Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Research Articles

Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 and its scope of application on the protection of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 and its scope of application on the protection of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

Digital emotions and emotional labour among professionals supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children

This article examines the intersection between voluntary sector work, emotions, and remote service provision among frontline staff supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children online during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the findings of two interrelated projects, we consider how frontline workers experienced and managed digital emotions and emotional labour. Like professionals in other sectors, staff in the refugee sector experienced stress and overwhelm due to challenges faced during the rapid digitisation of the sector at a time of crisis. The findings also highlighted nuanced emotional experiences that were distinct to staff working remotely with unaccompanied refugee children, such as role dissatisfaction and empathy. Emotional labour was particularly intense for staff working in the refugee sector who needed to establish online boundaries with the young people due to their heightened vulnerabilities. The study also demonstrated that training on how to cope with digital emotions was beneficial to staff’s self-esteem and knowledge.

Social work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people: resisting the rhetoric

Social work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people: resisting the rhetoric

Asylum spaces as spaces of nonrecognition: the ambiguities of welcoming and educating asylum-seeking children in Norway

Asylum has historically been a refuge for the persecuted. However, it now faces a fundamental antagonism between asylum and law, which often overlooks the rights of children seeking asylum. This paper explores the historical concept of asylum law from its inception in antiquity and the Roman era and its entanglements with the education of children. It also examines asylum’s relevance to current conflicts over the educational rights of asylum-seeking children and how international conventions have neglected these rights. To contextualize the ambiguity of asylum and education, the paper presents a case study of Norway’s reception of asylum-seeking children from the 1930s to the present day and how the Norwegian welfare system, which was founded on child rights protection, has struggled with the entry of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The paper concludes with reflections on the potential impact of education for these children, considering their encounters as temporary educational moments. This exploration focuses on clarifying historical strands, turning points, and threads rather than taking a subjective historical perspective.

Practical recommendations for addressing the psychological needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England: A literature and service review.

Globally, there is an increasing trend of forcibly displaced people, of which over 40% are children. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are at risk of experiencing psychological distress and developing mental health difficulties. However, in the UK, the approach from statutory mental health services is inconsistent across different geographical areas. This report outlines recommendations for statutory mental health services in the UK in relation to working with UASC. A rapid evaluation method was adopted including interviewing fifteen key informants as well as reviewing existing clinical guidelines. Key informants included clinicians, service managers, social workers and commissioners from Local Authorities, National Health Services, and third sector partners. Recommendations were synthesised using narrative synthesis. Existing service provision and barriers to the implementation of interventions were summarised and compared against existing guidelines. The report presents recommendations on assessments, screening tools, and psychological interventions for developing a pathway for UASC within statutory services.

Development and Validation of the Adolescent and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Unaccompanied Scale (ACRAM-US)

Independent migration of children and adolescents is becoming a political and social issue in recent years. Literature documents that the migration process of young people without an adult referent entail serious psychological problems. Moreover, the lack of coherence in the assessment and care processes aggravates the damage suffered by minors, which requires a greater investment of institutional resources. The aim of this research is to describe the development and provide psychometric properties of Adolescent and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Unaccompanied Scale (ACRAM-US), a 9-items scale for the assessment of risks factors of child abuse and neglect in the specific population of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents. Structural validity, reliability and convergent-related validity were studied for this measure in a sample of 128 unaccompanied children and adolescents. The sample included cases of 14 different nationalities. Children’s mean age was 16.94 (SD = 1.84), and 96.9% were male and 3.1% were female. Cases were informed by child welfare workers from different protective services in the XXXX Community (XXXX). The results of Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) indicate performance better solution with 2-dimensions which was also in line with theoretical formulation (χ2 = 31.55, df = 19, p = .035, CFI = 0.991, SRMR = 0.081, RMSEA = 0.072, [90% CI: 0.019 − 0.115]). Results of convergent validity showed significant correlation with the Children Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). Therefore, this study provides data of the first scale that assess risks factors of maltreatment for the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents.

