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A collaborative partnership to improve the health
and education of immigrant and refugee children.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
recently named CCA as a recipient of their prestigious "Fresh Ideas"
grant, enabling the Center to undertake this important project to
help Hartford's vulnerable refugee population.
Chosen as one of only ten nationwide recipients
out of a pool of one thousand applicants, CCA is partnering with
Hartford's Jubilee House to improve the healthcare and education
of Hartford's growing immigrant population.
The power of this new endeavor lies in our partnerships.
Center for Children's Advocacy partners with Jubilee House, a Hartford-based
refugee assistance center; Connecticut Children's Medical Center;
Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center; Charter Oak Health Center;
Community Health Services; and the Hartford Public Schools.
Eight percent of Hartford children have been
in the United States for less than 3 years. Fifty two percent live
in homes where English is not the primary language. Together with
our partners, we will work with this highly vulnerable population
to address critical issues that improve health and educational outcomes
for children at risk.
-Partners, Immigrants and Refugees New Arrivals
Advocacy Project
Baya*, born in Nigeria, lost her mother when she
was only six months old.
Baya was cared for by her maternal grandmother, but
when she was eight, her grandmother died and her father, whom she
had never met, arranged to bring her to his home in the U.S. to
take over her care.
Within a short time, both her father and stepmother
were physically abusing her.
Following custom, other members of the Nigerian community
intervened and assumed Baya's care. Baya's father turned over her
documents and ceased all support and contact with her.
Baya always assumed that there was no way she could
get legal status in this country and never sought any assistance
to address the matter. She became an exceptional student, earning
money during high school by winning writing competitions, becoming
valedictorian of her class, and receiving a full, private scholarship
to a prestigious university.
Just before her 18th birthday, Baya mentioned her
situation to someone in the international student office at her
university, who referred her to the United States Commission on
Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). The USCRI thought she might qualify
for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status and referred her to
the Center for Children's Advocacy's Teen Legal Advocacy Clinic.
CCA determined that Baya clearly qualified for commitment
to DCF, a prerequisite for SIJ status (which leads to green card).
Although she had been functionally adopted by another couple, she
was never legally adopted, and she was inarguably abused and abandoned
by her only living legal guardian.
Although Baya had a full college scholarship, she
had no money for clothes, no housing outside of the school year
or during holidays, and was subject to constant risk of deportation
to a country where she knows no one.
Because of the short time before her 18th birthday,
CCA immediately filed a neglect petition in juvenile court and got
a hearing date. (Under Connecticut law, children can only be committed
to DCF before they turn 18, but once committed can remain voluntarily
in DCF care provided they are in college. Because federal immigration
law deems children minors until they turn 21, this leaves a three-year
window for SIJ petitions.)
In conversations prior to the hearing, DCF told CCA
that they would oppose Baya's commitment because she was too close
to her 18th birthday, because she had not really been neglected,
and because she was doing too well on her own to need the Department's
help. None of these arguments has any basis in law.
At the hearing, DCF raised only a jursidictional argument,
positing that the action should have been brought in the state where
Baya last lived before attending college. In fact, the jurisdictional
rule on which DCF relied did not apply to Baya, and the judge ruled
to commit her to DCF's care just two days before her eighteenth
birthday.
CCA's legal advocacy means that Baya will receive
DCF support until she graduates, and she can now file for Special
Immigrant Juvenile Status and lawful permanent residence in the
United States.
* name and descriptive information have been changed
to preserve our client's confidentiality
Video Presentation
Addressing
the Legal Issues Impacting Refugee and Immigrant Families
Center for Health and Health Care in Schools Mr. Fred
Tsao presents information on legal issues facing immigrants in the
US including legal immigration categories, how immigrants can become
citizens, sponsorship, public benefit eligibility, the impact of
1996 Welfare Reform, rules on public charge, and constitutional
rights of illegal immigrants. Mr. Tsao is the Policy Director at
the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Legal
Rights of Immigrant and Refugee Teens (English, Spanish, Karen)
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