UNACCOMPANIED 

CHILDREN

DHS and HHS Have Taken 

Steps to Improve 

Transfers and Monitoring 

of Care, but Actions Still 

Needed

Statement of Kathryn A. Larin, Director 

Education, Workforce, and Income Security

Testimony 

Before the Permanent Subcommittee 

on Investigations, Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs, U.S. Senate

For Release on Delivery 

Expected at 10 a.m. ET

Thursday, April 26, 2018

GAO-18-506T

United States Government Accountability Office
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-18-506T, a testimony 

before the Permanent Subcommittee on 

Investigations, Committee on Homeland 

Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 

Senate

April 26, 2018

UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN

DHS and HHS Have Taken Steps to Improve Transfers 

and Monitoring of Care, but Actions Still Needed

What GAO Found

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS) have agreed to establish a joint collaborative process for 

the referral and placement of unaccompanied children, but the process has not 

yet been implemented. In 2015, GAO reported that the interagency process for 

referring unaccompanied children from DHS to HHS’s Office of Refugee 

Resettlement (ORR) shelters was inefficient and vulnerable to error, and that

each agency’s role and responsibilities were unclear. GAO recommended that 

DHS and HHS jointly develop and implement an interagency process with clearly 

defined roles and responsibilities, as well as procedures to disseminate 

placement decisions, for all agencies involved. In February 2018, HHS officials 

told GAO that the agency was reviewing a draft of the DHS-HHS joint concept of 

operations.

ORR has reported taking steps to improve monitoring of grantees that provided

services to unaccompanied children. In 2016, GAO reported that ORR relied on 

grantees to document and annually report on the care they provide for 

unaccompanied children, such as housing and educational, medical, and 

therapeutic services, but documents were often missing and ORR was not able 

to complete all of its planned visits. GAO recommended that ORR review its 

monitoring program to ensure that onsite visits are conducted in a timely manner, 

that case files are systematically reviewed, and that grantees properly document 

the services they provide. Since 2016, ORR has reported that its grantee 

monitoring has improved, with more timely completion of on-site monitoring of all 

its grantees.

ORR relies on grantees to identify and screen sponsors before placing children 

with them. In 2016, GAO reported that most unaccompanied children from 

certain Central American countries were released to a parent or other relative, in 

accordance with ORR policy (see figure). 

Sponsors’ Relationship to Unaccompanied Children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

Honduras (Released from Custody from January 7, 2014, through April 17, 2015)

Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 due to rounding.

In 2016, GAO reported that limited information was available on the services 

provided to children after they leave ORR care, and recommended that HHS 

develop processes to ensure its post-release activities provide reliable and 

useful summary data. Subsequent data from ORR indicate that the percentage 

of children receiving these services has increased, from about 10 percent in 

fiscal year 2014, to about 32 percent in fiscal year 2017. Also, in August 2017, 

ORR officials said that new case reporting requirements had been added to 

ORR’s policy guide; however, further steps are needed to ensure the systematic

collection of these data to provide useful information on post-release services 

across agencies, as GAO recommended.

View GAO-18-506T. For more information, 

contact Kathryn A. Larin at (202) 512-7215 or 

larink@gao.gov.

Why GAO Did This Study

ORR is responsible for coordinating 

and implementing the care and 

placement of unaccompanied 

children—that is, children who enter 

the United States with no lawful 

immigration status. The number of 

these children taken into custody by 

DHS and placed in ORR's care rose 

from about 6,600 in fiscal year 2011 to 

nearly 57,500 in fiscal year 2014, many 

coming from Central America. Though 

declining somewhat, the number has 

remained well above historical levels. 

In fiscal year 2017, DHS referred 

40,810 such children to ORR.

This testimony discusses efforts by 

DHS and HHS to improve the 

placement and care of unaccompanied 

children in four key areas: (1) the 

process by which unaccompanied 

children are transferred from DHS to 

ORR custody; (2) how ORR monitors 

the care of unaccompanied children in 

its custody; (3) how ORR identifies and 

screens sponsors before children are 

transferred to their care; and (4) what 

is known about services these children 

receive after they leave ORR custody.

