How to help unaccompanied child refugees

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program | The Administration for Children and Families

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) serves unaccompanied children in two distinct programs: the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program (URM) and the Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program.

The URM program serves some of the most vulnerable minors in the world — those who were fleeing persecution, violence, or abuse, and entered the United States without a parent or custodian. Currently, minors and youth served in the program represented more than 50 nationalities.

ORR provides foster care placement and services to unaccompanied refugee minors and other special populations of youth in the United States.

Bridging child welfare experience with expertise in refugee resettlement, the program is uniquely shaped to care for minors with forced migration and traumatic experiences.

The program works with states and local URM providers to provide unaccompanied refugee minors with necessary care and services. With support from ORR, states administer and oversee the program and ensure program and fiscal requirements are met.

The program relies on engagement from a wide range of community members including foster parents, mentors, former unaccompanied refugee minors, volunteers, leaders of faith communities, ethnic community leaders, teachers and coaches, business owners and many others.

Eligible Populations

Initially, only unaccompanied minors with refugee status identified overseas were eligible for the URM program. Over time, Congress has expanded eligibility to other populations.

Eligible populations include

Refugees
Asylees
Cuban or Haitian entrants
Certain Minors with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Victims of Human Trafficking
U-Status recipients
Paroled Unaccompanied Afghan Minors ¹
Paroled Unaccompanied Ukrainian Minors ²

With the exception of refugees referred by the U. S. Department of State, ORR requires all other eligible minors to go through an application process for placement and services. Based on the minor’s best interests and availability of appropriate placement options, ORR determines whether a minor can enter the URM program.

Services Provided to Minors

Programs focus on the safety, education, well-being, and self-sufficiency of minors in their care. Services are based on state child welfare requirements and ORR regulations and policies.

Programs may provide:

Indirect financial support for housing, food, clothing and other necessities
Intensive case management services by social workers
English language training and education
Independent living skill development
Educational Training Vouchers
Health, dental, and mental health care
Job training and career development skills
Cultural orientation and social integration
Preservation of ethnic and religious heritage
Safety planning
Coordination of immigration assistance
Family tracing and reunification

Reunification

The program encourages reunification of minors with their parents or other appropriate adult relatives whenever possible. Minors whose parents are deceased, untraceable, or inappropriate due to abuse or neglect may be placed in foster care for a long-term basis. Other placement options include group homes, semi-independent living, independent living, placement with a relative, and residential treatment facilities.

Providers

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, help with the placement services for all eligible populations. These two agencies coordinate placements with local URM providers.

Unaccompanied refugee minors are served by the local providers in 15 states

Phoenix, Arizona
San Jose, Fullerton, and Sacramento, California
Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado
Washington, DC
Miami, Florida
Worcester and Waltham, Massachusetts
Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing, Michigan
Jackson, Mississippi
Rochester and Syracuse, New York
Fargo, North Dakota
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania
Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Salt Lake City, Utah
Richmond, Virginia
Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane, Washington

The program is funded by ORR’s Cash and Medical Assistance grant to certain States through State Refugee Coordinators’ offices. The State offices then fund the local URM providers.

Contact the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program

Footnotes

^1.An unaccompanied child as defined under 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2), who is a citizen or national of Afghanistan and was paroled into the United States between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022.

^2.An unaccompanied child as defined under 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2), who is a citizen or national of Ukraine and was paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023.

About Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program

Through its network of caretakers, the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program (URM) helps unaccompanied refugee minors develop appropriate skills to enter adulthood and to achieve social self-sufficiency.

Background

URM was originally developed in the 1980s to address the needs of thousands of children in Southeast Asia without a parent or guardian to care for them. For refugee minors, the State Department identifies children overseas who are eligible for resettlement in the U.S., but do not have a parent or a relative available and committed to providing for their long-term care. Upon arrival in the U.S., these refugee children are placed into the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program and receive refugee foster care services and benefits. ORR also identifies certain minors who may become eligible for the URM program after they arrive in the United States and do not have a parent or a relative available to provide care. The majority of these minors identified by ORR within the U.S., originate as unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and are referred to the URM program once they meet all of the eligibility requirements.

Since 1980, almost 13,000 minors have entered the URM program. At its peak in 1985, ORR provided protection to 3,828 children in care. Now in various states, ORR has about 1,800 children and youth in care. While most children are placed in licensed foster homes, other licensed care settings are utilized according to children’s individual needs, such as therapeutic foster care, group homes, residential treatment centers and independent living programs.

