Recommendations for Case Management

One of the most straightforward solutions is to provide funding to build professional case management capacity within the region. If there is a greater paid, trained, professional workforce helping support immigrant families in accessing services, it will lead to better outcomes for immigrant families while helping alleviate many of the problems discussed above. This can be accomplished by expanding existing case management capacity within local organizations, creating new case management positions focused on immigrants at established providers, and increasing the funding provided to smaller nonprofit organizations that are currently conducting case management for immigrant families.

Being able to create a well-funded professional system that is able to provide case management for all new immigrants to a community would take a significant amount of resources and likely a major shift in mindset within the region. While this is a worthy goal and would result in major benefits for immigrant populations and the community as a whole, this may be difficult to achieve in the near term. However, any increase in the capacity for professional case management would have a positive impact on immigrant communities. 

Many of the major challenges that are listed in the introduction to this section can become most apparent when there is a single person responsible for case management. A potential solution involves an immigrant family being supported by a “network” of individuals and organizations working together. This concept is designed to make sure that immigrants who may need more case management support (recently arriving families, unaccompanied minors, linguistically or culturally isolated families, etc.) would become connected with four to five individuals and organizations that would help with case management. This network would communicate with each other, relay knowledge and information, and share responsibility for supporting the individual. Members of the network could also work collectively on necessary case management tasks, like helping with transportation.

There are several reasons for using a small network to help conduct case management. Having multiple contacts for an immigrant family builds in redundancy, helping reduce the dependency the family may have on any one individual. It also may reduce burnout and allow for access to a wider range of knowledge and connections, as a greater number of individuals are involved in support. And it creates a more formal mechanisms for local stakeholders to provide volunteers with training and resources.

While there are a number of different models that could be used or adapted for this type of network, there are several important considerations that should be highlighted for creating this type of program:

• While many of the models listed below only use individual volunteers as part of the network, there are advantages to networks containing both volunteers and staff from local organizations. For example, organization staff could leverage formal training and institutional support, while volunteers may have greater flexibility outside of work hours.
• Having a local organization coordinate these groups could be very beneficial and would help with organizing volunteers and providing long-term stability. A coordinating organization could also provide volunteers with training, resources, referrals, and other important supports.
  • Some funding would likely be necessary for a host organization to coordinate case management networks.
• Being able to run background checks on volunteers can help make sure that volunteers are well-suited to the role, especially if they are helping provide case management for children. This could be a role played by a coordinating organization. See the next recommendation (3. Facilitate Background Checks) for additional information.
• Incorporating individuals from within the immigrant population should also be a priority, as it leverages the skills and relationships of that individual for case management efforts. At the same time, including that individual as part of a larger support network will help with burden sharing and build greater connections for that immigrant volunteer within the larger community.

Models to consider:

• The Sponsor Circles program is used to help with the resettlement of Afghan and Ukrainian refugees in the United States by having groups of people sponsor those refugee families and provide them with support and some case management services. A similar system could be used for non-refugees.
  • https://www.sponsorcircles.org/
• The Capital Area New Mainers Project connects 3-4 local volunteers to serve as a Family Mentor Team in support of new immigrant families. Family Mentor Teams go through background checks and some training, with helping with transportation being a big part of their responsibility.
  • https://www.newmainersproject.org/
• The Dubuque Circles Initiative was a program that connected a group of volunteer allies with a low-income individual in order to provide support and help break the cycle of poverty. The program was run by the City of Dubuque but eventually ended. Elements of the program could be adjusted to help serve immigrant families. While the Dubuque Circles Initiative is no longer in operation, a related program focused on poverty is Circles USA.
  • https://www.circlesusa.org/

An unfortunate but real risk when talking about volunteers working from a position of power and authority with immigrants, and especially immigrant children, is the potential for predatory behavior. Criminal background checks can be a valuable tool for helping to limit this risk. Organizations that utilize volunteers in situations where they may have unsupervised access to immigrants, and especially children, should consider conducting background checks to help reduce risk. Examples include volunteers who provide case management, mentoring or educational tutoring, and transportation.

