Hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. are waiting to be reconnected to their families. A staggering number of children have been separated from their families because of the opioid crisis, the growing number of people being deported, the increase in the trafficking of young people, a rising number of international parental abductions, and economic and family crises. Likewise, there are thousands of children outside of the United States who are waiting to be reconnected to their families in the U.S.
International Social Service-USA is launching the #kidsarewaiting campaign to highlight the barriers children face in reuniting with their families across state and country borders. Here are some statistics:
– 107,000 #kidsarewaiting to be adopted in the U.S.
– 100,000 #kidsarewaiting in U.S. foster care for their families in foreign countries to be engaged in permanency planning for them.
– 30,000 #kidsarewaiting to be deinstitutionalized in the U.S.
– 20,000 #kidsarewaiting to leave group homes in the U.S.
– 193,000 #kidsarewaiting in non-relative foster homes to be reunited with family.
– #kidsarewaiting to be reunited with their left-behind parent after being abducted by a parent to a foreign country.
– #kidsarewaiting to be safely reintegrated into their communities after being trafficked.
– #kidsarewaiting for documents from a another country to be allowed to legally remain in the U.S.
– #kidsarewaiting for us to evaluate their non-custodial parent’s home in another state so they can find permanency.
International Social Service-USA provides the social work services needed to make permanency decisions in the best interest of the child when a state or national border separates that child from his or her family. We can:
1) provide home studies on parents or extended family to assess the suitability and sustainability of placing the child in that home;
2) conduct relative and document tracings to support immigration relief or ensure that a child can enroll in school and access benefits in the U.S. or abroad;
3) facilitate virtual family engagement activities including attending family team meetings, attending legal and judicial proceedings, and communicating with the child;
4) conduct child resource surveys in the community to where the child is moving or retuning to ensure that the child will have all the necessary supports when they arrive.
Far too many children in the U.S. and around the World are waiting for us to make decisions and conduct services to support permanency for them. International Social Service-USA believes the existence of a state or national border between a child and his or her family is not an excuse for not looking for, engaging, or evaluating that family. For over 90 years we have served millions of children and families who faced this kind of separation and helped them find each other. To learn more about our services for children, visit the Services for Children page of our website. To donate to assist children and families in need, visit our donation page.