This testimony is based primarily on

the findings from two prior GAO 

reports: a 2015 report on actions 

needed to ensure unaccompanied 

children receive required care in DHS 

custody; and a 2016 report on further 

actions HHS could take to monitor their 

care. This testimony also includes 

updated information on the progress

agencies have made in implementing 

GAO’s recommendations, and more 

recent statistics from publicly available 

sources.
Letter

Page 1 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

Chairman Portman, Ranking Member Carper, and Members of the 

Subcommittee:

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss efforts by the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) to improve the process of placing and providing care for 

unaccompanied children—that is, children who enter the United States 

with no lawful immigration status.

1 The number of unaccompanied 

children apprehended by DHS officials and subsequently placed in the 

care of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) increased from 

nearly 6,600 in fiscal year 2011 to nearly 57,500 in fiscal year 2014. In 

particular, the number of unaccompanied children from three countries—

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—increased dramatically over this 

time.2 While the number of children DHS placed in ORR’s care declined 

through much of fiscal year 2015, it subsequently began increasing again 

and has remained well above historical levels. More recent data from the 

U.S. Border Patrol suggest that DHS apprehended nearly 60,000 

unaccompanied children at the southwest border in fiscal year 2016 and 

more than 41,000 in fiscal year 2017.3 Also, according to ORR data, DHS 

referred 40,810 unaccompanied children to ORR in fiscal year 2017,4 and 

in the first 6 months of fiscal year 2018, DHS apprehended nearly 22,000 

unaccompanied children.

 1

In this statement, we refer to unaccompanied alien children as unaccompanied children 

because this is the term used by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

The term “unaccompanied alien child” refers to a child who (1) has no lawful immigration 

status in the United States, (2) has not attained 18 years of age, and (3) has no parent or 

legal guardian in the United States or no parent or legal guardian in the United States 

available to provide care and physical custody. 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2). Children traveling 

with related adults other than a parent or legal guardian—such as a grandparent or 

sibling—are still deemed unaccompanied. While these children may have parents or 

guardians already in the United States, if the parent or guardian is unable to provide 

immediate care, the child is considered unaccompanied. 

2

For information on the causes of migration of unaccompanied children from these three 

countries, see GAO, Central America: Information on Migration of Unaccompanied 

Children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, GAO-15-362 (Washington, D.C.: 

Feb. 27, 2015). For a review of U.S. efforts to address the causes of migration, see GAO, 

Unaccompanied Alien Children: Improved Evaluation Efforts Could Enhance Agency 

Programs to Reduce Migration from Central America, GAO-16-163T (Washington, D.C.: 

Oct. 21, 2015).

3

Data publicly available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection at: 

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/usbp-sw-border-apprehensions-fy2017.

4

Data publicly available from the Office of Refugee Resettlement at: 

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/about/ucs/facts-and-data. 

Letter
Page 2 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

My statement today will focus on efforts made by DHS and HHS to 

improve the placement and care of unaccompanied children in four key 

areas: (1) the process by which unaccompanied children are transferred 

from DHS to ORR custody; (2) how ORR monitors the care of 

unaccompanied children in its custody; (3) how ORR identifies and 

screens sponsors before children are transferred to their care; and (4) 

what is known about services and the status of removal proceedings for 

children after they leave ORR custody. My statement is based primarily 

on the findings from two prior GAO reports: a 2015 report on actions 

needed to ensure unaccompanied children receive required care in DHS 

custody;5 and a 2016 report on further actions HHS could take to monitor 

their care.6 For detailed descriptions of the methodologies used, see our 

prior reports. Additionally, we obtained and analyzed information and 

documentation on actions DHS and HHS have taken to address our 

recommendations in these prior two reports. The work upon which this 

statement is based was conducted in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan 

and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide 

a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit 

objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provided a reasonable 

basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, responsibility for the 

apprehension, temporary detention, transfer, and repatriation of 

unaccompanied children is delegated to DHS;7 and responsibility for 

coordinating and implementing the care and placement of 

unaccompanied children is delegated HHS’s Office of Refugee 

Resettlement (ORR).8 U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border 

