• Florida Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program

• Summary of Significant Federal Rules and Regulations Governing Every State’s URM Program
  • § 45 CFR 400.112

• In essence, a state must provide the same child welfare services to refugee children in the State as it does to other children of the same age in the State under a State’s welfare program. The same standards and procedures as outlined under title IV-E of the Social Security Act shall be followed.

• § 45 CFR  400.113 Duration of eligibility.

• A  refugee child may be eligible for services under § 400.112 of this part during the 36-month period beginning with the first month the child entered the United States.

• An unaccompanied minor continues to meet the definition of “unaccompanied minor” and is eligible for benefits and services under §§ 400.115 through 400.120 of this part until the minor  Is reunited with a parent; or  is united with a nonparental adult (relative or nonrelative) willing and able to care for the child to whom legal custody and/or guardianship is granted under State law; or  attains 18 years of age or such higher age as the State’s title IV-B plan prescribes for the availability of child welfare services to any other child in the State.

• § 45 CFR  400.115 Establishing legal responsibility.
  • Unaccompanied minors are not generally eligible for adoption since family reunification is the objective of the program. In certain rare cases, adoption may be permitted pursuant to adoption laws in the State of resettlement. When adoption occurs, the child’s status as an unaccompanied minor terminates.

• § 45 CFR  400.116 Service for unaccompanied minors.
  • A State must provide unaccompanied minors with the same range of child welfare benefits and services available in foster care cases to other children in the State.

• § 45 CFR  400.117 Provision of care and services.
  • A State may provide care and services to an unaccompanied minor directly or through arrangements with a public or private child welfare agency approved or licensed under State law, in which case the State must retain oversight responsibility for the minor’s care.

• § 45 CFR  400.118 Case planning.

• A State, or its designee, must develop and implement an appropriate plan for the care and supervision of each unaccompanied minor, to ensure that the child is placed in a foster home or other setting approved by the legally responsible agency and in accordance with the child’s need for care and for social, health, and educational services.

• Case planning for unaccompanied minors must, at a minimum, address the following elements:

• Family reunification;

• Appropriate placement of the unaccompanied child in a foster home, group foster care, residential facility, supervised independent living, or other setting,

Health screening and treatment

• Orientation, testing, and counseling to facilitate the adjustment of the child to American culture. And preparation for participation in American society with special emphasis upon English language instruction .

• Preservation of the child’s ethnic and religious heritage.

• § 45 CFR 400.120 Reporting requirements.
  • A State must continually report the status of a Refugee to the ORR.

• Summary of Significant Florida Statutes:

• 409.953  Rulemaking authority for refugee assistance program.–
  • “The Department of Children and Family Services has the authority to administer the refugee assistance program in accordance with 45 C.F.R. parts 400 and 401.”

• In Florida, the  Department’s Refugee Services Program contracts with

only one provider, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami for URM

program services.

• Significant URM Manual Rules  – URM 101
  • Access to Service

The U.S. State Department identifies refugee children overseas who are eligible for resettlement in the United States but do not have a parent or guardian. Upon arrival in the United States these refugee children are placed into the URMP and receive substitute care and other services and benefits. Resettlement of unaccompanied refugee minors take place in accordance with the State’s child welfare guidelines but services are only provided through programs specifically designed for the reception of refugee children.

An unaccompanied refugee minor who enters the United States prior to age 18 can remain in substitute care until the minor:

Is reunited with a parent;

Is united with a non-parental adult (relative or nonrelative) willing and able to care for the child to who legal custody or guardianship is granted under state law; or

Has attained 18 years or is not over 23 years of age and is receiving independent living services.

• Eligibility

Children eligible for the URMP are under age 18, and are:

Refugees (URM status is granted overseas)

Entrants (Reclassified to URM status after arrival)

Asylees (Reclassified to URM status when they are granted asylum)

Victims of Trafficking

Limitation: No child may be considered unaccompanied unless the child was identified by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of entry or was classified as unaccompanied by the State in accordance with Action Transmittal SSA-AT-79-04 and official interpretations thereof by the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Reclassification: The Office of Refugee Resettlement will reclassify a minor to unaccompanied status if the following conditions are met:

The minor is eligible for ORR funded benefits and services, that is, he/she must be a refugee, asylee, Amerasian, Cuban or Haitian entrant, or a victim of severe form of trafficking, as determined by ORR;

No parent of the minor has lived in the United States since the child’s arrival;

No relative or non-related adult has ever had legal custody of the child in the United States;

With respect to a child who entered the United States accompanied by a non-parental relative or non-related adult, or who entered the United States for the purpose of joining a non-parental relative or non-related adult, the child is not currently living in the home of such relative or adult;

An appropriate court has placed legal responsibility for the child with the State or local public child welfare agency or with a licensed non-public agency under contract with the State to provide services to unaccompanied minors;

The State has reported the child to ORR as an unaccompanied minor and as part of the official State program for unaccompanied minors, and the State meets all other program and reporting requirements.

Victims of Trafficking: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, makes adult victims of severe forms of trafficking who have been certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services eligible for the benefits and services to the same extent as refugees. Victims of severe forms of trafficking who are under 18 years of age are also eligible for benefits to the same extent as refugees but do not need to be certified. In the Act, the term severe forms of trafficking in persons means:

Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

The recruitment, harboring transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Important Contacts

United States Catholic Conference/Migration and Refugee Services

Dr. Patricia Maloof

Director of Refugee Programs

3211 4th Street, NE

Washington, DC 20017-1194

Telephone: (202) 541-3256

Fax: (202) 722-8805

Suhail Miranda

URM Program Administrator

Catholic Charities
smiranda@ccadm.org

305-883-3383 ext 222

Theresa Leslie

Department of Children and Families

Refugee Services

1317 Winewood Blvd  Bldg 1, Rm 307G

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700

Theresa_Leslie@dcf.state.fl.us

Telephone:(850) 921-7944 or sc 291-7944

Fax: (850) 487-4272 or sc 2774272