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Article
The dependency court is charged with establishing a permanent
plan—in an expeditious manner—for each foster child. In order to
develop an appropriate permanency plan, the court must have
reliable information regarding all potential relative caregivers
who may be able to provide the dependent child a safe and stable
home. The era of extended family members residing in the same
home town or even the same state is over. Child welfare cases
increasingly involve interstate and international placement
options. These examples illustrate only a few of the
possibilities:
- A child is illegally transported into the US by human
traffickers and comes into foster care as a victim of sexual
exploitation. There are allegations that her parents in South
America allowed her to be taken to the US.
- Two parents and their three children enter the US
illegally and give birth to a sibling in this country. All
children are placed in foster care as a result of a dependency
finding. The parents are deported, leaving their four
children—three of whom are in the US illegally.
- Mother and father meet while attending college in the US.
Mother is a US citizen and father is a German citizen. They
have a child in the US and later separate. Father returns home
to Germany. The child comes into foster care as a result of
his mother’s mental health problems and use of illegal drugs.
Mother is not a permanent placement option.
- Father and mother marry while father is stationed in the
US military in Japan. Mother is Japanese and has a child born
prior to the marriage. The parents have two children together.
The family is stationed in the US when the mother dies. The
father petitions to be relieved of the care of his stepchild.
The court grants the petition and the child enters foster
care.
The child welfare agency and the court-appointed special
advocate play important roles in securing information regarding
potential permanency placements for the children involved in
these cases. In some instances, the child welfare agency will
need to employ an attorney well versed in immigration law. In
all of the cases, it will be necessary to prepare a family tree
and seek information regarding the location of relatives living
both inside and outside of the US. What issues arise when the
child in foster care is not a US citizen? Is reunification with
relatives outside the US in the child’s best interest? Is
separation of siblings who are in the US legally and illegally
appropriate? Where does the court turn to secure a home study on
those potential international placements?
Thanks go to Julie Gilbert Rosicky, executive director of
International Social Service-United States of America Branch,
Inc. (ISS-USA) for bringing the expertise of the authors of the
articles in this issue together to help address these important
issues. This issue includes the following articles:
- Julie Rosicky enunciates
many of the important issues raised in international placement
decisions and provides a unique vantage point as a former CASA
program coordinator in New York.
- Felicity
Sackville Northcott and Jamie Rae Harvey express concern
regarding the lack of data currently being collected on
American children placed overseas and question whether
appropriate home studies and transitional services are being
provided.
- Jacqueline
Bhabha reminds us that while the law favors family
reunification, this may not always be in the best interest of
children involved in certain international placements.
-
Howard Davidson addresses that issue and proposes five
principles for juvenile courts and child welfare agencies to
follow when determining the appropriate placement for
unaccompanied and undocumented immigrant children.
- Ilze Earner offers
significant insights regarding factors to consider when
working with immigrant families.
- Alan Dettlaff
offers advice to child welfare agencies working with immigrant
children and their parents.
- Chris
Nugent explains the provisions of Special Immigrant
Juvenile Status (SIJS) and encourages all members of the child
welfare community to integrate considerations of a child's
eligibility for SJIS in their work with immigrant children.
- Paula Campbell
offers web resources.
- National CASA announces that
registration is now open for the 2008 National Conference,
held in Washington, DC June 7 – 10.
As a judge presented with the issue of a potential placement
of a foster child with parents or relatives located outside of
the US, know that you can secure a home study by working with
your local child welfare agency. The local agency will process
this request through the state agency, which will work with ISS-USA
to secure the home study you need to make this important
permanency placement decision.
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Summary