To promote awareness, understanding, and engagement around children, youth and family issues within philanthropy.

GYCF Mission Statement:

About the Migration and Child Welfare National Network

(MCWNN)

MCWNN Leading Members:

American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law American Humane Association Annie E. Casey Foundation BRYCS/US Conference of Catholic Bishops Casey Family Programs Child Welfare League of America DC Family and Children’s Services Family Violence Prevention Fund Immigrant Legal Resource Center Loyola University of Chicago Hunter College University of Illinois at Chicago/Jane Addams School of Social Work University of Texas

“Child welfare services should be available to all children regardless of immigration status”

“Federal, state, and local policies should encourage full integration of immigrant families into US society through an expanded delivery of child welfare services”

Statement Adopted by the Migration and Child Welfare National Network (MCWNN)

MCWNN Committees and Activities

PolicyFunding issues

State innovations

Action alerts

Research

Current state of practice

Best practice guidelines

Demonstration projects

National Advocacy

Publications

Conferences

Presentations

Resource sharingBest Practice

Indicators of good practice

Training materials and resources

Positive examples of collaboration

Values that drive practice Transnational

Consular relations

Home studies overseas

Reunification

Public awareness of transnational scope

• Publications (American Humane Association Journal, CWLA article, 2007 roundtable report, upcoming 2008 conference report)

• March 2008 Joint Conference in Chicago with MCWN, Immigrant Children’s Lawyers Network (ICLN) and National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)

• Presentations at conferences for Child Welfare League of America, Admin for Children and Families (ACF/DHH), Natl Conf State Legislators, Beyond the Bench Court and Dependency Attorneys (Judicial Council), Prevent Child Abuse America, and others.

Migration and Child Welfare National Network Activities

• Language

• Culturally Relevant Services• Case Complexity• Worker Bias• Working across Borders• Immigration relief options

The Experience of a Former Immigrant Foster Youth

About Casey Family Programs

Casey Family Programs’ mission is to provide and improve—and ultimately to

prevent the need for—foster care.

• Direct Practice • Systems Change Efforts• Role of CFP in Migration Issues• Reducing Disproportionality and

Disparity• 20/20 Strategy

Improve Self-Sufficiency

Improve the path to self-sufficiency for children who enter the foster care system

Prevention of PlacementReduce the population in foster care by preventing abuse and neglect, strengthening families and community supports, and providing quality after-care services

EducationIncrease high school and college graduation rates for youth in foster care to equal the general population

PermanencyQuickly and safely reach permanency for children who are placed in foster care

EmploymentIncrease employment rates for youth from foster care to equal the general population

Build Collective Will for ChangeIncrease local and national political and public will to support vulnerable children and families and child welfare

Lead federal and state policy strategy to allow for greater child welfare funding flexibility

Mental Health

Improve mental health services to ensure youth in foster care can function as productive adults without being impeded by mental illnesses

2020 GOALS

Reduce and Reinvest

Safely reduce the U.S. foster care population by 50% and reinvest the savings to strengthen child welfare

2020 Strategy

About Annie E Casey Foundation’s Family to Family Initiative

Family to Family is committed to redesigning and reconstructing foster care systems across the country so that more children can remain safely with their own families or in a family-like setting located in their own community.  

• F2F began in 1992/currently in 17 states• Published report, “Undercounted,

Underserved” on needs of immigrant families

• Provide Technical Assistance and Training to child welfare staff and partners

• Integration of needs of immigrant families in overall child welfare reform efforts

• Partner with Casey Family Programs

Understanding Immigration in the Child Welfare Context

Growth in Foreign-Born Population

Immigrants are:• 1 in 9 US residents;• 1 in 7 US workers;• 1 in 5 low wage workers;• 1 in 2 new workers.

Source: “A Quick Look at US Immigrants: Demographics, Workforce and Asset Building” by the National Conference of State Legislators (June 2004)

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/immig/immigstatistics0605.htm

Growth in Foreign-Born Population

21% of children in the US is an immigrant or has an immigrant parent.

80% of the children in immigrant families are US citizen.

30% of US children without health insurance is in an immigrant family.

The proportion of students in US schools who are children of immigrants more than tripled from 1970-2000, from 6 to 20% (will be 30% by 2015).

Source:

“Kids Count Data Snapshot” by The Annie E. Casey Foundation (No. 4, March 2007)

http://www.kidscount.org/sld/snapshot_immigrant.pdf

Dispersal to New Receiving Communities

• More than 2/3 of all foreign-born reside in 6 states (CA, NY, Florida, Texas, NJ, Ill)

• Increasing numbers of settling in nontraditional urban and rural receiving communities, particularly in the southern and midwestern states. During the 1990s, the Hispanic population more than doubled in Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Source: “A Quick Look at US Immigrants:

Demographics, Workforce and Asset Building” by the

National Conference of State Legislators

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/immig/immigstatistics0605.htm

Why Immigrant Children Enter Child Welfare• Poverty is one of the most important predictors of negative

child outcomes. Poverty rates are generally higher among children of immigrants than among children of natives.