However, background checks also cost money and require staff time to gather the volunteer information and carry out a check. For smaller organizations with limited time and budgets who are desperate for more volunteers, requiring background checks may be a major difficulty. Communities should consider creating a funded resource, perhaps located at a government office or larger nonprofit organization, that smaller organizations could access to help run background checks on volunteers. Making this service centrally located and free to use would greatly reduce the barrier to running background checks.

One effective way to improve case management is by creating additional resources and capacity within immigrant communities that can help support newly arrived immigrants. Through building capacity within immigrant populations, individuals and organizations with existing relationships and language/cultural skills can be equipped to help other members of their community navigate local systems. The following are a list of interventions described elsewhere in this report that could be relevant for improving case management:

• Support the creation or expansion of immigrant-led nonprofits to allow them to take on more case management work (see Create and Support a Sustainable Immigrant-led Nonprofit Organization).
• Create an Immigrant Center that could provide additional support to new immigrant families (see Establish an Immigrant Center).
• Develop a Natural Helper program that trains and compensates immigrant volunteers, allowing them to provide case management support for other immigrant families (see Adopt a Natural Helper Program).
• Consider locating connectors and individuals with case management skills in communities where many immigrants live (see Locate Connectors in Residential Areas with a High Concentration of Immigrants).
• Hire additional navigators in important organizations who can help take on case management duties or support others in their case management work (see Navigators).

This recommendation also appears as Recommendation 3 under Legal Assistance

Upon arriving in Iowa, many unaccompanied minors move forward with their immigration court case by applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). This status provides the minor with a legal residency status in the U.S. and opens a pathway to applying for a green card and eventually citizenship. As part of applying for SIJS, the minor also becomes involved in a juvenile court proceeding that makes determinations that are important for SIJS. As part of this process, the juvenile court will also appoint a guardian for the minor to help ensure that the child’s needs are being met. Guardians can play an important role in helping unaccompanied minors access services and navigate unfamiliar systems.

However, because there is not a formally established system for identifying guardians, this can often cause issues. It is generally the responsibility of the minor and their advocates to identify a person willing to be a guardian. This often results in the minor’s attorney, a nonprofit staff person, or a volunteer soliciting help from people they know in order to secure a guardian.

What is Guardianship

Guardianship in SIJS cases is not always well understood, partly because the term “guardian” often means different things in different situations. In this case, the guardian’s role is to make sure that the minor’s well-being is being addressed and to report back to the court on any issues. The guardian does not have any financial responsibility for the child, nor does the child need to live with the guardian (though there have been instances where this has happened). The guardian’s job is to try to help figure out solutions for financial, housing, and other issues the minor might face, not to take care of those issues directly. So, if the unaccompanied minor accidentally damaged school property and needed to pay the school back, the guardian would be expected to help figure out a solution but would not have to cover the payment themselves. Anyone interested in becoming a guardian or learning more should speak with a qualified legal professional for more precise information.

This can lead to two issues. The first is that the minor and their advocates are unable to find an acceptable guardian before the minor ages out of the juvenile court system, thereby undermining their ability to apply for SIJS. In Iowa, guardianship must be established before the minor turns 18, and judges may be unwilling to grant guardianship if the minor is getting close to that age. If it takes a long time to find an appropriate guardian for the minor, it may pose a significant problem for their immigration court case. Informal systems based on personal networks may draw from a smaller pool of potential guardians.

The second issue is that this informal system of nonprofit staff/volunteers requesting help from their acquaintances sometimes leads to under-prepared guardians. These guardians may not adequately understand what guardianship entails and may be less committed to being a guardian, but instead may agree to the position out of necessity or as a favor to the person making the request. In some instances, individuals have been pressed to serve as guardian to multiple minors. Having guardians who are not fully committed to being guardians and who do not fully understand what being a guardian entails is a disservice to both the guardian and to the minor.