Infections in Asymptomatic Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children in London 2016-2022.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are at increased risk of infections and experience barriers to healthcare access. There is a lack of evidence to underpin existing national and international guidance regarding asymptomatic infection screening in this population. We describe the results from routine infection screening of 1104 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children attending for testing at 3 London centers. We performed a retrospective analysis of routinely collected data from all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children seen in 3 services in London, United Kingdom, between 2016 and 2022. A total of 1104 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children attended clinic; all accepted screening. The median age was 16 years (range 11-18 years) and 987 (89%) were male. 407 (37%) had at least 1 infection; 116 (11%) had multiple infections. Tuberculosis infection and schistosomiasis were common (found in 18% and 17%, respectively). Hepatitis B infection was identified with a prevalence of 3.9%. Giardia 7.7%, tapeworm 3.3% and Strongyloides 2.8% were also commonly identified. We report the largest known dataset to our knowledge of infection screening in asymptomatic unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe to date. This data supports recommendations for routine asymptomatic screening in this high-risk cohort, based on the significant prevalence identified of infections of both personal and public health significance.

Fast Feet Forward: A sports group for looked‐after children and unaccompanied asylum‐seeking children as an early intervention to process trauma and reduce distress

AbstractLooked‐after children (LAC) and unaccompanied asylum‐seeking children (UASC) are likely to have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in their developmental years, leading to poorer outcomes in their health and psychosocial development. A novel, exercise‐based early intervention utilising bilateral movements for UASC and adoptive children (An early intervention framework for the emotional health and wellbeing of unaccompanied minors, 2020) called Fast Feet Forward (FFF) has shown promise in providing relief from trauma symptoms. This study seeks to replicate the effectiveness of FFF and extend it to a new population of traumatised children. Two groups of FFF occurred with 18 children participating. Results revealed a statistically significant decrease in distress and an increase in positive cognitions for UASC, showing effective processing of trauma‐related hotspots. The LAC cohort also demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in distress and disturbance. Support is demonstrated for the efficacy of FFF as a cost‐effective and resiliency‐building early intervention treatment utilising bilateral movements for traumatised populations, especially UASC.

Looked after children: an overview for the dental team

Looked after children (LAC) are children and young people (CYP) who have been under the continuous care of the local authority for more than 24 hours. Reasons for becoming looked after include concerns about abuse or neglect, breakdown in family functioning, or absence of a suitable caregiver (for example bereavement, parental illness, or separation, such as for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children). Many LAC live with foster families, extended family, or in residential care homes, but a CYP can be legally 'looked after' and still be living with their original or birth family, or living independently with support. Regardless of the circumstances, the local authority has responsibility for meeting the needs of the CYP, including dental care, usually via a named social worker. The evidence available suggests that LAC are at higher risk of dental caries and pain. In 2021, Public Health England reported on inequalities in oral health in England and although evidence was limited, found LAC to have poorer oral health and access to care. It is important that LAC are considered for enhanced prevention and reviewed regularly to enable appropriate provision of dental care. Understanding who can consent for dental treatment is essential.

Looked after children: an overview for the dental team.

Looked after children (LAC) are children and young people (CYP) who have been under the continuous care of the local authority for more than 24 hours. Reasons for becoming looked after include concerns about abuse or neglect, breakdown in family functioning, or absence of a suitable caregiver (for example bereavement, parental illness, or separation, such as for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children). Many LAC live with foster families, extended family, or in residential care homes, but a CYP can be legally 'looked after' and still be living with their original or birth family, or living independently with support. Regardless of the circumstances, the local authority has responsibility for meeting the needs of the CYP, including dental care, usually via a named social worker.The evidence available suggests that LAC are at higher risk of dental caries and pain. In 2021, Public Health England reported on inequalities in oral health in England and although evidence was limited, found LAC to have poorer oral health and access to care. It is important that LAC are considered for enhanced prevention and reviewed regularly to enable appropriate provision of dental care. Understanding who can consent for dental treatment is essential.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Hotel Accommodation, Removal from Child Welfare system and Risk of Trafficking

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children: Hotel Accommodation, Removal from Child Welfare system and Risk of Trafficking

Infectious disease screening outcomes and reducing barriers to care for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: a single-centre retrospective clinical analysis

ObjectiveEvaluate the Unity Clinic’s infectious disease screening programme for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), calculate rates of infection and identify further health needs.DesignRetrospective audit of electronic patient data.Setting and patientsUASC who...

