Who are these children?

What do we offer them? 

Program resettles refugee children

orphaned or separated from families 

Because of wartime trauma and tragedy, many children around the world are forced to flee their homes and seek sanctuary in refugee camps where they hope to be safe. All too often, the biological families of these children are lost, imprisoned, or killed, leaving the children orphaned or separated from their families. 

In 1975 the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare requested help from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) in resettling children who had left Vietnam without parents or family and were then in refugee holding camps in the United States.  In response, Lutheran Children and Family Service of Pennsylvania agreed to accept the children into their foster care program.  As more unaccompanied children were found in refugee camps in Southeast Asia, the program expanded and was developed through Lutheran Social Service agencies in other states, again at the encouragement of the State Department.
 

Experience has shown that the use of foster homes has been successful in the majority of resettlement situations.  Recognizing this, in 1980 Congress passed legislation ensuring continued federal funding to states with Unaccompanied Minor Programs to provide homes and services to the children and their foster families until the minor achieves adulthood.  Today approximately 16 states have developed programs modeled after the Pennsylvania foster care program, North Dakota included.

In 1981 the Unaccompanied Minor Program  was approved by Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota and the North Dakota State Social Service Board and has been in operation ever since.

Today, the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program of Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota offers these youth: 

1)    Housing and basic needs - Placement in a care setting, with indirect financial assistance for food, shelter, clothing, and basic necessities.

2)    Case Management Services - Intensive case management coordinating the above services and 24-hour crisis intervention.

3)    Educational needs - ELL testing, grade placement, school enrollment, ELL courses, academic tutoring as well as career, vocational, special educational and post-secondary planning.

4)    Medical and dental health services - Initial screening and immunizations, complete physical, referrals as needed, yearly preventative medical and vision care; bi-annual preventive dental care. 

5)    Mental and behavioral health services - Referrals to mental and behavioral health services as needed, ongoing psychiatric and psychological services to help the youth work through the trauma they have experienced. 

6)    Family Tracing & Messaging  - Ongoing assistance through the local chapter of the American Red Cross (as feasible after considering possible safety issues to youth and biological family).

7)    Legal services - To secure guardianship, advise and assist with immigration issues, adjust status, apply for citizenship,and juvenile or adult legal issues.

8)    Language needs - Language interpretation from English into client's native language by a qualified interpreter.

9)    Independent Living Skills - Formally assessed when youth reach the age of 16 and have sufficient English skills. Areas targeted for skill building are written into the service plan.  Youth are eligible for Chafee IL services, including assessment, service planning, case management, skills trainings, financial assistance and Educational Training Voucher.

10) Training and licensing of foster parents - PRIDE model of licensure is utilized, which includes a 27-hour initial training and corresponding home visits.  After licensure, ongoing training is offered on topics of importance and interest.

11)  Recreational & Life Skills Activities - Trimester group and life skills activities. 

12) Family Strengthening Services - Family support services available for URM kinship families and resettlement families, at-risk of breakdown.

The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program currently serves 32 youth in North Dakota:

• 21 males and 11 females
• 3 Somali, 2 Sudanese, 1 Liberian, 1 Iraqi, 15 Congolese, 2 Burundi, 2 Eritrean, 3 Sierra Leonian, 2 Afghani, 1 Ethiopian
• 4 in foster care, 17 in kinship care, 3 in therapeutic or other care, 8 in independent living
• serve clients age 0-23; most are 16-21
• 5 sibling groups
• For FY 2010, we welcomed 13 new arrivals and one reclassification case
• Currently awaiting 8 arrivals, a mix of single and sibling groups.  Some will go into foster care and some in kinship care.