A solution proposed by service providers in the community is to create a more formal system where potential guardians can submit their names to a website hosted by a local organization. This website would provide information on what being a guardian entails and other important considerations, and would allow potential guardians to submit their name and contact information. This would add them to a list that could be accessed by immigration attorneys looking for a guardian for the unaccompanied minor they are representing. Such a system could also include:

• A background check to help ensure that potential guardians are appropriately screened;
• Testimonials to show the experiences of others who have served as guardians;
• Training programs, support groups, and other resources to help better support guardians in their new role; and
• Other services aimed to help the guardian or minor.

Such a system would provide a better process for referring people who are interested in being a guardian, helping to increase the pool of available guardians. It would also help ensure that potential guardians understand what they are signing up for and would reduce the pressure on nonprofit staff and volunteers to always seek out new guardians whenever one is needed. In addition, creating trainings and resources for guardians would improve the help they provide to minors as well as connecting with local social service organizations.

Models to consider –

• In Dubuque, the Multicultural Family Center (MFC) has been in conversations with Catholic Charities, the Community Foundation, and other advocates about hosting a guardian website. The language and content for the website would be developed by immigration attorneys and other support organizations, while the MFC would conduct background checks and hold the list of potential guardians. Immigrant advocates could then refer potential guardians to the website in order to gain more information and to submit their information. The MFC could also then offer services and opportunities both to the guardians and to the unaccompanied minors.
  • The guardian list would only be accessible to immigration attorneys representing a minor seeking SIJS to help protect the privacy of those on the list.
  • After multiple discussions with statewide organizations and advocacy groups, this research has not identified another website serving this role within Iowa. It could be a model to be used by other Iowa communities.

Transportation remains one of the most frequent needs met by small nonprofits and volunteers providing case management services. This is because those families and individuals most at need of case management services are also the most likely to not have reliable modes of transportation. This is especially true for unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers that may have ongoing immigration court cases. The closest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office for the region in located in Cedar Rapids, and the closest immigration courts are in Omaha, Nebraska and Chicago, IL, meaning that immigrants regularly need to travel for hours to make mandatory check-ins and immigration court dates. Yet many of these immigrants are also ineligible for a driver’s licenses and may not be able to afford long-distance transportation. In addition, these immigrants regularly need local transportation services for everything from medical appointments to parent-teacher conferences. It is often volunteers and small nonprofit organizations that fill this void by providing hours of transportation support.

This makes finding drivers one of the largest volunteer needs within the region. The community should work to encourage additional volunteers to help with transportation, especially since there are limited non-car options available for consistently getting to appointments. But because transporting vulnerable immigrants, and especially minors, can create serious risks, it is also important to invest in additional resources for conducting background checks (see 3. Facilitate Background Checks). In addition, organizations and government offices should consider the creation of more formal transportation options for immigrants and the expansion of public transport to help meet important needs.

Models to consider:

• Regional Transit Authority (RTA): The RTA in Region 8 provides transportation services in Delaware, Dubuque, and Jackson Counties. Establishing a formal RTA program for arranging transportation for immigrants needing to go to medical appointments or other important meetings could be a valuable way of reducing the pressure on volunteers. However, additional work would need to be undertaken to make this a service regularly utilized by immigrants, including translation, easy financial assistance, and coordination with local nonprofits to help create consistent and reliable usage.
  • https://www.rta8.org/AboutUs/about_us.cfm
• The Tri-State VIATS and Dubuque for Refugee Children are two of the organizations in Dubuque that most frequently provide volunteer transportation services to local immigrants.

To return to the section on Issues Facing Immigrant Communities, click here. To explore this section more deeply, use the following links:

• For Case Management, click here
• For Education and Youth Support, click here
• For Health, click here
• For Housing, click here
• For Legal Assistance, click here
• For Translation and Interpretation, click here
• For Workforce and Employment, click here

To read a discussion regarding Ongoing Collective Work on Immigration, click here

For a discussion of Building Connections with Immigrant Communities, click here

For a list of Priority Recommendations, click here

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