Patrol and Office of Field Operations (OFO), as well as U.S. Immigration 

and Customs Enforcement (ICE), apprehend, process, temporarily detain, 

 5

GAO, Unaccompanied Alien Children: Actions Needed to Ensure Children Receive 

Required Care in DHS Custody, GAO-15-521 (Washington, D.C.: July 14, 2015)

6

GAO, Unaccompanied Children: HHS Can Take Further Actions to Monitor Their Care, 

GAO-16-180 (Washington, D.C.: February 5, 2016)

7

Pub. L. No. 107-296, tit. IV, subtit. D, § 441, 116 Stat. 2135, 2192 (codified at 6 U.S.C. § 

251). Repatriation is defined as returning unaccompanied children to their country of 

nationality or last habitual residence. 

8

Pub. L. No. 107-296, tit. IV, subtit. D, § 462, 116 Stat. 2135, 2202 (codified at 6 U.S.C. § 

279). 

Background
Page 3 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

and care for unaccompanied children who enter the United States with no 

lawful immigration status.

9 ICE’s Office of Enforcement and Removal 

Operations is generally responsible for transferring unaccompanied 

children, as appropriate, to ORR, or repatriating them to their countries of 

nationality or last habitual residence. Under the William Wilberforce 

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Trafficking 

Victims Protection Reauthorization Act), unaccompanied children in the 

custody of any federal department or agency, including DHS, must be 

transferred to ORR within 72 hours after determining that they are 

unaccompanied children, except in exceptional circumstances.10

ORR has cooperative agreements with residential care providers to 

house and care for unaccompanied children while they are in ORR 

custody. The aim is to provide housing and care in the least restrictive 

environment commensurate with the children’s safety and emotional and 

physical needs. In addition, these residential care providers, referred to 

here as grantees, are also responsible for identifying and assessing the 

suitability of potential sponsors—generally a parent or other relative in the 

country—who can care for the child after they leave ORR custody.11 To 

do this, grantees collect information from potential sponsors and run 

various background checks. In cases in which there are questions about 

the ability of the sponsor to meet the child’s needs and provide a safe 

environment, and for children included in specified categories under the 

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, a home study is also 

conducted. In certain circumstances ORR may also arrange for postrelease services for the child. 

Release to a sponsor does not grant unaccompanied children legal 

immigration status. Children are scheduled for removal proceedings in 

 9

Border Patrol apprehends unaccompanied children at U.S. borders between ports of 

entry, and OFO encounters these children at ports of entry. ICE apprehends 

unaccompanied children within the United States at locations other than borders or ports 

of entry. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, OFO encounters 

unaccompanied children instead of apprehending them because the children have not 

technically entered the United States at ports of entry until OFO officers have processed 

them. However, for the purposes of this statement, we use the term “apprehend” to 

include actions taken by all DHS entities responsible for unaccompanied children—Border 

Patrol, OFO, and ICE.

108 U.S.C § 1232(b)(3).

11Qualified sponsors are adults who are suitable to provide for the child’s physical and 

mental well-being and have not engaged in any activity that would indicate a potential risk 

to the child.
Page 4 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

immigration courts to determine whether they will be ordered removed 

from the United States or granted immigration relief. There are several 

types of immigration relief that may be available to these children, for 

example, asylum or Special Immigrant Juvenile status.12

In response to a recommendation in our 2015 report, DHS and HHS have 

agreed to establish a joint collaborative process for the referral and 

transfer of unaccompanied children from DHS to ORR shelters, but the 

process has not yet been implemented. It will be important to ensure that, 

once implemented, this process has clearly defined roles and 

responsibilities for each agency, as we recommended.

