USCCB Closings:

Thursday, December 8th

(Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Monday, December 26th

(Christmas Observed)

Monday, January 2nd

(New Year's Observed)

USCCB 2pm Early Release:

Friday, December 23rd

Friday, December 30th

ORR Program Updates

• For a complete list of ORR policies and procedures, click here.
• Here is the latest UAC program assignment list. Please use this updated list to find the Federal Field Specialist (FFS) when submitting home study reports.
• ORR Project Officer (PO) is Andrea Francis (andrea.francis@acf.hhs.gov). The PO is to be copied on certain NOC submissions (i.e., media attention, death of a UC, and/or trafficking concerns)
• More updates related to the PRS expansion will be sent out via email in the coming weeks, so please be on the lookout!

USCCB/MRS Program Updates

New Director of Children's Services:

USCCB is excited to welcome our new Director of Children's Services, Jenny Chachaya. Jenny previously worked as the Senior Program Manager for the Newcomer Network – Navigator Program at Catholic Charities of Washington, DC, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and oversight of the administrative and daily operations of the case management and holistic functions of the Newcomer Network in collaboration with counterparts throughout the Agency. Jenny was also a bilingual Case Manager/Volunteer in California and has a Bachelor's degree in Business and Public Administration from California State University, Bakersfield and an MSW from Catholic University. Please join us in offering a warm welcome to Jenny!

Jenny's email address is JCachaya@usccb.org

Staff Transitions:

As of the end of October, both Nikeita Lawrence and John Abraham have left the Family Reunification team and transitioned into other professional opportunities. Nikeita had been with FR for seven years, serving as a CSS and the Training and Technical Assistance Lead. Nikeita has resigned in order to focus on her family and her private clinical practice. John had been a CSS with the FR program for 16 months, overseeing a portfolio of 4 assigned programs. He recently accepted a promotion to Assistant Director, Monitoring and Evaluation with the Foster Care program. Both Nikeita and John will be missed, but we are excited for them and their future endeavors.

McKenna Heap-Garner joined the FR Team as our newest CSS at the end of July, and we are currently searching for candidates to fill the two vacant CSS roles. Below is the program coverage plan for the time being:

Kailey Cano

• Catholic Charites of Atlanta
• Catholic Charities of San Diego
• Catholic Charities of Nashville
• Bethany Christian Services of Florida
• Catholic Charities of Boston
• Catholic Charities of Arlington

Simy Cuervo

• Catholic Charities of Trenton
• Catholic Charities of Houston
• Catholic Charities of Los Angeles
• International Christian Adoptions, Inc.
• At Promise Youth Solutions

McKenna Heap-Garner

• Catholic Charities of Ohio
• Catholic Charities of New York
• Catholic Charities of Newark
• Bethany Christian Services of Maryland
• Catholic Charities of San Antonio
• Catholic Charities of Baltimore

*With the continued transition, CSS shortage, and increased caseloads, we sincerely appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding. For matters that require immediate attention, please include "URGENT" in the email subject line.

Training

As a reminder, all *new* staff are required to complete 40 hours of pre-training prior to case assignment.

Mandatory Training:

• Pre-recorded** UAC Portal Trainings - Below are the updated links:  
• Cybersecurity Training
• Privacy 101 Training
• Rules of Behavior
• Pre-recorded** Trauma Informed Care: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Unaccompanied Children (For new staff. Existing staff can complete any trauma informed training that focuses on unaccompanied/immigrant children.)

New Directors Orientation

New Program/Staff Onboarding Training:

• Introduction to Safe Passages Family Reunification Training (handout)
• Platforms Training (handout)
• Home Study Training (handout) *
• Post Release Services Training (handout) *
• Monitoring and Quality Assurance Training (handout)

*Partial recordings due to technical difficulties

Additional Training Opportunities:

• July 10th- 13th, Columbus, OH (Conference) - FFTA 37th Annual Conference of Treatment Family Care

In the event that you are unable to print the certificate of completion for any mandatory training, please take a screenshot of the final screen, including your training score, and forward it to your assigned CSS

New trainings completed in 2022 should be noted in this FY22 Training Tracker

Resources/News



• MRSConnect Web Library
• BRYCS - Bridging Refugee Youth & Children's Service
• Updated Title 42 Backgrounder
• Afghan Resources
• Afghan Culture - Cultural Atlas
• Providencia Afghan Call Center (Dari and Pashto)
• ORR Afghan Assistance Resources
• ORR Refugee Policy Unit/Eligibility Questions (RefugeeEligibilty@acf.hhs.gov)
• ORR UAM Questions (UAM@acf.hhs.gov)
• Child Abuse Prevention Resources
• Resource Guide
• Child Maltreatment Data
• Multimedia Gallery
• Publications

Reminders

NEW FORMAT FOR NOC EMAIL SUBMISSION:

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Notification of Concern: AB,CD_1234

Synopsis of Incident: one sentence summary the incident.

Flagging: PRS provider does/does not recommend flagging the Sponsor [reason]. PRS Provider does/does not recommend flagging the Sponsor’s address [reason].

Please use standard password. 

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This is the latest NOC template. Please use this template until further notice.

• Flagging Sponsors - Per ORR's request, please remember to specifically indicate in NOCs whether or not the sponsor should be flagged. This is particularly important as it pertains to NOCs for placement disruption, CPS, or lost contact. This should be noted in both the submission email as well as the NOC report.

• Monthly reports are due the 2nd Friday of the following month. There are several data components from the reports that are used to complete subsequent reports that USCCB/MRS Safe Passages Family Reunification submits to ORR. Please remember to submit your monthly reports on time. The monthly report form can be found here.

• Capacity Issues - If any sub-recipient program experiences capacity issues due to staffing challenges, medical leave, etc., please notify your CSS immediately via email and be sure to include Minh Martinez, Child Placement Specialist.

• Please remember to change your UAC Portal password when prompted via email; as a precaution, be sure to check your spam folders for the alerts. Failure to update your password within the time indicated will result in suspension of your Portal account. Also, you MUST login to the Portal weekly/bi-weekly to prevent being locked out due to inactivity.