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Draft proposals on the care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and trafficked children are a welcome step but could go further, argues Rachel Hutchings, researcher at Coram Children's Legal Centre

This article summarizes the situation of unaccompanied child (UAC) refugees in Greece in 2017/2018. It notes the number and characteristics of these children, the challenging situation in responding to their needs in a country where many native children are living in poverty and deprivation following the EU austerity measures. This article also outlines the legal obligations and EU directives for looking after UACs. Finally, it summarizes the challenges for social workers on the ground of responding to the rights of the incoming UACs. Selected examples are presented with reference to the priorities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

ABSTRACTIn England, social services departments have a duty to provide care and protection to unaccompanied asylum seeking children from the point they arrive in the country. In recent years, research studies have identified a number of practice and policy issues of concern regarding the social services response to unaccompanied children. This paper focuses on three broad issues that emerge from the literature. The paper explores research concerns associated with (i) the referral and assessment process, (ii) the use of the child welfare legislative framework, and (iii) a number of issues arising from the provision of placements and other support offered to unaccompanied children. The findings of the research reviewed demonstrate that there are indeed clear grounds for concern. However, this paper argues that the evidence base is relatively weak and that as a result we know very little about the nature and context of the social work response to this group of children and young people.

This article seeks to fill the research gap on the psychosocial and integration needs of unaccompanied children and the challenges they encounter to reach autonomy and social integration. To address this issue, the study utilized a qualitative research survey interviewing 18 field professionals, which indicated that the key challenges include insufficient preparation, institutionalization, uncertainty about the future, asylum procedures, and social exclusion, while proposing the implementation of an integration plan focusing on education, vocational training, and contact with the local community. This article aims to offer a better understanding of children's needs and how practitioners could protect children more effectively.

Unaccompanied children are a growing and vulnerable population of immigrants who are arriving to the United States in increasing numbers, mostly from Central American countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This study examines sociodemographic factors associated with unaccompanied children requiring family stabilization services as their primary need upon arrival to the United States. The sample includes children who received post-release services from nonprofits throughout the United States ( n = 851). Logistic regression analyses reveal that children from Honduras ( p < .05) and children who are placed with their fathers, compared with other sponsor types such as mothers or siblings ( p < .001), have greater odds of requiring family stabilization services as their primary need. In addition, older children have lower odds of requiring family stabilization services as their primary need ( p < .001). The study includes implications for practice and future research.

Introduction : unaccompanied minor migrants in Europe : between compassion and repression / Barbara Gornik, Mateja Sedmak and Birgit Sauer -- At the crossroads of power relations : the Covention of the Rights of the Child and unaccompanied minor migrants / Barbara Gornik -- The best interests of unaccompanied and separated children : a normative framework based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child / Jyothi Kanics -- Methodology for the assessment of the best interests of the child for recently arrived unaccompanied refugee minors / Carla Van Os, Elianne Zijlstra, Erik J. Knorth, Wendy Post and Margrite Kalverboer -- Asylum experiences in Austria from the perspective of unaccompanied minors : best interests of the child in rception procedures and everyday life / Ayșe Dursun and Birgit Sauer -- 'Not our children' : unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Slovenia / Mateja Sedmak, Blaž Lenarčič̌, Zorana Medarić and Tjaš Žakelj -- Coping strategies of unaccompanied minors lacking protection within te French context : the key role of political and civil society mobilisation / Corentin Bailleul -- Surely not! Procedurally lawful age assessments in the UK / Marie-Bénédocte Dembour

MIGRATION OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN FROM CENTRAL AMERICA CAUSES, ASSISTANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS -- MIGRATION OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN FROM CENTRAL AMERICA CAUSES, ASSISTANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS -- Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- Chapter 1: CENTRAL AMERICA: IMPROVED EVALUATION EFFORTS COULD ENHANCE AGENCY PROGRAMS TO REDUCE UNACCOMPANIED CHILD MIGRATION -- WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY -- WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS -- WHAT GAO FOUND -- ABBREVIATIONS -- BACKGROUND -- AGENCIES SEEK TO ADDRESS CAUSES OF UAC MIGRATION WITH RECENTLY DEVELOPED AND LONG-STANDING EFFORTS

Abstract
Unaccompanied children seeking international protection often find themselves with forms of discretionary, time-limited, or otherwise uncertain legal status in countries outside their own. This may be due to the available options for legal status or to long delays in determination of protection claims, among other factors. While the legal and policy reasons for this vary, of particular concern is the imposition of such uncertainty to discourage children from persisting with protection claims, to deter others from arriving, to delay status resolution until adulthood, or to facilitate removal. Children possessing a legal status that is insecure or uncertain may be described as being in 'legal limbo'. This article explores this issue and examines the often deleterious consequences of limbo for unaccompanied children. Through an analysis and comparison of Australia and the United Kingdom, it explains 'legal limbo' as a function of States' desire to deter, control, and punish irregular migration. This article argues that an approach based on rights, as opposed to migration control, must guide the availability of secure legal status to unaccompanied children. To this end, it articulates the basis of an obligation to provide these children such status, drawing on their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and on the commentary of treaty bodies. The article concludes by calling for better pathways to permanent stay for unaccompanied children.