ABOUT SERVICES BLOG CAREERS VOLUNTEER GIVING CONTACT You are here Home » Giving » Foster Parents Needed for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Needed: Foster Parents for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors About the Program Contact One of our affiliate organizations, Toomey Residential, is in special need. They are facing a shortage of foster parents in their program for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. Foster parents provide a stable, caring environment in which children can learn, grow, and prepare for independence in adulthood. Those who become foster parents are stepping up to change the lives of children and teens who are coming from incredibly difficult circumstances. Serving as a foster parent is a rewarding, life-changing act of love that requires a big heart and an open mind. The Toomey Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program is seperate from but related to our own Refugee Resettlement Services at the Northside CYO. See below to learn more and for contact information. About the Program The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program is a federally funded multi-cultural foster care program. Youth come from refugee camps around the world or flee dangerous conditions in their home county to seek asylum in the United States. The youth are typically young teens who resettle in the United States without their parents due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, separation or are orphaned. Goals of the URM Program include supporting youth in exploring and adjusting to life in America while preserving their own culture and preparing for independence. There is an ongoing dire need for foster parents to support these youth. All foster parents will undergo a series of background checks and will be specially trained using a trauma informed, culturally sensitive model to understand these children’s complex needs. Approved foster families will receive financial support to prevent a financial burden being placed upon the family. Foster parents work as part of a casework team to meet the youth’s medical, educational, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The Toomey URM program is located in Syracuse, NY, and works with potential foster families within approximately 1 hour of the office. For those who would like to help but live outside of that region, the program recommends contacting one of the national agencies that work with unaccompanied youth: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at migratingchildren@usccb.org or (202) 541-3081 or Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Childrenservices@lirs.org, (410) 230-2700. Additional Information Toomey Foster Care Brochure FAQs Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program: Quick Facts Contact Anyone interested in learning more about the program can contact the Foster Parent Program Coordinator, Cathy Southwick, at 315-424-1845 or csouthwick@toomeyresidential.org. You can make a difference. Our success is made possible by the involvement of our supporters. Please consider contributing and joining us in our efforts to reduce poverty in our community. You have our gratitude and appreciation. Giving FROM OUR BLOG Fall Appeal 2021 Read Story FROM OUR BLOG Update on Afghan Refugees Read Story FROM OUR BLOG Back to School Supplies Drive Read Story Subscribe Sign Up AFFILIATES GRIEVANCE POLICY CORPORATE COMPLIANCE MAKE A GIFT