Asylum transfer reforms prompt questions over commissioning

Changes to timeframes and thresholds for the National Transfer Scheme for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are ‘not enough’ say local authorities struggling to find and fund suitable places for new arrivals

The cumulative proportion of children receiving social care services in England: a whole population administrative data cohort study.

ObjectivesChildren who receive social care services have high levels of need, but the proportion of the population they comprise is unknown. We aimed to estimate the cumulative proportion of children in England who ever become looked after (CLA) or placed on a child in need (CiN) plan by age 18. ApproachWe analysed longitudinal administrative children’s social care data: the CLA dataset (available from 1992) and the CiN census (from 2011/12) which respectively contain information on all children in England who become CLA and are assessed as being CiN. The number of CLA in birth cohorts from 1992 to 2016 was divided by Office for National Statistics population denominators to estimate the overall cumulative proportion and by EthPOP denominators to describe ethnic variation. Because of incomplete coverage of CiN data, we combined estimates from different birth cohorts, making reductions to the numerator to address left-censoring. ResultsThe cumulative proportion of children who became CLA before their 18th birthday was 3% for those born in 1992, rising to 4% for those born in 2000. For subsequent cohorts (who had not yet reached age 18), the cumulative proportion by earlier ages also rose over time, but plateaued with the 2012 birth cohort. The cumulative proportion varied by ethnicity: among children born in 2000, it was 18% for those of other ethnicity (many of whom were unaccompanied asylum seeking children), 11% for black children and 7% for those of mixed ethnicity. Most children first became looked after before age 2, with a secondary peak around age 16. Finally, we estimated that 42% of all children in England were recognised as CiN before age 18. ConclusionSignificant proportions of children receive social care services in England. The ethnic variation we observed may indicate systematic differences in how the care system responds to CLA from different backgrounds. These results have implications for service design, as well as preventive strategies to improve child health and well-being.

Pockets of love. Unaccompanied children in institutional care in Finland

This article discusses how needs for loving relationships are met for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Finland. The data was collected through a focused ethnography with 13 unaccompanied children. The findings show that institutional protocols and practices fail to consider the need for love of these children, hindering their possibilities to create or maintain loving relationships. The findings also suggest that new loving ties could be created when individuals invested in them.

Mental health and child refugees

This paper presents an overview of the importance of mental health services for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the United Kingdom. It reviews what mental health support appears to be available in the United Kingdom following an on-line search which took place in Spring 2021 and using information gathered through 22 interviews and focus groups with stakeholders. The latter group are defined as people working with asylum-seeking children. The primary stakeholders were local authority staff, although interviews were also conducted with local government associations (London Councils, the Local Government Association), NHS bodies and the voluntary sector. Often, further relevant stakeholders were identified during interviews. The report details the aims, methodology and context, before the findings are presented which is followed by recommendations for improving mental and social care provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the United Kingdom.

Companions to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Sweden – experiences of Swedish families

PurposeMany unaccompanied children have sought asylum in Sweden during recent years. They needed different kinds of support not only from the authorities but also from the local community. The purpose of this paper is to explore how families from local communities can support the children and be the neutral companion they long for.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was adopted for this descriptive study. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe families wanted to know more about unaccompanied children than the information presented in the mass media. They showed deep engagement in getting to know the boys and strong affection for them because they got a sense of how difficult their lives were. Families with experience as parents can play an important role to guide the children into the Swedish society and be trustful adults who can complement the professionals in the authorities and accommodations. The families in this project needed more support through information and strategies about how to handle difficult situations during the children’s asylum process.Research limitations/implicationsThis study describes a pilot project in a small municipality in Sweden. The participating families described the support given to a group of boys. More studies should focus on support for girls in similar situation.Originality/valueThere are limited studies on how families in local communities can support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Variation in initial health assessment of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: a cross-sectional survey across England

ObjectiveTo assess variation in current practice of initial health assessments (IHAs) for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) across England.DesignCross-sectional survey.Main outcomes measuresType of routine assessment carried out, threshold to specialist referrals...

Questions on revamped national child asylum transfer scheme

Amid the recent surge of migrants across the Channel, the government has made compulsory a scheme to disperse unaccompanied asylum-seeking children across the UK after some South East councils were struggling to cope

Proposed changes to age assessment raise major safeguarding concerns for child refugees

The right to seek asylum from persecution is universal and protected under international law in the form of the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention.1 Human displacement is a multifactorial global...