Q&A
Discussion on identifying and tracking unaccompanied minors and criteria for foster care admission
2:50:42
·
78 sec
Council Member Stevens emphasizes the need for better identification and tracking of unaccompanied minors due to their specific service needs. The discussion then shifts to ACS's criteria for admitting young people into foster care.
- Stevens suggests creating more creative ways to identify and track unaccompanied minors to ensure they receive necessary services and support.
- Stephanie Gendell explains that ACS uses the legal definition of 'destitute' to evaluate whether an unaccompanied minor should enter foster care.
- The criteria include being under 18, not abused or neglected, in a state of want, and without a parent or caretaker available to care for them.
Althea Stevens
2:50:42
I still think that we definitely still should need to start thinking about what it looks like to just identify these young people in a roadway because of the the different services that they need and supports that they need.
2:50:55
And I don't think anything's wrong with it.
2:50:57
Like like I said, I think we can think about creative ways to do that.
2:51:01
Providers had no have have noted in in in consistencies and ACF's decision to admit young people into foster care.
2:51:09
Is there a formal policy outlining how ACS evaluates whether an unaccompanied minor should interfere?
2:51:16
If so, could you clarify the criteria used?
Stephanie Gendell
2:51:21
So I think we would use essentially the definition of destitute Mhmm.
2:51:26
To see if the young person meets the deaf the legal definition of destitute or abuse or neglected.
2:51:33
But I think you're specifically asking about destitute.
2:51:35
And so we would look to see that this is a young person under 18 who is not obese or neglected, but is in a state of want.
2:51:45
They don't have a parent or caretaker available to take care of them either because their parents has died or they're not here in the country.
2:51:53
And so we sort of assess all of that.
2:51:55
And if we have a young person in need, then we would move to bring them into foster care.