In 2015, we reported that the interagency process to refer 

unaccompanied children from DHS to ORR shelters was inefficient and 

vulnerable to error.13 For example, as of April 2015, DHS and ORR relied 

on e-mail communication and manual data entry to coordinate the 

transfer of unaccompanied children to shelters because each agency 

used its own data system and these systems did not automatically 

communicate information with one another. These modes of 

communication made the referral and placement process vulnerable to 

error and possible delay in the transfer of these children from DHS to

ORR. Each DHS component also submitted shelter requests to ORR in a 

different way. We reported that the roles and responsibilities of DHS 

components were not consistent during the referral and placement 

process, and DHS points of contact for ORR varied across Border Patrol 

sectors and ICE and OFO areas of operation. Further, we noted that the 

inefficiencies in the placement process for unaccompanied children had 

 12Asylum may be granted to people who have suffered past persecution or have a wellfounded fear they will suffer future persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, 

membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(1)(B). In 

addition, eligible unaccompanied children may petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile 

status, which is designed to help foreign children who have been abused, abandoned, or 

neglected obtain a green card. To be eligible, a state court must decide that a child is a 

dependent of the court or legally place the child with a state agency, a private agency, or a 

private person; that it is not in the best interests of the child to return to his or her home 

country; and that the child cannot be reunited with a parent due to abuse, neglect, 

abandonment, or a similar basis found under state law. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J), 8 

C.F.R. § 204.11. Unaccompanied children also may be eligible for other types of 

immigration relief. For example, “T nonimmigrant status” allows victims of severe forms of 

human trafficking to remain in the United States to assist in an investigation or prosecution 

of such cases.

13GAO-15-521.

A Joint Collaborative 

Process for the 

Referral and 

Placement of 

Unaccompanied 

Children Has Not Yet 

Been Implemented
Page 5 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

been a long-standing challenge for DHS and ORR. Therefore, we

recommended that DHS and HHS jointly develop and implement a 

documented interagency process with clearly defined roles and 

responsibilities, as well as procedures to disseminate placement 

decisions, for all agencies involved in referring and placing 

unaccompanied children in ORR shelters.

The agencies agreed with this recommendation and in response, DHS 

and HHS finalized a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in February 

2016. The MOA provides a framework for coordinating each agency’s 

responsibilities and establishing procedures, shared goals, and 

interagency cooperation with respect to unaccompanied children. The 

MOA states that DHS and HHS agree to establish a joint concept of 

operations. According to the MOA, this joint concept is to include, among 

other things, standard protocols for consistent interagency cooperation on 

the care, processing, and transport of these children during both steady 

state operations, as well as in the event the number of unaccompanied 

children exceeds standard capabilities and existing resources. In 

February 2018, HHS officials told us that the agency is reviewing a draft 

of the DHS-HHS joint concept of operations. To fully address our 

recommendation, DHS and HHS will need to ensure that this joint 

concept, once finalized and implemented, includes a documented 

interagency process with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, as well 

as procedures to disseminate placement decisions, as we recommended.

In response to a recommendation in our 2016 report, ORR reported 

taking steps to improve monitoring of its grantees, including reviewing its 

monitoring protocols and ensuring all grantees were monitored over a 2-

year period. These steps should increase the timeliness, completeness, 

and consistency of ORR’s monitoring; however, ORR needs to ensure 

that its updated processes and protocols are fully implemented and in 

use.

In 2016, we reported that ORR relies on grantees to provide care for 

unaccompanied children, such as housing and educational, medical, and 

therapeutic services, and to document in children’s case files the services 

they provide.14 Grantees are required to provide these services and to 

 14For a more detailed discussion of the care and services provided to children by 

grantees, see our 2016 report, GAO-16-180.

