The management of time and waiting by unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls in Finland

This article considers how asylum-seeking girls in residential care in Finland construct their everyday lives while waiting for asylum outcomes. These girls, from various African countries, are shown to experience waiting as both debilitating and productive. First, our findings confirm the established picture of asylum-seeking young people being in limbo, unable to influence the resolution of their claims. Second, we explore more hopeful ways in which they wait. We emphasize the complex responses and relationships they build in waiting times with each other and their carers. We suggest that waiting is not just ‘dead’ time, but is also lively in periods of uncertainty

An evaluation of Independent Child Trafficking Guardians – early adopter sites

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3This evaluation, conducted by the Home Office and the University of Bedfordshire has assessed the ICTG service in the three original early adopter sites (Greater Manchester, Hampshire, and Wales). The evaluation, conducted across a two-year period from February 2017 – January 2019, considers the original model for the ICTG service which provided one-to-one ICTG support for all children. The overall aim of the evaluation is to answer the question: What is the ‘added value’ of the ICTG service, and is this different for different groups of children and in different early adopter sites

Evaluation of independent child trafficking advocates trial: final report

This report presents the findings from an evaluation of a 1 year trial of the independent child trafficking advocates

Protecting asylum seeking children on the move

This paper considers the ways that children seeking asylum can be assisted to make sense of movement in their lives as forced migrants, and to find a sense of “home” in a foreign country after arrival, even if their stay in that country is temporary. It explores the proposition that movement happens in three dimensions – as geographical displacement, as the passage of time, and as psychological and maturational change. While acknowledging the utility of using the 1951 Refugee Convention as a defence against children’s persecution, the paper suggests that the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child offers a wider framework for considering asylum seeking children’s life-long well-being. Within the UNCRC’s design, an example of a Guardianship service in Scotland is used to track movement across three domains of practice – when processing an asylum claim, providing welfare, and regenerating social networks. The paper considers that offering protection is not just a shield against persecution, but also an embrace that makes children feel “at home”

Protection: migrant children and institutional protection

This chapter considers the ways that social workers respond to the needs, talents and stories of unaccompanied asylum seeking children. When such children need institutional protection and care, the chapter outlines how such care can be provided. It does so through looking at social work practice as a form of practical humanitarian assistance, as emotionally attuned responses to deep complexities, and over time, as an expression of a strong and dependable solidarity with children

By their side and on their side: reviewing the evidence for guardianship for separated children in in Northern Ireland

Considering the rights and best interests of separated children brings into sharp focus the challenge that Northern Ireland faces in making sure that proper standards are adhered to and effective services are provided for such a small but vulnerable group of children and young people. The recommendations explore how practice and services could be strengthened and assured in regard to guardianship and the report notes that we must ensure the support that separated children receive is robust and effective rather than being contingent or reliant on the skills of individual professionals

Put yourself in our shoes: considering children’s best interests in the asylum system

Data collection: Throughout 2014, 11 participating Law Centres uploaded anonymised data on 60 cases which met these selection criteria: 1. The child’s claimed age was under 18 years old at the point they claimed asylum 2. The Home Office treated the child as under 18 years old, even if local authority disputed this 3. The child was unaccompanied or separated  4. The child was seeking asylum alone, i.e. they were not a dependent on any adult’s asylum claim 5. The child’s substantive asylum interview took place between 1 December 2013 and 31 December 2014. For each case over 600 questions were asked. In addition to this, the Project ran two focus groups to obtain the views of young people who had recent experience of the asylum process in the UK.  Data analysis: This focused on ascertaining a clear picture of the related experiences of children and their legal representatives as they work together through the complex process of claiming international protection. This was set against existing national and international law and custom, highlighted throughout the report, which provides a frame of reference for lawyers seeking to promote their child clients’ best interests. Along with identifying areas of good practice by lawyers, immigration officials, statutory and voluntary care givers and other advocates, the analysis also suggested areas for improvement for those seeking to offer these children fair processes which will ensure their safety and long term security. Recommendations: The authors are aware of discussions of the limitations of the current system in the UK for deciding the future of children who arrive here on their own, and have deliberately restricted their recommendations to issues arising from information collected by lawyers working within the current systems and that are evidenced by the data collected