June marks National Reunification Month, a time when agencies are celebrating successful efforts to reunify children with their families. It’s widely recognized that whenever possible and safe, the best home for a child is with his or her family. International...
Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?[i] In 1946, George Bailey, portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in the film, It's A Wonderful Life, contemplates ending his...
As we count down the days to our 7th annual conference, "Beyond Separation: Protecting Cross Border Families" – co-hosted with the University of Maryland School of Social Work from Thursday, October 17th through Friday, October 18th – we asked ourselves...
May is National Foster Care Month, a time to reflect on how to better serve the tens of thousands of children in our child welfare system. A quarter of all children in the U.S. have at least one immigrant parent....
Olivia Barrios has been working as a bilingual intercountry caseworker for International Social Service, USA (ISS-USA) since the summer of 2018. She takes a passionate approach to health education and social services. Prior to joining ISS-USA, Ms. Barrios worked for...
Social Work and Silos In the international child protection field, people tend to work in silos. Some may work on child trafficking, intercountry adoption, or cross-border migration, but all of these topics overlap. Events in Guatemala provide evidence of how...
Many recent events have emphasized the need for investment in the social service workforce. My trip to India to participate in the launch of a social work training program was one event that highlighted the importance of this profession and...
The key finding of the 6th annual International Social Service conference is that we have failed to do our due diligence in protecting children in our country. Through the creation of benign euphemisms, we have trivialized key circumstances that threaten...
“Building Community, Building Hope” This month, and in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, we acknowledge the importance of preventing child abuse and neglect as well as promoting family strengthening. While much progress...
ISS-USA Reflects on National Adoption Month with Thomas Waterfield November is National Adoption Month: a time to increase awareness about the need for adoptive families for thousands of children in the U.S. waiting for permanent families. This November, National Adoption...