ORR Reports Taking 

Steps to Improve 

Monitoring of 

Grantees’ Provision of 

Services
Page 6 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

document that they did so. However, in our 2016 report, we found that 

documents—such as legal presentation acknowledgment forms,15 records 

of group counseling sessions, or clinical progress notes—were often 

missing from the 27 randomly selected case files we reviewed. In 

addition, we identified several cases in which forms that were present in

the files were not signed or dated. We found that although ORR used its 

web-based data system to track some information about the services 

children received, and grantees reported on the services they provided in 

their annual reports, the documents contained in case files were the 

primary source of information about the services provided to individual 

children. We concluded that without including all of the documents in case 

files, it was difficult for ORR to verify that required services were actually 

provided in accordance with ORR policy and cooperative agreements.

In our 2016 report, we noted that ORR’s most comprehensive monitoring 

of grantees occurred during on-site visits, but that onsite visits to facilities 

were inconsistent. Prior to fiscal year 2014, project officers were 

supposed to conduct on-site monitoring of facilities at least once a year. 

However, we found in our review of agency data that many facilities had 

not received a monitoring visit for several years. For example, ORR had 

not visited 15 facilities for as many as 7 years. In 2014, ORR revised its 

on-site monitoring program to ensure better coverage of grantees and 

implemented a biennial on-site monitoring schedule. Nevertheless, ORR 

did not meet its goal to visit all of its facilities by the end of fiscal year 

2015, citing lack of resources. In our 2016 report, we concluded that 

without consistently monitoring its grantees, ORR cannot know whether 

they were complying with their agreements and that children were 

receiving needed services. We recommended that the Secretary of HHS 

direct ORR to review its monitoring program to ensure that onsite visits 

are conducted in a timely manner, case files are systematically reviewed 

as part of or separate from onsite visits, and that grantees properly 

document the services they provide to children. HHS concurred with this 

recommendation and stated that it had created a new monitoring initiative 

workgroup to examine opportunities for further improvement.

Since our 2016 report, ORR has reported achieving more timely and 

complete monitoring. In May 2017, ORR issued a summary of its fiscal 

year 2016 monitoring showing that monitoring of all of its 88 grantees was 

 15Our 2016 report noted that ORR contracted with nonprofit organizations to provide Know 

Your Rights presentations, which provided basic legal information to children. See 

GAO-16-180.
Page 7 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

completed over the 2-year period of fiscal years 2015 and 2016. As a 

result of this monitoring, the agency reported issuing 786 corrective 

actions, almost all of which were closed within 90 days.16 The most 

common corrective actions were related to incomplete case file 

documentation and inconsistent implementation of some of ORR policies 

and procedures, according to ORR. Subsequently, for the 2-year period 

of fiscal years 2017 and 2018, ORR reported that as of April 2018, it had 

completed monitoring of 65 grantees and planned to complete monitoring 

of all of its remaining 39 grantees by the end of the fiscal year.17

In addition, ORR has reported that it is taking steps to ensure its 

monitoring processes and protocols are more systematic and uniform. 

During 2016, ORR announced a new Monitoring Initiative with the goal of 

establishing a comprehensive system of monitoring for all ORR-funded 

programs; HHS reported that it had conducted three trainings for ORR 

Project Officers and was in the process of adding two to three additional 

Project Officer positions to the unaccompanied children program. In April 

2018, HHS reported that ORR was in the process of reviewing and 

revising its monitoring tools, and planned to have final versions of these 

tools completed by the end of fiscal year 2018. Once ORR completes its 

review of its monitoring tools and fully implements its revised protocols, 

these steps, along with its more timely monitoring, should help ensure an 

improved monitoring program.

In 2016, we reported that ORR grantees that provide day-to-day care of 

unaccompanied children are responsible for identifying and screening 

sponsors prior to releasing children to them. During children’s initial intake 

process, case managers ask them about potential sponsors with whom 

they hope to reunite. Within 24 hours of identifying potential sponsors, 

case managers are required to send them a Family Reunification 

Application to complete. The application includes questions about the 

sponsor and other people living in the sponsor’s home, including whether 

anyone in the household has a contagious disease or criminal history.

Additionally, the application asks for information about who will care for 

 16ORR reported that as of May 1, 2017, all corrective actions resulting from its fiscal year 

2016 monitoring were closed. 

