In recent years there has been a significant increase in apprehensions of unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (see table 1). We previously reported that children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras often leave their home country due to crime, violence, and lack of economic opportunity, among other reasons. In particular, the decision to migrate to the United States is also influenced by a desire for family reunification, educational opportunities, perception of U.S. immigration policy, and the role of smuggling networks that encourage migration. Historically, most unaccompanied children have been adolescents 14 to 17 years of age, with males representing a higher percentage of the children; however, the population is diverse and includes children of all ages, as well as pregnant and parenting teens. Under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act), except in the case of exceptional circumstances, 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. 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. 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 children are considered unaccompanied. The children remain in the custody of the federal government throughout their stay in ORR care, but are in the physical custody of ORR residential care providers (see fig. 1). ORR solicits residential care providers, referred to as grantees in this report, through funding opportunity announcements, and funds these grantees through 3-year cooperative agreements. When making funding decisions, ORR evaluates applications against a set of established criteria. The grantees are private nonprofit and for-profit organizations and must be licensed by a state licensing agency to provide residential, group, or foster care services for dependent children, for example, in a shelter setting. The aim of shelter care is to provide the least restrictive environment commensurate with the safety, emotional, and physical needs of the child. In keeping with the 1997 Flores v. Reno Settlement Agreement (Flores Agreement), which articulates a number of broad principles and policies applicable to the detention of unaccompanied children, grantees are required to provide proper physical care and shelter for children that ORR has interpreted to include suitable living accommodations (e.g., bed, chair, desk, storage for clothing and other personal items), culturally appropriate meals and snacks, several sets of new clothing, and personal grooming items. The facilities where children are housed are required by ORR to have designated common areas, including space for education, recreation, and case management as well as space to hold confidential services, such as health services and counseling. The primary settings in which children receive care include: Shelters. These residential facilities are operated by state-licensed ORR grantees aiming to provide the least restrictive shelter environment based on the safety, emotional, and physical needs of the child. The majority of children going through ORR are placed in shelter care. Foster care. Transitional foster care is short term care that is designed for children under the age of 13, sibling groups with one sibling under the age of 13, pregnant and parenting teens, and children with special needs. Long-term foster care is designed for children who ORR expects to be eligible for immigration relief and who are expected to have an extended stay within the ORR system, for example trafficking victims or orphaned children. Therapeutic foster care is for unaccompanied children whose exceptional needs cannot be met in regular family foster care homes and consists of intensive supportive and clinical services in the homes of specially trained foster parents. Foster family homes must be licensed according to their state’s licensing regulations. Foster care placements are the least restrictive placement option in the ORR continuum. Staff-secure shelters. These facilities maintain a heightened level of security measures within a licensed shelter care context. The population is primarily made up of children with an offender history, but does not typically include children with serious offenses, a violent or assaulting history, or serious sex offenders. Service provision is to be tailored to address the individual needs and underlying behavior and reasons for such a placement. Secure shelters. These are ORR’s most restrictive residential settings. These facilities are designed for a child who requires very close supervision and may need the additional internal controls and physical structure of a secure facility. This secure population is primarily made up of children with a serious offender history; children who are serious escape risks; children who have attempted to escape or escaped from a staff-secure care provider; or children who have been severely disruptive in a staff-secure setting. A secure facility may be a licensed juvenile detention center or a highly structured therapeutic facility. Residential treatment centers. These facilities are considered therapeutic placements for children diagnosed with a mental health disorder by a psychiatrist or psychologist. These centers provide services in a highly structured clinical program and have the ability to provide services to children with various diagnoses, such as bipolar, depressive, and conduct disorders. Group home. A group home specializes in caring for specific populations (e.g., teen mothers). A group home is run by 24-hour staff or house parent and typically houses 4 to 12 unaccompanied children. Extended care group homes are for children who may be in ORR custody for an extended period. In addition to caring for the children, ORR’s grantees assess the suitability of potential sponsors—generally parents or other relatives in the country who can care for the child after they leave ORR custody. This assessment includes background checks, and in some cases, conducting home studies when there are questions about the ability of the sponsors to meet the needs of a child and provide a safe environment. In cases in which a child is considered to have mental health or other needs that could benefit from ongoing assistance from a social welfare agency, ORR may arrange for post-release services. Additionally, in cases in which a favorable home study was conducted, post-release services are automatically provided. Post-release service providers refer sponsors and children to community resources, such as legal, psycho-social, or educational services. Children released to sponsors may attend public schools and use other services they are eligible for, such as health care provided by state or local agencies or nonprofit organizations in the communities in which they reside. Release to a sponsor does not grant legal immigration status to these children. Children are scheduled for removal proceedings in EOIR immigration courts to determine whether they will be ordered to be removed from the United States or granted immigration relief. ORR requires sponsors to ensure that children attend their removal proceedings. Immigration judges, who are located in courts around the country, hear children’s cases and make determinations regarding whether they should be ordered removed from the United States or granted legal immigration status. Children who wish to apply for asylum or Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status do so through DHS’s USCIS. USCIS has initial jurisdiction over all asylum applications filed by unaccompanied children, including those in removal proceedings. If USCIS does not grant asylum, an immigration judge considers the asylum claim anew. When applicable, ICE is responsible for the removal and repatriation of children. 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. From fiscal years 2003 through 2011, ORR cared for less than 10,000 unaccompanied children per year (see fig. 2). Beginning in fiscal year 2012, the number of unaccompanied children apprehended at the southwest border by DHS and transferred to ORR custody rose to unprecedented levels, and peaked in fiscal year 2014 at nearly 57,500. The vast majority (95 percent) of the children in ORR’s care from January 2014 through April 2015 were from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador according to our analysis of ORR data (see table 2). As noted earlier, some children from contiguous countries such as Mexico who meet certain conditions are also referred to ORR. Over half of the children were 16 or 17 years old; the remainder were 15 and younger. Examples of Experiences of Unaccompanied Children Reasons for Migration: Children in ORR care reported a variety of reasons for traveling to the United States. Several children reported a desire to reunite with a parent or relative in the United States and pursue better education opportunities. One child reported being threatened by a gang member who wanted to date her, while others were being pressured to join local gangs. Another child described leaving his biological parents and siblings to find work in the United States in order to send money home to provide for his family. The Journey: Children described diverse experiences during their journeys to the United States. A number of children or their relatives paid professional smugglers or “coyotes” to facilitate their journey to the United States. One child described a journey that took a month traveling by buses, a plane, several stays in a house with other migrants and finally a boat crossing into the United States. Another child reported that it took nearly 45 days to make it to the border by bus. Some children traveled with other relatives. One child described traveling for 10 days with a cousin, taking a combination of cars, buses, taxis, walking, and swimming across the Rio Grande together. In some cases children faced troubling circumstances during their journey. One girl describes being physically assaulted by Mexican border officials who took money and belongings from migrants traveling from countries outside of Mexico.