Mainstream media attention has returned to the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program, through which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) takes custody of some kids who arrive at the border without a parent. The program got a lot of scrutiny in the mid-2000s as the number of unaccompanied minors exploded, to the point where HHS was forced to house youths in jerry-rigged shelters at military bases.
This time, the coverage is prompted by the Trump administration’s decision to start separating some children from parents upon arrival, and has been hijacked by discussion of missing children and gang-involved teens.
All of this clouds what should be a very frank discussion about how UAC is actually supposed to work, and the serious flaws in that process. Here’s Youth Services Insider’s crack at a basic explanation of what’s going on, without going too far into the minutiae.
[For more on this story by John Kelly, go to https://chronicleofsocialchang...-wrong-with-it/31036]
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