17According to HHS officials, the number of grantees fluctuates throughout the fiscal year. 

As of April 2018, ORR reported funding 102 grantees.

ORR Relies on 

Grantees to Identify 

and Screen Sponsors 

for Unaccompanied 

Children
Page 8 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

the child if the sponsor is required to leave the United States or becomes 

unable to provide care.

18

Grantees also ask potential sponsors to provide documents to establish 

their identity and relationship to the child, and they conduct background 

checks. The types of background checks conducted depend on the 

sponsor’s relationship to the child (see table 1). In certain circumstances 

prescribed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act or 

ORR policy, a home study must also be conducted before the child is 

released to the sponsor.19 Additionally, other household members are 

also subjected to background checks in certain situations, such as when 

a documented risk to the safety of the unaccompanied child is identified, 

the child is especially vulnerable, and/or the case is being referred for a 

mandatory home study.

 18ORR does not require that a sponsor be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the 

United States. 

19The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act requires that before placing a 

child with a sponsor, HHS must first determine whether a home study is necessary. The 

Act requires a home study be conducted for: a child who is a victim of a severe form of 

trafficking; a special needs child with a disability; a child who has been a victim of physical 

or sexual abuse that has significantly harmed or threatened the child’s health or welfare; 

or a child whose proposed sponsor clearly presents a risk of abuse, maltreatment, 

exploitation, or trafficking to the child based on all available objective evidence. 8 U.S.C. § 

1232(c)(3)(B). ORR policy also requires a home study before releasing a child to a nonrelative sponsor who is seeking to sponsor multiple children, or who has previously 

sponsored a child and is seeking to sponsor additional children. 
Page 9 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

Table 1: Required Background Checks Conducted by Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Grantees, by Sponsor Category, 

as of February 2016

Public records 

check

National (FBI) 

criminal history 

check based 

on digital 

fingerprintinga

Immigration status 

check conducted 

through the Central 

Index System (CIS)

Child abuse and 

neglect checkb

Category 1: 

Parent or legal guardian ● ◑ ◑ ◑

Category 2: 

Close relative ● ● ● ◑

Category 3: 

Distant relative or unrelated adult ● ● ● ●

Category 4: 

No potential sponsor

(These instances are rare, but when they occur, children remain in ORR facilities

or are placed in ORR’s long-term foster care.) 

Legend: A full-circle indicates that the background check is required in all cases. A half-circle indicates that the background check is only required in 

cases in which there is a documented risk to the safety of the unaccompanied child, the child is especially vulnerable, and/or the case is being referred 

for a mandatory home study.

Source: ORR Policy Guide. | GAO-18-506T

Note: There are other potential checks that might occur, such as state criminal history repository 

and/or local police checks.

a

The FBI identification index name/descriptor check may be used in lieu of fingerprint background 

checks in the case of unidentifiable fingerprints or in extenuating circumstances if: the 

sponsor/household member has submitted fingerprints, release paperwork and decision making is 

otherwise complete, there are no concerns about the sponsor and the sponsor does not require a 

home study, and there is a delay in receiving the prints results. ORR approval is required.

b

Child abuse and neglect checks are obtained on a state-by-state basis to determine whether a 

potential sponsor has a record of child abuse or neglect in any of the localities in which they have 

resided over the previous 5 years.

In our 2016 report, we found that between January 7, 2014, and April 17, 

2015, nearly 52,000 children from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras 

were released to sponsors by ORR. Of these children, nearly 60 percent 

were released to a parent. Fewer than 9 percent of these children were 

released to a non-familial sponsor, such as a family friend, and less than 

1 percent of these children were released to a sponsor with whom their 

family had no previous connection (see table 2). Historically, most of 

these unaccompanied children have been adolescents 14 to 17 years of 

age, but about a quarter of the children from these three countries in 2014 

and early 2015 were younger.
Page 10 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

Table 2: Sponsors’ Relationship to Unaccompanied Children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (Released from 

Office of Refugee Resettlement Custody from January 7, 2014, through April 17, 2015)

Relationship Number Percent

Parent 31,079 60%

Other relative 16,416 32%

Aunt/uncle 6,925 13%

Sibling 6,251 12%

First cousin 1,221 2%

Grandparent 739 1%

Other relative 1,280 3%

Family friend 4,185 8%

Unrelated sponsor 161 <1%

Total 51,841 100%

Source: GAO analysis of Office of Refugee Resettlement data. | GAO-18-506T

Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 due to rounding.