Program Description

The URM program ensures that eligible unaccompanied minor populations receive the full range of assistance, care and services available to all foster children in the state by establishing a legal authority to act in place of the child’s unavailable parent(s). Our programs encourage reunification of children with their parents or other appropriate adult relatives through family tracing and coordination with local refugee resettlement agencies. However, if reunification is not possible, each program works to design a case specific permanency plan for each minor or youth in care.

Additional services we provide include:

Indirect financial support for housing, food, clothing, medical care and other necessities
Intensive case management by social workers
Independent living skills training
Educational supports including educational training vouchers (ETVs)
English language training
Career/college counseling and training
Mental health services
Assistance adjusting immigration status
Cultural activities
Recreational opportunities
Support for social integration
Cultural and religious preservation

Refugee children, who enter the U. S. with family but experience a family breakdown, may be eligible to participate in the URM program, as well, through an ORR eligibility determination process. ORR’s State Letters on reclassification to URM status provide the standards used to determine if such a child may access the program.

Children eligible for the URM Program are under age 18, are unaccompanied, and are:

Refugees
Entrants
Asylees
Victims of Trafficking
Certain minors with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
U visa holders
Paroled Unaccompanied Afghan Minors ¹
Paroled Unaccompanied Ukrainian Minors ²

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Visit disclaimer page and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) Visit disclaimer page help ORR with the URM Program by coordinating placement with local providers.

Geographic Locations

Phoenix, AZ; Fullerton, San Jose, and Sacramento, CA; Denver and Colorado Springs, CO; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Worcester and Waltham, MA; Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Lansing, MI; Jackson, MS; Fargo, ND; Rochester and Syracuse, NY; Jenkintown, PA; Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; Richmond, VA; Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane, WA.

URM Research Study

In 2021, ACF’s Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) concluded a three-year descriptive study of the URM Program to better understand the range of child welfare services and benefits provided through individual URM programs and the characteristics and experiences of youth served. Highlights include analyses of youth demographics, living arrangements, service receipt, and experiences such as lawful permanent resident status and educational attainment. OPRE produced several publications on the study, including a select findings brief, a final report, and six program provider snapshots. The OPRE-funded study’s special topic reports on education and mental health have broader applicability beyond the URM Program and would be relevant resources to other ORR programs and grantees.

Contact Information

URM Program
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Administration for Children and Families
Mary E. Switzer Building
330 C Street, SW
Washington DC 20201
Fax: 202-401-5487
Email: [email protected]

Footnotes

^1.An unaccompanied child as defined under 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2), who is a citizen or national of Afghanistan and was paroled into the United States between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022.

^2. An unaccompanied child as defined under 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2), who is a citizen or national of Ukraine and was paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023.

CrossborderChildhoodUA - Protect the rights of refugee children from Ukraine

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Protect the rights of
refugee children
from Ukraine

All refugee children must be protected from violence, exploitation, separation from loved ones and provided with education, medical care, psychological support and safe environment.

About the problem

In the spring of 2022, European countries received millions of refugees from Ukraine, primarily women and children. Such a large-scale migration wave with such a gender and age composition has not been within the borders of Europe since the 2nd World War. Children are a special group requiring special protection in conditions of mass migration. ADC Memorial has already demanded respect for the rights of migrant children as part of the #CrossborderChildhood campaign - now this issue is more relevant than ever, so a new stage of this #CrossborderChildhoodUA campaign is needed. nine0003

Every country that has accepted refugee children from Ukraine must develop and implement a program of comprehensive measures to protect minors from the risks of sexual exploitation, child trafficking, forced labor, and begging.

Our task is to achieve the implementation of the standards of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the treatment of children in situations of migration.

Standards for the treatment of children in migration

Safe environment nine0011

All children have the right to a safe environment. This applies to physical security (life away from hostilities, without the risk of suffering from military violence), environmental well-being (minimizing the damage caused by bombing, fires), psychological comfort, friendly environment. Of particular importance is the prevention of forced labor and exploitation of children (involving them in begging, prostitution), the protection of children from various forms of violence, including sexualized. nine0003

Non-separation from relatives and control of guardians

Children traveling with their families need a guarantee of not being separated from their families. If the child is cared for by other people, then - in order to avoid the risks of abuse and exploitation - a systematic monitoring of their fulfillment of the role of guardians is necessary. Particularly important is the protection of the rights of unaccompanied children (senior adolescents traveling on their own, war orphans), support from responsible specially trained adults

Access to education and medicine, including psychological help

All children in a situation of migration should be provided with access to education and medicine, incl. psychological help. For children affected by the war - who often lost loved ones and saw violence, survived shelling, the hardships of forced travel, a sharp change in their familiar environment - psychological assistance is of paramount importance and should be included in the standard.

