The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) serves unaccompanied children in two distinct programs: the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program (URM) and the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Bureau.
The URM program serves some of the most vulnerable minors in the world — those who fled persecution, violence, or abuse, and entered the United States without a parent or custodian. Currently, youth served in the program represent approximately 50 nationalities.
Bridging child welfare experience with expertise in refugee resettlement, the program is uniquely shaped to care for minors with forced migration and traumatic experiences.
ORR works with states and local URM providers to provide unaccompanied refugee minors and other special populations of youth in the United States with necessary care and services. The youth receive the full range of assistance available to all foster children in the state by establishing a legal authority to act in place of the child’s unavailable parent(s). With support from ORR, states administer and oversee the program and ensure program and fiscal requirements are met.
The program relies on engagement from a wide range of community members including foster parents, mentors, former unaccompanied refugee minors, volunteers, leaders of faith communities, ethnic community leaders, teachers and coaches, business owners, and many others.
Eligible Populations
Initially, only unaccompanied minors with refugee status identified overseas were eligible for the URM program. Over time, Congress has expanded eligibility to other unaccompanied minor populations, to include:
- Refugees
- Asylees
- Cuban and Haitian entrants
- Certain Minors with Special Immigrant Juvenile classification or Status
- Victims of Human Trafficking 1
- U Status recipients
- Paroled Unaccompanied Afghan Minors 2
- Paroled Unaccompanied Ukrainian Minors 3
With the exception of refugees referred by the U.S. Department of State, ORR requires all other eligible minors, including youth in ORR’s Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau, to go through an application process for placement and services. Based on the minor’s best interests and availability of appropriate placement options, ORR determines whether a minor can enter the URM program.
Services Provided to Minors
Programs focus on the safety, education, well-being, and self-sufficiency of minors in their care. Services are based on state child welfare requirements and ORR regulations and policies.
Programs may provide:
- Indirect financial support for housing, food, clothing, and other necessities
- Intensive case management services by social workers
- English language training and education
- Independent living preparation
- Educational Training Vouchers
- Health, dental, and mental health care
- Vocational training and career planning
- Cultural orientation and social adjustment
- Preservation of ethnic and religious heritage
- Safety planning
- Coordination of immigration assistance
- Family tracing and reunification
Reunification
The program encourages reunification of minors with their parents or other appropriate adult relatives whenever possible. Minors whose parents are deceased, untraceable, or inappropriate due to abuse or neglect may be placed in foster care for a long-term basis. Placement options include foster homes, group homes, supervised independent living, and residential treatment facilities.
Providers
Global Refuge (formerly LIRS) and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops help with the placement services for all eligible populations. These two agencies coordinate placements with local URM providers.
Unaccompanied refugee minors are served by local providers in:
Phoenix, AZ; Fullerton, San Jose, and Sacramento, CA; Denver and Colorado Springs, CO; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Worcester and Waltham, MA; Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Lansing, MI; Jackson, MS; Fargo, ND; Rochester and Syracuse, NY; Jenkintown, PA; Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; Richmond, VA; Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane, WA.
Funding
The program is funded by ORR’s Cash and Medical Assistance grant to certain states through State Refugee Coordinators’ offices. The state offices then fund the local URM providers.
Contact Information
urmprogram@acf.hhs.gov
URM Research Study
In 2021, ACF’s Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) concluded a three-year descriptive study of the URM program to better understand the range of child welfare services and benefits provided through individual URM programs and the characteristics and experiences of youth served. Highlights include analyses of youth demographics, living arrangements, service receipt, and experiences such as lawful permanent resident status and educational attainment. OPRE produced several publications on the study, including a select findings brief, a final report, and six program provider snapshots. The OPRE-funded study’s special topic reports on education and mental health have broader applicability beyond the URM program and would be relevant resources to other ORR programs and grantees.
Footnotes
1 For eligibility details, view 1.1 of the Eligible Populations section of the ORR URM Program Policy Guide.
2 An unaccompanied child as defined under 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2), who is a citizen or national of Afghanistan and was paroled into the United States between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023.
3 An unaccompanied child as defined under 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2), who is a citizen or national of Ukraine and was paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023.