Unaccompanied Children






| Together we can create a safe path to the Future


Each year, tens of thousands of unaccompanied children seek refuge in the United States. Most are from El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras and are fleeing violence and threats to their safety.
 
The long and dangerous journey to the United States is just the beginning. After these children are released from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody and into the care of a sponsor, the transition is difficult as they adjust to new communities, cultures, languages, and families.
Check out our 2023 Children's Services Impact Report




CWS Compassionate Care

CWS Harrisonburg partners with ORR through our Home Study and Post Release Services (HSPRS) program. CWS ensures that Children are reunited into safe placements and that sponsors are supported in their new responsibility.

CWS Harrisonburg also provides caseworker support to 100+ children each year and their sponsor families.

Each child has unique mental health, safety, education, and legal needs that must be met. Although some sponsor families have the capacity to pay out-of-pocket for the basic living expenses, medical/dental care, mental health services, and legal representation these children need, many do not.



CWS Children's Fund - the Unique Challenge

Nearly all these children are eligible for a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status visa. Without engaging legal counsel and representation to acquire the SIJS visa, these young people face deportation when they become adults. Often this can mean returning to an unsafe or dangerous home.

Your gifts to CWS Harrisonburg allow these children to pursue education and vocations beyond high school, and safely build their lives in the United States. Our current goal is to raise $300,000 for the CWS Children's Fund.


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The Children's Services Department promotes the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children as they reunify with their families across the United States. Our approach to care is through a child-centric, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed lens, with the goal of providing meaningful support to the children and families we walk alongside.  


Read their Journeys