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LIRS Responds to Inspector General's report on DUCS
Baltimore, April 7, 2008—Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) strongly endorses recommendations made in a recent governmental oversight report regarding standards of care for “unaccompanied alien children.” The report, issued by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), is the first of its kind since the Homeland Security Act transferred federal custody of thousands of foreign-born children to the Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services (DUCS) within the Office of Refugee Resettlement in 2003. LIRS President Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr. said, “We commend the Inspector General’s office for its careful and thorough evaluation of a program designed to serve one of our most vulnerable populations—children under the age of 18 who are in the United States without a parent or legal guardian to care for them. As the federal government’s sole partner in assessing the children and recommending their placement, we are committed to working with DUCS to achieve outcomes that are in the best interests of the child.”
Each year thousands of children and youth from all over the world leave their countries of origin seeking a better life in the United States. Regardless of their status upon entry into the United States, all unaccompanied minors warrant special protection because of their particular vulnerability as children and their separation from both family and their communities of origin, and because they may be escaping persecution in their native countries.
As part of the Homeland Security Act passed in 2002, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) took over the care of unaccompanied children in federal custody from the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). As the Inspector General’s report noted, that shift has resulted in sweeping policy and procedural changes that benefit children. “Instead of looking at children through the lens of enforcement, the law says the federal government should look at the children first through child welfare lenses. This upholds time-tested, standard child welfare principles,” said Deffenbaugh. “LIRS believes that the OIG study is a necessary step to securing this transition.”
Five years ago LIRS established a field coordination program now known as Safe Haven. “In a way, this program was a natural fit for LIRS, building on almost 30 years of experience with the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors program and our pride in being a partner of choice,” stated LIRS Vice President Susan Krehbiel. LIRS field coordinators are stationed across the country, working closely with caseworkers in local facilities, immigration attorneys, and officials from the Department of Homeland Security and DUCS to ensure that all involved are aware of the implications their decisions have on the safety and well-being of the individual child.
Last year, after a long and successful collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, LIRS became the federal government’s sole partner in the DUCS program. LIRS child specialists in Baltimore now provide structure and ongoing support for more than 25 field coordinators nationwide to ensure that the program reflects the highest social work standards and incorporates the particular strengths and needs of children in migration. To this end, LIRS agrees with the OIG’s recommendation that more children should be seen in individual one-on-one visits. “We have experienced firsthand the difference it can make when field coordinators have been able to meet regularly with individual children, and we appreciate the progress made with DUCS to expand the number of field staff,” said Krehbiel.
Perhaps the most important decision about the child’s care that DUCS has to make is whether or not to release a child. LIRS strongly supports the OIG’s recommendation that DUCS develop a mechanism for monitoring children after they’re released from federal custody. “We believe that post-release services and follow-up increase stability in the home, provide emergency intervention when sponsorships break down and increase appearance rates at immigration court,” said Krehbiel.
LIRS also recognizes that the success of the Safe Haven program is incumbent on the success of the DUCS program overall. “We appreciate our continued partnership with the federal government in meeting the needs of these children, and commit ourselves to working diligently over the coming year to capitalize on this opportunity to work together, continuing to improve the services to the children and families we serve,” said Krehbiel.
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