As the number of unaccompanied children and teens arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has grown, more of these kids are being housed in federal shelters, including in Los Angeles.
Some young migrants who are especially vulnerable are appointed a child advocate. This is a third party who can make independent recommendations in the best interest of the child or teen as they navigate the U.S. immigration court system.
The nonprofit that contracts with the federal government to provide child advocates for unaccompanied minors says lately, local demand is especially high — so they’re seeking volunteers in L.A.
“There is the greatest need that we have seen, I would say unprecedented,” said Shantel Vachani, managing attorney for the L.A. office of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, which contracts with the Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide child advocacy for immigrant children and teens housed in federal shelters.
According to ORR, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the number of kids under 18 referred to its unaccompanied children program by Homeland Security has mushroomed from 13,625 kids in fiscal year 2012 to 128,904 kids in 2022. The majority are from Central America’s Northern Triangle countries, particularly Honduras and Guatemala, from where migrants have been fleeing violence and poverty.
Vachani said as more unaccompanied minors have arrived, the number of federally contracted children’s shelters in Southern California has grown from just a few to “about 25 to 30 programs” consisting of shelters and foster care.
Many unaccompanied minors are eventually reunited with relatives and sponsors, but others are on their own and stay long-term. According to ORR, the average stay in federal care is 28 days; there were 10,563 unaccompanied minors in federal care as of Dec. 1, 2023.
“We have seen a massive expansion in the programs opening and the beds coming, at least here in California,” Vachani said.
That’s where the need for volunteer child advocates comes in, said Jocelyn Vargas, the Young Center’s volunteer coordinator in Los Angeles.
“Our volunteers work alongside our social workers, our attorneys, to make sure that the child's wishes and safety are taken into consideration” as the child's immigration case plays out, Vargas said.
Volunteer child advocates are assigned to an unaccompanied minor with whom they meet at their shelter once a week “for usually about an hour, to learn their stories, accompany and support them, and help advocate for their rights, safety and well-being,” Vargas said.
She added that child advocates can provide valuable feedback to attorneys, social workers and others working with the minor.
“These are children who came to the U.S. alone or were separated from their family, and often have no one in their corner to help them navigate our country's complex immigration system,” Vargas said.
The child advocates can also help comfort a vulnerable child or teen with simple activities like cooking a familiar dish, or playing a game during a visit.
“Sometimes we have kiddos that may say, like, ‘I like soccer’,” Vargas said. “So we'll provide a soccer ball, and sometimes that visit can be just playing soccer, passing the soccer ball around.”
Vachani said her Los Angeles team has been adding staff and volunteers to serve more unaccompanied kids under its ORR contract; it’s taking applications for local volunteers until Jan. 26, with plans for a training session in late February in Koreatown.
Those who apply to be volunteer child advocates must be over 21 and able to pass federal and state background checks.
And a second language is a plus: Vachani said while Spanish remains valuable, “40 to 50% of our cases are non-Spanish-speaking cases,” and there is demand for Central American Indigenous languages; also, more unaccompanied minors from Guinea and Mauritania have created a demand for French and Portuguese speakers. There is also demand for volunteers who speak Dari and Farsi, Pashto, Hausa, Twi and Somali.