In response to a recommendation in our 2016 report, ORR reported 

taking various steps to collect additional information on the services 

provided to unaccompanied children after they are released from ORR 

custody. We welcome this progress, but continue to believe that further 

steps are needed to fully address our recommendation.

In 2016, we reported that limited information was available about postrelease services provided to children and their sponsors. Post-release 

services include such things as guidance to the sponsor to ensure the 

safest environment possible for the child; assistance accessing legal, 

medical, mental health, and educational services for the child; and 

information on initiating steps to establish guardianship, if necessary. The 

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act requires ORR to 

provide post-release services to children if a home study was conducted, 

ORR Reports 

Creating New Data 

Collection Guidance 

on Post-Release 

Services
Page 11 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

and authorizes ORR to provide these services to some additional 

children.20

Our 2016 report noted that ORR was in a position to compile the data it 

collects on post-release services, and to share the data internally and 

externally with other federal and state agencies to help them better 

understand the circumstances these children face when they are released 

to their sponsors. ORR was already collecting some information from its

post-release grantees on services provided to children after they left ORR 

custody, and its newly instituted well-being calls and National Call Center 

would allow it to collect additional information about these children. 

However, at the time, ORR did not have processes in place to ensure that 

all of these data were reliable, systematically collected, and compiled in 

summary form to provide useful information about this population for its 

use and for other government agencies, such as state child welfare 

services.21 As a result, in our 2016 report, we recommended that the 

Secretary of HHS direct ORR to develop a process to ensure all 

information collected through its existing post-release efforts are reliable 

and systematically collected, so that the information could be compiled in 

summary form to provide useful information to other entities internally and 

externally. HHS concurred and stated that ORR would implement an 

approved data collection process that would provide more systematic and 

standardized information on post-release services and that it would make 

this information available to other entities internally and externally.

At the time of our 2016 study, a relatively small percentage of 

unaccompanied children who had left ORR custody were receiving postrelease services. Officials said ORR’s responsibility typically ended after it 

transferred custody of children to their sponsors. We found that slightly 

less than 10 percent of unaccompanied children received post-release 

services in fiscal year 2014, including those for whom a home study was 

 208 U.S.C. § 1232(c)(3)(B). The statute uses the term “follow-up services,” which we refer 

to as “post-release services” In this statement. ORR officials noted that this statutory 

mandate to provide post-release services to children for whom home studies were 

conducted implies responsibility to check on the well-being of these children after their 

release from ORR custody. According to ORR officials, the agency is generally not 

required by law to track or monitor the well-being of all children once they are released to 

sponsors. These services can also include providing information about or referrals to 

resources available in the community. Post-release services are limited in nature and 

typically last a relatively short time.

21Federal internal control standards require that an agency have relevant, reliable, and 

timely information to enable it to carry out its responsibilities. See GAO-14-704G.
Page 12 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

conducted.22 However, the percentage of unaccompanied youth receiving 

post-release services has increased in recent years. According to publicly 

available ORR data, approximately 31 percent of unaccompanied youth 

received such services in fiscal year 2015, 20 percent in fiscal year 2016, 

and 32 percent in fiscal year 2017. 

