Serving vulnerable youth in the most vulnerable populations.
The Home Study and Post Release Services Program expands Board of Child Care’s continuum of care serving recently migrated youth through the provision of comprehensive, safety-focused home studies and holistic, client-centered, and trauma-informed Post Release case management services.
Board of Child Care (BCC) has expanded its network of high-quality child welfare agencies committed to ensuring best-practice care and services for recently migrated youth. BCC serves youth and families in the Mid-Atlantic with Home Study and Post Release Services (HS/PRS) teams located in MD, PA, WV, as well as nationally through a network of sub grantee organizations. By offering HS/PRS through this hybrid delivery model, BCC can serve high need areas as well as remote locations where sponsors reside. Increasingly, recently migrated youth are being reunified with parents and caregivers in a variety of states across the county, and BCC utilizes this hybrid model to serve unaccompanied children in multiple, diverse communities and environments.
Recently migrated youth who arrive in the United States are often referred for home study and post releases services. They are, in essence, the most vulnerable youth within an already vulnerable population. Many of these children experience multiple spheres of marginality, including vulnerability to trafficking, abuse, forced labor, and exploitation. Recently migrated youth are commonly susceptible to becoming or are already victims of trafficking, child abuse, neglect, and/or have a diagnosed disability.
These vulnerabilities, coupled with the challenging task of having to unify with family in a new country and new community, present the critical need for quality home study assessments followed by comprehensive post-release services provided by organizations with strong child welfare experience and knowledge of trauma-responsive practices.
What Does HS/PRS Do?
- The benefits of Post Release Services are substantial. Comprehensive PRS programming can create a pathway for youth to successfully integrate into a new community, school, and family setting. By offering Post Release Services, the Board of Child Care ensures that the foundational needs of youth and families are being met in a way that addresses the lingering effects of past traumatic experiences and promotes healing and recovery.
- BCC programs strive to provide services in a manner that recognizes the cultural needs of all youth and families. Many services are provided in Spanish, and our programs offer all youth access to communicate in their native language via the use of interpretation services.
- BCC employs a team-based, collaborative planning case management model to develop and implement individualized care plans for youth and families. The goals of Post Release Services include:
- A child-centered approach that strives to address the needs prioritized by the youth and family.
- The improvement of skills and confidence for youth and families to connect to local support networks and access culturally appropriate community services.
- Developing and strengthening natural support systems for youth and families.
- Providing holistic care that integrates the efforts of available services and programs into one streamlined approach.
- Post-Release Services involve connecting recently migrated youth clients to critical community resources and components such as:
- Placement Stability and Safety
- Immigration Proceedings
- Guardianship (if applicable)
- Legal Service Referrals
- School Enrollment
- Connection to Educational Support & Mentoring Programs
- Medical Services
- Individual Mental Health Services
- Family Stabilization and Family Counseling
- Substance Abuse Treatment Resources
- Gang Prevention
- Trafficking Victim Assistance Programs
- Safety Planning
- Transportation
- Other Identified Needs of Youth (e.g., connections to extracurricular activities, hobbies, faith communities, etc.)
For more information, please contact:
Michael D. Lynch, LMSW
Assistant Program Director, HS/PRS
Caminos Program
Board of Child Care
O: 410-922-2100 x. 5570
C: 443-225-0688
mlynch@boardofchildcare.org