Special attention to vulnerable groups nine0011

Special attention is required for vulnerable groups - ethnic and religious minorities, foreign children, children with special needs, orphans (both those who were previously in social institutions or shelters, and those who lost their parents during the war), children from closed institutions. All these groups must always respect the standards for the protection of the rights of the child, without exception or discrimination.

Observance of the rights of children from institutions nine0011

When relocating closed institutions (whether they are boarding schools, special schools, prisons or colonies), it should be remembered that it is children's human rights standards that should be applied to them.

Children's safety rules during the war: instruction comic

In times of war, parents and teachers can use the instructional comic to help even the youngest children learn important safety rules: how to avoid a mine, what to do in case of a landslide, and what to take with you to shelter. Compliance with these rules saves lives - this is now important for every child in Ukraine! nine0003

You can download an electronic version of the comic for personal and collective use - for viewing with children on a smartphone or on a computer.

Comic instructions are available to the following languages:

Ukrainian version for printing for smartphone
in Russian version for printing for smartphone
ҳMAI KOTLORITKO Smartphone 9000 Vysitsko nine0005 Românește print version for smartphone

Supported by the Fondation de France

Children and teenagers - Berlin.
de
Direkt zur Kontaktinformation
7
Image: dpa

For refugee minors arriving in Berlin without parents or persons with parental authority, the Primary Placement and Clearing Center (PPC) at Prinzregentenstraße 24, 10715 Berlin is the competent authority. There is primary provision. The center is open around the clock; it promptly organizes the reception and accommodation of refugee children and adolescents. Please help children and adolescents to get to the Primary placement and clearing after their arrival in Berlin. nine0003
If children and adolescents enter Germany with relatives or friends, contacting the Primary Placement and Clearing Center (CPRC) is necessary only if the accompanying persons cannot or do not want to take care of them. If accompanying adults initially want to take care of children and adolescents, they should contact the Reception Center in the former Tegel Airport building at Saatwinkler Damm, 13405 Berlin. Verification of the right to education and rights parental custody will be held after that. nine0003
Clearing procedure for unaccompanied children and adolescents

In the clearing procedure, the exact situation of children and adolescents is clarified and their further placement is organized. They may be placed at an Adolescent Assistance Organization facility, with a suitable person, or at another facility. Until a guardian is appointed, the Burrlin Senate Office of Education, Youth and Families will be responsible for unaccompanied refugee minors. Then it will move to departments for children and youth. Additional information about acceptance of unaccompanied minor refugees. nine0003
Primary Placement and Clearing Center (CPRC)

Tel: 030 818608-3110
Address: Prinzregentenstraße 24, 10715 Berlin
Underground U7 / U9 / bus 143 (Berliner Straße), bus 248 (Wexstraße)
Open 24/7
www. fsd-stiftung.de

Kindergarten and school attendance by refugee children

Information on kindergarten attendance

Children over the age of 1 can visit the kindergarten, play there with other children and learn German in a playful way. However, to do this, you first need to take a number of steps: nine0003

First of all, you need to apply for a kindergarten voucher. To do this, you can fill out the corresponding online form or download it (in German, in PDF format). In both cases, you must send the completed form to the district office for children and youth in your place of residence.

You will then receive a kindergarten voucher in the mail. It will tell you from what date and for how many hours your child can go to preschool each day. nine0107
You can now choose a place in the kindergarten via this link https://www.kita-navigator.berlin.de/.

If you find a free spot, please contact the kindergarten management directly to return your voucher. For this, a contract is concluded with a preschool institution.

If you need help completing the paperwork or requesting a voucher, please contact your local Children and Youth Welfare Office. nine0003

Information about attending kindergartens can be downloaded here (in PDF format)

Work in kindergartens in Berlin: advice for refugees

The federal state of Berlin wants to provide the maximum number of children from Ukraine with the opportunity to attend kindergarten. In order to provide the best possible care for children, the institutions require staff with good knowledge of Ukrainian and Russian. nine0003
By filling out this form, Ukrainians can express their interest in working in kindergartens and other educational institutions and at the same time provide information about their professional qualifications and knowledge of languages: go to the form (in PDF format).

