March 28, 2019
March 2019 Issue
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Supporting the Safe Home Act in the Best Interest of Children
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On Feb 28, 2019,
International Social Service-USA (ISS-USA)
’s Julie Rosicky (above, second from left), Executive Director and Ambassador (Retd) Susan Jacobs (above, far right), Vice Chair of the Board of Directors & Chair, ISS Governing Board of the Global ISS Network, participated in a Congressional Briefing hosted by
Representative Don Bacon
and
Representative Jim Langevin
to highlight the importance of the
Safe Home Act
, new legislation to protect adopted children. The panel was moderated by Maureen Flatley, a child protection advocate and expert. Also included in the panel was Nhi Nguyen, a contributor to the GAO report documenting what is known about unregulated custody transfers and how some states are responding, Trish Maskew, The Division Chief, U.S. Department of State (DOS), who leads the DOS' efforts to ensure that intercountry adoptions follow all regulations of the
Hague 1993 Adoption Convention
in the best interest of the child, and Joy Kim-Alessi, who was adopted as a child from South Korea but later ended up in foster care as a result of abuse by her adoptive family.
Both Ms. Rosicky and Ms. Jacobs shared strategies to prevent unregulated custody transfers, a dangerous practice also known as rehoming. Ms. Jacobs drew from her expertise as the Special Advisor to the Office of Children’s issues and reiterated how important it is that intercountry adoptions are done in the best interest of the child per the 1993 Hague Adoption Convention. Julie drew from ISS-USA’s 95 years of experience working with cross border families and as an intercountry adoption provider (1950s-1980s) to discuss what a “regulated custody transfer” might look like.
In particular, a regulated custody transfer, if required, would be in the best interest of the child, take into account the child’s voice, include a full assessment of the home, family, and community to which the child might be transferred, be supervised by a legal authority, and include follow up and support services to help the child and family cope with changes. In addition, Ms. Rosicky discussed the need to collect more data about adoption disruption and dissolution and what indicators are most positively linked with keeping families together long-term. Finally, she emphasized the need for more awareness on behalf of adopting families and the agencies that facilitate adoptions, so everyone goes into adoption (both intercountry and domestic) aware of all potential positive and negative outcomes.
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Supporting Families When Working with Consulates
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Earlier this month, ISS-USA's
Director of External Partnerships and International Services
, Dr. Felicity Sackville Northcott, was invited to speak at
The Consular Corps of Washington, DC,
the world’s largest affiliate of the International Consular Corps. Consular staff are responsible for assisting their foreign nationals living in the U.S., and helping U.S. citizens arrange travel to foreign countries.
Dr. Northcott spoke to members of the Consular Corps
about cross-border child protection and ways in which ISS-USA works with consulates to support foreign families living in the U.S. This includes handling cases related to family conflict, children in care, and coordinating services outside the scope of the consular staffs’ responsibilities.
Dr. Northcott will soon be meeting with the Executive Director of the Consular Corps College to organize a webinar to further educate consular staff around the country about the work of ISS-USA.
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Sandra* is an eight year old from a rural village in Guatemala. She traveled with her father to the United States where they were separated and detained at the border. Her father was deported to Guatemala but Sandra spent an additional six months in U.S custody before returning to her parents.
ISS-USA
partnered with the state child welfare system to coordinate the appropriate services for Sandra's return.
Once Sandra returned to Guatemala, her ISS caseworker helped her and her siblings enroll in school, secured school uniforms and supplies, registered Sandra’s parents for vocational training programs, and coordinated family therapy sessions with pro-bono psychologists.
In cases like Sandra’s, prolonged family separation can be extremely disruptive to childhood development, but the services ISS-USA provides help negate the long-term negative experiences related to migration, detention, and deportation.
If you are working with a child who was separated from his or her family at the border, who traveled to the US unaccompanied, or who otherwise is facing a potential return to Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador, please contact
Elaine Weisman, Program and Training Manager,
to obtain more information about our reintegration services.
Download a one-page guide
about the reunification project here.
*name has been changed to protect the privacy of the child.
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Social Work Corner:
Rois, Enrique, and Luz in Guatemala
Rois Xiloj, Enrique Xiloj and Luz Carrera (from left to right) make up the social work case management team at ISS-USA’s partner organization in Guatemala. They are working directly with families who experienced a separation at the US border,
many separated from young children for more than 6 months
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Upon return to Guatemala, these families face barriers to education, health care, economic opportunity and social inclusion. Enrique, Rois and Luz
travel to remote villages to meet families in their homes and develop plans to connect them with local services
. They’ve obtained donations of clothes, food and school supplies, and secured scholarships for parents to attend skills training courses. They’ve spent hours advocating for a 13 year old boy, with no more than a first grade education, to be allowed to continue his schooling. They’ve accompanied family members to health clinics, ensuring a five year old boy was seen by doctors despite being turned due to tattered clothes. They call every week to check in and find resources for families. They have witnessed heartfelt reunions and tearful stories of separation, and have been uplifted by the expressions of gratitude from families who had nowhere else to turn.
ISS-USA
is privileged to have Enrique, Rois and Luz as partners!
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ISS-USA has been selected as an official charity partner for the TCS New York City Marathon 2019 on November 3, 2019. If you are a runner or know a runner interested in running the marathon for donations to benefit cross-border children and families, please email
Marie Blum, Fund Development and Communications Coordinator.
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In case you missed our
World Social Work Day
live chat,
you can still view it
! Watch our Intercountry Casework Intern, Ari Stockbridge, have some fun while interviewing our Intercountry Case Manager, Katrina Clemons, MSW, about her experiences in cross-border casework!
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Case Update: Marco's Homecoming
ISS-USA
recently told the story of Marco, who was separated across borders from his loving father and extended family for several months.
See a picture of Marco to the left and his grandfather as they were reunited!
*names have been changed to protect the privacy of the client
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March BLOG: World Social Work Day
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Looking for an Exciting New Internship?
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