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Health and Social Service Needs of US-Citizen Children with Detained or Departed Immigrant Parents

Abstract

The second report offers findings from fieldwork in five study sites in California, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas, examining the involvement of families with a deported parent with health and social service systems, as well as their needs and the barriers they face accessing such services. The researchers find that family economic hardship is highly prevalent following parental detention and deportation, while child welfare system involvement is rarer. Schools represent a promising avenue for interaction with these families and delivery of services, as school officials cannot inquire about immigration status and thus are perceived as safer intermediaries by unauthorized immigrant parents who may be skeptical of interaction with other government agencies. Other important sources of support include health providers, legal service providers and community- and faith-based organizations that immigrants trust

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