School attendance information

As a rule, from the age of six, children in Germany attend school. School education is free. As a rule, refugee children and adolescents are first sent to the Newcomer Classes where they learn German. If your child is under the age of 16, first contact the District Coordination Office in your area of residence: nine0003

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

City Hall Charlottenburg
Otto-Suhr-Allee 100
10585 Berlin
Allocation of places in schools:
Tel.: +49 30 9029-14648
[email protected]
Language:
Tel: +49 30 9029-12928
[email protected]

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg nine0011
Frankfurter Allee 35–37
10247 Berlin
School allocation:
Tel.: +49 30
-4630 /-4640
sebastian. [email protected]
Advice and assessment of language proficiency:
Tel: +49 30
-3095
[email protected]
Lichtenberg

Alt-Friedrichsfelde 60
10315 Berlin
building 1
Distribution of places in schools:
Tel: +49 30
-3846
[email protected]
Counseling and language assessment:
Tel: +49 30 9021-4727
florian.koeniglin@senbjf. de

Marzahn-Hellersdorf

Alice-Salomon-Platz 3, 12591 Berlin
School allocation:
Tel.: +49 30 -2787/-2786
[email protected]/ renate.klingenberg@ba-mh .berlin.de
Consultation and language assessment:
Tel: +49 30 -2965
[email protected]
Mitte

Karl-Marx-Allee 31
10178 Berlin
Tel. : +49 30 9018-26112
[email protected]
School allocation, consultation and language assessment:
Badstraße 10, 13357 Berlin
Tel: +49 30 4039 4922 31
[email protected]

Neukölln nine0011
Boddinstraße 34
12053 Berlin
room B 0.46 / B 0.38
School allocation:
Tel. language level:
Tel.: +49 30
-2509
[email protected]
Pankov

Distribution of places in schools:
Fröbelstraße 17
10405 Berlin
Tel: +49 30
-5040/-5136,
[email protected], [email protected]
Advice and leveling language skills:
Tino-Schwierzina-Straße 32
13089 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 -1002
[email protected]

Reinickendorf

School allocation:
Eichborndamm 215
13437 Berlin
Tel. : +4930
-4768
Consultation and language assessment:
Innungsstraße 40
13509 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 -1923
[email protected]
Spandau

Streitstraße 6–7
13587 Berlin
School allocation:
Tel.: +49 30
-2235
[email protected]
Counseling and language assessment:
Tel: +49 30
-3139
[email protected]

Steglitz-Zehlendorf

Kirchstraße 1–3
14163 Berlin
room A 10
Distribution of seats in regular school classes:
Tel. @ba-sz.berlin.de
School allocation, consultation and language assessment:
Tel.: +49 30
-5192

[email protected] nine0003
Tempelhof-Schöneberg

Alarichstraße 12–17
12105 Berlin
School allocation:
Tel. : +49 30 -4709
[email protected]
Counseling and language assessment:
4 [email protected], [email protected]

Treptow-Köpenick

School allocation:
Rudower Chaussee 4
building M
12489 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30

[email protected]

Counseling and language assessment:

[email protected]

For adolescents over 16 years of age, the competent authority is the Vocational Education Clearing House ([email protected], tel.: 030/ 1382 or 030/ 1380 Frankfurter Allee 73c, 10247 Berlin). Bring your ID cards and relevant educational documents. The coordinating office will determine the level of the child's language proficiency and order an examination by the school doctor. The coordinating office will then inform you when school your child can be accepted. Please contact the school directly to register your child. Teenagers graduating from school can take advantage of the online learning of their school in their home country. nine0003

School attendance information can be downloaded here (in PDF format)

Children and teenagers aged 15 to 25 who want to ask questions about their professional prospects can take advantage of the free consultation of the Youth Professions Agency. The consultation covers topics such as vocational training, school, university studies and starting a professional career.

Work in schools in Berlin: search for personnel with knowledge of Ukrainian and German

In view of the dramatic events and the flow of refugees from Ukraine, many Ukrainian schoolchildren arrive in Berlin in urgent need of help. The federal state of Berlin is recruiting staff with knowledge of German and Ukrainian in the classes for recent arrivals, to conduct classes in Ukrainian and German.

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