Design and implementation of local policies to protect and promote the health of unaccompanied immigrant children

The number of children unaccompanied by a parent or guardian who are apprehended at the United States-Mexico border has grown more than 1,000% over the past five years. In fiscal year 2014, nearly 70,000 unaccompanied child migrants were apprehended at the border, with the majority arriving from the impoverished and increasingly unsafe countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. After release from federal custody and placement in communities across the U.S., responsibility for the protection and care of these children—many of whom will remain in the U.S. for long periods of time or permanently—falls to local governments and health providers.

In 2014, as the topic of unaccompanied child migrants became the focal point of nationwide political controversy, New York City (NYC) public health and immigrant affairs officials implemented a set of programs designed to respond to the health needs of this vulnerable population.

The NYC response included the first-ever co-location of health insurance and education enrollment assistance staff at the federal Immigration Court, as well as at community-based clinics to reach children and families in their neighborhoods. NYC officials also worked to facilitate access to public health insurance for child migrants and conducted a multifaceted education campaign to inform pediatricians, school-based health providers, legal services providers, and others about health care needs and options for these children.

This session will describe the design and implementation of a local, public health-focused response to the rapid arrival of thousands of vulnerable immigrant children.