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A message from our Director of External Partnerships and International Services
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Dear Friends of ISS-USA,
This past month has brought the politics of inclusion and exclusion to the forefront of the world stage. It has also highlighted the fact that people are on the move in numbers never previously imagined. These two facts are not unrelated. Today's international political rhetoric is rife with language of exclusion: particularly the exclusion of those "not from here." Yet, the fact is that never in the history of the world have more people been living in countries other than their countries of birth. And we, all of us, have created a system by which we decide who is welcome and who is not. We confer a range of statuses on immigrants that designate how they will be treated by our governments, our legal system and our social services system. In general, an immigrant's status has far more to do with where they come from than why they came. What is missing is a global commitment to the human rights of all people regardless of the status assigned to them when they leave their home or enter ours. As we look back on the month of June, and reflect on World Children's Day and World Refugee Day, it is our responsibility to do all that we can to protect the dignity, well-being, and safety of everyone who is seeking safety and permanency in our countries.
Best wishes,
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Who has ISS-USA served in the past month?
Repatriation Program:
Re
turns eligible U.S. Citizens back to the U.S. from a foreign country by providing them with temporary assistance upon their arrival
In May, Repatriation Case Managers helped 45 vulnerable individuals return safely from a foreign country to the U.S. Of these 45 individuals, 9 were children. For the first half of June, ISS-USA provided repatriation assistance to 10 individuals through the program. Scroll to the bottom of our newsletter for an example of a recent repatriation case in which ISS helped a military family return safely to the U.S.
Intercountry Program:
Connects vulnerable children, adults, and families to critical cross-border services
In May and June, Intercountry Case Managers provided case management services in 191 cases, which supported about 240 children. Some services ISS provided to support children and families included home studies, post-placement follow-ups, and protective service alerts.
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Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative
Felicity Northcott represented ISS-USA at the UN's
launch of the Guidelines
to Protect Migrants
in Countries Experiencing Conflict or Natural Disaster.
These guidelines, derived from the input of States, civil society, international organizations, and private sector actors, reflect the outcome of the Migrants in Countries in Crisis (MICIC) Initiative, which seeks to improve the ability of States and other relevant stakeholders to increase the protection and decrease the vulnerability of migrants affected by crisis situations.
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World Refugee Day
A record number of 65.3 million people were displaced worldwide in 2015. 98,400 of them were children under 18 traveling without a parent or guardian.
Each day, thousands more flee their homes.
On June 20th, ISS joined others in commemorating the strength, courage, and resilience of millions of these refugees. Join us in s
haring the video below and pledging to stand #WithRefugees. Read about World Refugee Day
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Casework Coordinators Meeting
ISS-USA was selected to host the next ISS Federation Casework Coordinators Meeting in April of 2017. This will mark the first time that the meeting has taken place in the U.S., and we are delighted to have the opportunity to host supervisors from our partner agencies, discuss case management processes, and share best practices.
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International Children's Day
June 1st marked International Children's Day, which reminds us to continue promoting the rights and well-being of children around the world. In May and June combined, ISS-USA has provided case management assistance to nearly
250 children through both repatriation and intercountry programs. If you missed International Children's Day but still want to make a difference in a child's life, consider
donating to ISS-USA to support services to protect children across borders.
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Recent ISS Federation Publications
Tackling the Problem of Parental Child Abduction
Helen Freris, National Services Manager & Manager of International Family Mediation Service at ISS-Australia,
published an article titled Tackling the Problem of Parental Child Abduction in the APPS Policy Forum. Read the full
article here.
Turning the Tide for Children on the Move
In this publication, Stefan Bauer, Director of ISS Austria, discusses unaccompanied children in Austria and the therapeutic shelter he is managing. "The most important message to the EU is that children should be treated with an individualized approach. Unaccompanied children's rights should be mainstreamed with the rights of all other children meaning that more money should be spent in children's long term integration. Investing in those children will help the children and will help the society to live together in a peaceful way."
Read the full article here.
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Upcoming Events
ISS-USA's Fall Conference: The Ties That Bind
Register by August 31st to receive early bird pricing
October 13, 2016
ISS-USA will be co-hosting the 6th Annual Fall Conference with the University of Maryland School of Social Work in Baltimore, MD on October 13, 2016. This conference, The Ties That Bind: Exploring the Causes and Consequences of Children Separated From Their Families Across International Borders, will focus on the legal and human rights of children separated from their biological families across international borders. There will be four sessions on: (1) International Adoption (2) Donor Conceived Persons (3) International Parental Abduction and (4) Unaccompanied Minors. We hope to see you there!
Register here and visit our website for more information.
ISS Federation's International Alternative Care Conference
Register by July 1st to receive early bird pricing
October 3-5, 2016
The ISS Federation is partnering with international agencies to organize an Alternative Care Conference
in Geneva, Switzerland. For more details, visit the Alternative Care Conference website.
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A Neglected Mother & Children Start a New Life
Tina had been living with her physically abusive husband and her two young children in Korea as military dependents since 2012. When her husband was discharged from the Army in 2016, he abandoned Tina and her children and cut off contact from them, leaving them destitute. Tina and her children were no longer eligible for military benefits, so ISS-USA became involved and helped to provide resettlement assistance to the family upon their arrival to the U.S. Tina and her children did not have a place to stay or anyone to help care for them. ISS-USA helped place them in an appropriate living facility when they arrived and assisted in arranging for Medicare, social security, and coverage of other social services. Now, they have safely returned and have been linked to the appropriate social services to help adjust to their new life in the U.S.
*All identifying information has been changed to ensure client confidentiality.
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