The Homeland  Security Act of 2002 gives ORR responsibility for coordinating and  implementing the care and placement of unaccompanied children— individuals younger than 18 years old with no lawful immigration status  and no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide  care and physical custody. ORR Responded to the Increase in Unaccompanied Children by Expanding Its Capacity, but Has Not Yet Updated Its Plans to Meet Future Needs

		ORR Expanded Capacity to Care for the Highest Number of Children on Record in 2014 and Updated Policies to Help Expedite Release of Children to Sponsors

In response to an increased number of referrals of unaccompanied  children from DHS in recent years, particularly in fiscal year 2014, ORR  increased its shelter capacity (the number of beds it has available) and  updated its policies and procedures to reduce the number of days  children spend in ORR custody. The actual number of children placed in  ORR’s care in fiscal year 2015 was over 33,700 with almost 6,000  children in ORR’s custody in September 2015 (see fig. Not having a documented and continually updated  process for capacity planning may hinder ORR’s ability to be prepared for  an increase in unaccompanied children while at the same time minimizing  excess capacity to conserve federal resources. Grantees Provided Education, Medical, and Therapeutic Services to Unaccompanied Children in ORR Custody, but ORR’s Monitoring of Grantees Is Inconsistent

		Grantees Provided Services to Children

ORR policy requires certain care and services be provided to  unaccompanied children while in ORR facilities (see table 4). Grantees Did Not Always Document the Services They Provided

ORR requires grantees to document in case files many of the services  they provide to children and review of case files figures prominently in  ORR’s monitoring of grantees. Without all of the documents included in the case files, it is difficult for  ORR to verify that required services were actually provided in accordance  with ORR policy and grant agreements during its monitoring visits. Also, according  to ORR, on-site monitoring typically includes a review of a random  sample of case files for children cared for at a facility. Nevertheless, ORR did not meet its goal  to visit all of its facilities by the end of fiscal year 2015. ORR Grantees Have Identified and Screened Sponsors before Placing Children with Them

ORR has delegated the responsibility for identifying and screening  sponsors to its grantees. Prior to children’s release to sponsors, sponsors sign a Sponsor Care  Agreement, which stipulates, among other things, that they will: provide for the physical and mental well-being of the child; ensure that the child appears for all removal proceedings in ensure that the child reports to ICE in the event that they are  ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge; notify DHS of address changes; and if not the parent or legal guardian of the child, attempt to establish  legal guardianship through the local court system. Of these  children, nearly 60 percent were released to a parent. Limited Information Is Available on Services Provided and Status of Children Once Released from ORR Care

		ORR Continues to Serve a Small Percentage of Children After They Have Been Released, but Has Limited Contact with Most

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act requires ORR to  provide post-release services in cases in which a home study was  conducted prior to a child’s release to a sponsor, and authorizes ORR to  provide post-release services to other children, such as those with mental  health needs, who may benefit from them. In addition, on May 15, 2015, ORR began operating a  National Call Center help-line. Lastly, in August 2015, ORR instituted a  new policy requiring facility staff to place follow-up calls to all children and  their sponsors after the children are released. However, ORR does not have  processes to ensure that all of these data are reliable, systematically  collected, and compiled in summary form to provide useful information  about this population for its use and for other government agencies. Recommendations for Executive Action

We recommend that the Secretary of the Department of Health and  Human Services direct the Office of Refugee Resettlement to take the  following three actions:
Develop a process to update its bed capacity framework on an annual  basis to include the most recent data related to numbers of  unaccompanied children who may be referred to its care and adjust its  planning scenarios that guide its bed capacity as appropriate. HHS also agreed to improve its data  collection process to provide more systematic and standardized  information on post-release services. Locations were selected to  ensure variation in the types of care provided by ORR grantees, shelter  size, and location. Lastly, to learn what is known about these children once they leave  ORR’s custody, we conducted phone interviews with school districts and  other local government officials and nonprofit groups in 6 counties where  50 or more children were released to sponsors in fiscal year 2014.
Why GAO Did This Study

ORR is responsible for coordinating and implementing the care and placement of unaccompanied children. The number of children placed in ORR's care rose from nearly 6,600 in fiscal year 2011 to nearly 57,500 in fiscal year 2014. GAO was asked to review how ORR managed their care.
This report examines (1) ORR's response to the increase in unaccompanied children, (2) how ORR cares for children in its custody and monitors their care, (3) how ORR identifies and screens sponsors for children, and (4) what is known about services children receive after they leave ORR custody. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws and regulations, ORR policies, and ORR and Executive Office for Immigration Review data. GAO also visited nine ORR grantee facilities in three states selected to vary in the type of care provided, shelter size, and location, and conducted a random, non-generalizable case file review of 27 case files of children released from these facilities. GAO interviewed agency officials and community stakeholders in six counties that received unaccompanied children, representing diversity in geographic location, size, and demographics.

What GAO Found

In fiscal year 2014, nearly 57,500 children traveling without their parents or guardians (referred to as unaccompanied children) were apprehended by federal immigration officers and transferred to the care of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Most of these children were from Central America. GAO found that ORR was initially unprepared to care for that many children; however, the agency increased its bed capacity to accommodate up to 10,000 children at a time. Given the unprecedented demand for capacity in 2014, ORR developed a plan to help prepare it to meet fiscal year 2015 needs. The number of children needing ORR's care declined significantly through most of fiscal year 2015, but began increasing again toward the end of the summer. Given the inherent uncertainties associated with planning for capacity needs, ORR's lack of a process for annually updating and documenting its plan inhibits its ability to balance preparations for anticipated needs while minimizing excess capacity.
ORR relies on grantees to provide care for unaccompanied children, including housing and educational, medical, and therapeutic services. GAO's review of a sample of children's case files found that they often did not contain required documents, making it difficult to verify that all required services were provided. ORR revised its on-site monitoring program in 2014 to ensure better coverage of grantees. However, ORR was not able to complete all the visits it planned for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, citing lack of resources. By not monitoring its grantees consistently, ORR may not be able to identify areas where children's care is not provided in accordance with ORR policies and the agreements with grantees.
ORR grantees conduct various background checks on potential sponsors prior to releasing children to them. These potential sponsors are identified and screened by the grantees as part of their responsibilities for the unaccompanied children in their care. The extent of the checks conducted depends on the relationship of the sponsor to the child. Between January 2014 and April 2015, ORR released about 50,000 children from Central America to sponsors to await their immigration hearings. In nearly 90 percent of these cases, the sponsors were a parent or other close relative already residing in the United States. Sponsors do not need to have legal U.S. residency status.
There is limited information available on post-release services provided to children after they leave ORR care. In part, this is because ORR is only required to provide services to a small percentage of children, such as those who were victims of trafficking. In May 2015, ORR established a National Call Center to assist children who may be facing placement disruptions, making post-release services available to some of them. Also, in August 2015, ORR began requiring well-being follow-up calls to all children 30 days after their release. ORR is collecting information through these new initiatives, but does not currently have a process to ensure that the data are reliable, systematically collected, or compiled in summary form. Service providers GAO spoke with also noted that some of these children may have difficultly accessing services due to the lack of bilingual services in the community, lack of health insurance, or other barriers.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that HHS (1) develop a process to regularly update its capacity plan, (2) improve its monitoring of grantees, and (3) develop processes to ensure its post-release activities provide reliable and useful summary data. HHS agreed with GAO's recommendations.