In addition, during 2015, ORR had taken steps to expand eligibility criteria 

for post-release services. According to ORR officials, these changes

included making all children released to a non-relative or distant relative 

eligible for such services. ORR also began operating a National Call 

Center help-line in May 2015. Children who contacted ORR’s National 

Call Center within 180 days of release and who reported experiencing (or 

being at risk of experiencing) a placement disruption, also became 

eligible for post-release services, according to ORR officials. Additionally, 

our 2016 report noted that in August 2015, ORR had instituted a new 

policy requiring grantee facility staff to place follow-up calls, referred to as 

Safety and Well Being follow-up calls, to all children and their sponsors 

30 days after the children are placed to determine whether they were still 

living with their sponsors, enrolled in or attending school, and aware of 

upcoming removal proceedings, and to ensure that they were safe. 

ORR’s policy required grantees to attempt to contact the sponsor and 

child at least three times. 

In August 2017, ORR told us that the agency had created new guidance 

on case reporting, records management, retention, and informationsharing requirements for post-release service provider, and that it had 

collected data on Safety and Well Being follow-up calls that had been 

made to children and their sponsors. For example, ORR told us that 

during the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, its grantees reached 87 

percent of unaccompanied children and 90 percent of sponsors by phone 

within 30 to 37 days after the child’s release from ORR care. In the 

second quarter of fiscal year 2016, these figures were 80 percent and 88 

percent, respectively. ORR also said that the agency had developed a 

plan for collecting and analyzing National Call Center data. However, as 

of April 2018, ORR officials noted that case management functionality 

had not yet been built into ORR’s web-based portal. Further, ORR 

officials told us that the agency planned to create uniform data collection 

reporting forms for grantees providing post-release services, but as of 

 22According to ORR data, in fiscal year 2014, home studies were conducted in 

approximately 2 percent of all cases in which a child was released.
Page 13 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

April 2018, it had not developed these forms. ORR’s steps represent 

progress towards systematically collecting information that can be used 

internally and shared, as appropriate, with external agencies; however, to 

ensure our recommendation is fully addressed, ORR will need to

complete its data collection and reporting efforts. 

With respect to unaccompanied children’s immigration proceedings, we 

reported in 2016 that several different outcomes are possible, and that 

the outcomes for many children had not yet been determined. An 

unaccompanied child who is in removal proceedings can apply for various 

types of lawful immigration status with DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services (USCIS), including asylum and Special Immigration 

Juvenile status. Alternatively, an unaccompanied child who has not 

sought, or has not been granted, certain immigration benefits within the 

jurisdiction of USCIS, may still have various forms of relief available to 

him or her during immigration proceedings. For example, an immigration 

judge may order the child removed from the United States, close the case 

administratively, terminate the case, allow the child to voluntary depart 

the United States, or grant the child relief or protection from removal. 

Moreover, a judge’s initial decision does not necessarily indicate the end 

of the removal proceedings. For example, cases that are administratively 

closed can be reopened, new charges may be filed in cases that are 

terminated, and children may appeal a removal order. In addition, in 

cases involving a child who receives a removal order in absentia, and a 

motion to reopen the child’s case has been properly filed, the child is 

granted a stay of removal pending a decision on the motion by the 

immigration judge. In our 2016 report, we found that according to ICE 

data on final removal orders from fiscal year 2010 through August 15, 

2015, ICE removed 10,766 unaccompanied children, and about 63 

percent of these children (6,751) were from El Salvador, Guatemala, or 

Honduras.
Page 14 GAO-18-506T Unaccompanied Children

Chairman Portman, Ranking Member Carper, and Members of the 

Subcommittee, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would be happy to 

answer any questions that you may have.

For further information regarding this testimony, please contact Kathryn 

A. Larin at (202) 512-7215 or larink@gao.gov. Contact points for our 

Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on 

the last page of this statement. 

Individuals who made key contributions to this testimony include Margie 

K. Shields (Assistant Director), David Barish (Analyst-in-Charge), James 

Bennett, Kathryn Bernet, Ramona Burton, Rebecca Gambler, Theresa 

Lo, Jean McSween, James Rebbe, Almeta Spencer, Kate van Gelder, 

and James Whitcomb.

GAO Contacts 

and Staff 

Acknowledgments

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