Unaccompanied Refugee Minors

Program Name:     Unaccompanied Refugee Minors
Location:                Off-site; Contact Michelle Mitchell
Division:                 Children and Family Services

Contact Person:            Michelle Mitchell, Supervisor 

Goal of Service

The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program works to ensure that residents have their medical, dental, psychological, and legal needs addressed within 90 days of placement; participate in English as a Second Language (ESL), life skills, tutorials, and social activities; and were placed in age-appropriate living situations upon leaving the program. 

History of Program/How long in Existence

The program involves two components, individual foster homes and an agency home called St. Jerome Emiliani’s Homes for Children.  The program has placed minors by referral only from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) since February 2003.  USCCB identified a need for an Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program in Texas and requested for Catholic Charities to provide that program as Catholic Charities is acknowledged as a mature agency that has had a refugee resettlement program in place since 1975 and a foster care program in place since the inception of the agency in 1944.  In addition, USCCB had identified Houston as an excellent community for resettling unaccompanied refugee minors.  The city hosts large ethnic and refugee communities due to the 25+ years of Houston’s dedication to refugee resettlement as well as the city’s international business and academic communities.  Houston is home to several ethnic, non-profit, mutual assistance organizations, and government, social, and educational services have procedures in place to accommodate Houston’s ethnic minority problems.

Services Provided

St. Jerome’s, two agency homes with the capacity to care for six males and six females, provides the initial placement for the youth into the program.  While the youth are living in the group home, evaluations are provided to assess all their needs (medical, psychiatric/therapeutic, educational, vocational, social, familial, legal) with the development of an initial service plan.  After these assessments are completed, a decision about a long-term placement is made in the best interest of the youth.  If appropriate, the youth moves into an individual foster family.  Otherwise, the youth remains in the agency foster home.  If a youth is not able to maintain the foster family placement, he/she returns to the agency home to live until discharge. 

If a child is placed with a foster family, all of the above services are provided as well. 

Additional services provided by the program include:

• indirect financial support for housing, food, clothing, and other necessities
• intensive case management by a social worker
• independent living skills training
• education/English as a Second Language (ESL)
• tutoring/mentoring
• job skills training and career/college counseling
• mental health services
• on-going family tracing, where possible cultural activities/recreation
• special education services, when needed
• legal assistance

Eligibility Criteria (Age, etc.)

The program consists of 2 safe, nurturing agency homes and individual foster homes that provide 24-hour, long-term foster care services to minors of all ages who have been designated as a refugee, an asylee, or a victim of human trafficking (Unaccompanied Refugee Minor – URM) and to minors who are in federal custody awaiting designation of status, (i.e., asylum or Special Immigrant Juvenile Status) who require long-term foster care due to the amount of time the legal process takes (3-36 months) (Division of Unaccompanied Minors – DUCS). 

Geographic Service Area/Location

All services are provided by referral only from USCCB and are initiated at the main office. 

Fees

This program does not charge fees. 

Staff Who Provide Service

Services in the individual foster homes are provided by a Program Director, Foster Home Developer, Case Manager, and individual foster families, with a special need for foster families with at least one bilingual person in the home. Services in the agency homes are provided by a Program Director, Coordinator, Case Manager, Foster Parents, and five Child Care Workers. 

How To Access

Contact Michelle Mitchell, Supervisor.

Volunteer Opportunities (special projects)

Volunteers are needed to assist as tutors in the evenings and for special projects as necessary.

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