• Young children of immigrants are less likely to receive public benefits.

• Children in immigrant families are considerably more likely to be uninsured, to be reported in fair or poor health, and to lack a usual place where they can get preventive health care.

• Immigrant families enter and stay in child welfare for same reasons as natives - domestic violence, substance abuse, health, and mental health – however access to services is limited in most regions of the country.

Source: “Undercounted, Underserved: Immigrants and Refugee Families in the Child Welfare System” Annie E Casey Foundation (2006)

http://www.aecf.org/upload/pdffiles/familytofamily/immigration.pdf

Result Research by Urban Institute on Immigrants in TX Child Welfare System

• Underrepresentation of Immig in Child Welfare: Latin American immig children represent less than 1% of all children in care but make up 7% of all children in Texas in 2005.

• Placement type: only 8% Latin American immigrant children in out-of-home care are living with relatives compared with 20-28% U.S.-born children.

• Removal reason: Latin American immigrants are 3x more likely to be removed because of sexual abuse than children of U.S.-born parents.

• Federal Funding: Only 5% Latin American immigrants in out-of-home care are eligible for reimbursement compared with over half of U.S.-born children.

Source: “Foster Care Placement Settings and Permanency Planning” by the Urban Institute (2007)

http://www.urban.org/publications/311459.html

2007 Legislation Related to Immigration

• In the absence of a comprehensive federal immigration reform in the US, states have displayed an unprecedented level of activity.

• As of July 2, 2007, no fewer than 1404 pieces of legislation related to immigrants and immigration had been introduced.

  • State legislators have introduced roughly two

and a half times more bills in 2007, than in 2006.

Source: Dirk Hegen, Immigrant Policy Project, National Conference of State Legislatures (Aug 2007)

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/immig/2007ImmigrationUpdate.htm

Immigration Myth and Reality

• MYTH: Undocumented Immigrants come to the United States to get welfare. Over 90% undocumented men work Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for public benefits.

• MYTH: Undocumented immigrants all crossed the Mexican border. Between 60-70% enter illegally across the border, mostly Mexico. The other 25-40% overstayed their visas or.

• MYTH: Most children of the undocumented are unauthorized. Two-third of children with undocumented parents are US-born citizens.

• MYTH: Undocumented immigrants are all single men. Over 40% of the undocumented are women and the majority (54%) of undocumented men live in married couples or other families.

• MYTH: Undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes. Undocumented immigrants pay real estate taxes and sales taxes. Many pay payroll taxes for benefits they are unable to claim.

 

Source: “Undocumented Immigrants: Myths and Reality” by the Urban Institute (2005)

http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=900898

Over Arching Issues of the Intersection between Migration and Child Welfare

• Lack of sufficient research / shared knowledge / guiding principles

• Often small number of cases

• Complexity of cases • Unprepared professionals • Families caught between

systems• Questions of professionals

unanswered • No funding sources

Priority Needs

The need for an integration of services to immigrant families into the overall child welfare service delivery system

The lack of reliable data on immigrant children and their families in the child welfare system, and how this gap is preventing policies and practice changes in child welfare.

The lack of culturally relevant services and inadequate responses to the differing cultural norms of child rearing practices and the over representation of children of color in care.

Ethnic Community- Based Organization

Interpretation Translation Cultural Consultations

Indigenous problem-solving strategies

Cross-Training

Alternative / Family Preservation Services

Foster Families

Reunification Plan Support

Morland/BRYCS (2006)

Collaboration with Ethnic Community-Based Organizations

Immigrants Children are the New Americans

“Immigrant children are the new Americans and it is in everyone’s best interest that this vulnerable, but rapidly growing population of children receives the services needed to thrive. Most children of immigrants under 6 are citizens … Improving child welfare services to immigrant families must not be viewed as a ‘boutique’ issue. It must be part of the current, larger conversation regarding improving the overall child welfare system.”

Source: “Undercounted, Underserved: Immigrants and Refugee Families in the Child Welfare System” Annie E Casey Foundation (2006)

http://www.aecf.org/upload/pdffiles/familytofamily/immigration.pdf

Small Group Discussion

What are ways philanthropy can increase their understanding of this issue?

What are ways philanthropy can partner in this work (i.e. local/national/international, public/private, research/practice)?

What are strategies philanthropy can adopt to advocate for the needs of this population?

For More Information:

• Jorge Cabera, Casey Family Programs, jcabrera@casey.org

• Yali Lincroft, Annie E. Casey Foundation, yalilincroft@yahoo.com or www.f2f.ca.gov

• Lyn Morland, BRYCS/USCCB, lmorland@usccb.org or www.brycs.org

• Sonia Velazquez,American Humane Association, SoniaV@americanhumane.org or http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pc_initiatives_migration

To join the Migration and Child Welfare Network, please email CWMN@americanhumane.org