Caring for separated children in Guatemala
Children who are returning from the United States/Mexico follow a case management process when they arrive at the main entry points into Guatemala
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provide a list of unaccompanied migrant girls, boys and adolescents who will be returned from Mexico and the United States
- Social workers then try to contact family members and try to arrange a family reunion
- On the day of the reunion relevant documentation is attached to the case file
- Social workers then conduct a specialized interview with the family, with a focus on psychosocial care
- Psychologist then conduct an interview
- Depending on what the professional determines in the interview, the children are referred to appropriate care or they are reunited with their family.
Jozian provided technical assistance to UNICEF and the government to model this human workflow into a system which can handle the increasing number of cases.
We are immensly proud of what we have achieved, working under time pressure given the unfolding humanitarian situation at the airports and borders in Guatemala. We commit to working closely with UNICEF and the Secretariat Of Social Welfare to build their capacity to implement a full programme of services for unaccompanied and other vulnerable children in Guatemala. Our work was published by the Government here
