LIRS's DUCS field coordinators are child welfare professionals who oversee the best interests of unaccompanied, undocumented children in federal custody.

ORR/DUCS
Every year approximately 6,000 undocumented, unaccompanied foreign-born children are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and referred to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement/Division of Unaccompanied Children’s Services (ORR/DUCS), a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services, for care and custody.

Children come to the United States for many reasons. Some come seeking economic or educational opportunities, or hoping to reunite with family already in the country. Some are fleeing abuse, persecution or gangs. And some are victims of human trafficking. They all have special needs that call for special compassion and care.

ORR/DUCS Field Coordinators
LIRS is one of two national agencies (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the other) authorized by ORR to provide professional child welfare services for DUCS children. LIRS carries out this task through qualified and trained field staff strategically located throughout the country where the need for DUCS services is greatest.

Regionally based field coordinators serve as liaisons with the child, staff of the local facility housing the child, DUCS, the child’s legal representatives, the Department of Homeland Security, and other pertinent parties to ensure the best interests of the child in placement and care decisions.

LIRS recruits, trains and manages the field coordinator program, ensuring that the program is well-staffed with competent, qualified child welfare professionals who have experience working with migrants and refugees.

Safeguarding, Assessing, Advocating
Field coordinators make regular visits to the facilities where DUCS children are housed to meet with the children and learn about their individual needs and situations. Following are some of the field coordinators' responsibilities for the children in their regions:

• Be alert to medical, mental health and psychosocial needs.
• Take appropriate steps when they identify possible victims of human trafficking.
• Be attentive and responsive to safety concerns.
• Glean relevant information from facility staff, therapists, legal representatives and the children themselves.
• Assess that information and make best interest recommendations to DUCS.

The children come to recognize the field coordinators as people who have their best interests in mind, and learn to seek out the field coordinators with concerns or questions.

More Information

• Download a more detailed brochure about the DUCS Field Coordinator Program. (1.5 MB PDF file. Click here if you have trouble downloading PDFs.)
• Download a sponsor orientation handbook for family members of children released from DUCS custody: English | Spanish (Documents hosted on ORR's website.)
• Read more about LIRS's children's services unit or contact us at 410/230-2700 or childrenservices@lirs.org.

Page created June 7, 2006.
Last modified March 13, 2007.