5.10 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

AMENDMENT

This chapter was slightly updated in March 2012 in regard to the change from National Asylum Support Services to UK Border Agency Support.

Introduction
Definitions
Associated Documentation
The Point of Entry
Assessment
Placement
Health
Education
Employment
Legal Process
Support
Giving/Receiving Information

1. Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to provide information, advice and guidance to social workers and other professionals working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people (UASC) who are Looked After in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

It is not intended that this guide should replicate other national or local practice guidance relating to children in need and Looked After children and young people. UASC are first and foremost children, have the same needs as children everywhere, and are entitled to the services provided for all looked after children.

In writing this guide, however, we recognise that UASC do encounter particular difficulties relating to their specific circumstances and it is the intention of this guide to explore and provide guidance on a range of issues that have been identified.

2. Definitions

The United Nations Geneva Convention of 1951 has defined a refugee as:

‘any person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable, or owing to such fear is unwilling to avail himself to the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his habitual residence, is unable, or owing to such fear unwilling to return to it,’

(Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951, Geneva Convention, Article 1A.)

The term ‘asylum-seeker’ is used to describe a person who has lodged a claim for asylum as a refugee and is awaiting a decision. This clearly differs from the definition of an economic migrant as ‘someone who has left their homeland to find work and, hopefully, a better standard of living’ in another country. (SSI Unaccompanied Children Training Pack, 1995).

An unaccompanied child is a person who is under the legal age of majority (18 in the UK) and is not accompanied by a parent, guardian, or other adult who, by law or custom, is responsible for him or her (Department of Health, Social Services Inspectorate, 1995).

Article 20 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that:

‘A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the state.’
(United Nations, 1989)

‘Food, Shelter and Half a Chance’ (BAAF 2001) advised that ‘the following are some of the most common reasons why children seek asylum:

Forced recruitment into military service;
The death of parents or parents’ inability to care for their children (as a result of conflict in the region);
Forced re-education;
Prohibition from participating, or being forced to participate, in religious activities;
Being forced to give information about the activities of a group or members of their family;
Pressures to denounce family members;
Involvement/non-involvement in political groups.’

3. Associated Documentation

Unaccompanied Asylum – Seeking Children, A Practice Guide.

SSI/DoH 1995

A detailed practice guide which expands on some of the areas covered below and provides some useful background information;
Food, Shelter and Half a Chance, Assessing the needs of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children.

Selam Kidane, BAAF 2001.

An update on the SSI/DoH practice guide at 3.1. Less detailed but encompasses recent developments and changes;
Asylum-Seekers and Refugees, Policy and Practice Guidance.

Kent County Council 2001

A practice guide from a local authority with extensive experience in working with asylum seekers and refugees;
Refugee Council Information Service, The information survival kit for public and voluntary sector employees.

Children's Social Care subscribe to this information folder which is regularly updated with changes in policy and procedure.

Sections include:

Claiming asylum;
Asylum seekers’ support;
Health;
Education to age 16;
Training, education and employment;
After the decision.

The publications described above are available for reference at the Children Looked After Team together with a range of other relevant material relating to work with asylum seekers and refugees.

4. The Point of Entry

UASC may present in person at a local authority office or may be referred by an individual or agency assisting them following their arrival in this country. The Refugee Council operates a rota system set up by the ALG for UASC who present at the Refugee Council offices in Croydon and Brixton and who have no prior connection with any London Borough. UASC to whom the rota applies are allocated equally and in order across all London Boroughs, so that any referral via this system should be accepted and assessed.

UASC presenting as 15 years or younger will be assessed by the Initial Response Team and will become Looked After provided that:

They have proof of their asylum seeking status.
- The Standard Acknowledgement Letter (SAL 1 or SAL 2);
- IS96 form (proof of temporary admission);
- GEN 32 form (proof of temporary admission pending confirmation of identity);
- Smart Card (introduced 31.01.02 to replace SAL and the size of a credit card);
- Letter from the Home Office confirming asylum application.
They have no family or other supportive adults with whom they can live;
They do not have an established connection with another local authority.

Young people presenting as 16 or 17 years will be assessed under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 by the LBRUT Asylum Team and will be provided with accommodation, maintenance payments and ongoing support by this team, except in circumstances where:

It is believed that the young person may be younger than the presenting age, when the Asylum Team will contact the Initial Response Team to request a joint assessment;
There are concerns about the young person’s behaviour, presentation or vulnerability, when the Asylum Team will contact the Initial Response Team to request a joint assessment.

The outcome of a joint assessment may be:

That the Asylum Team provides a service to the young person under S.17 CA 1989;
That the Asylum Team and the Initial Response Team jointly provide a service to the young person under S.17 CA 1989;
That the Initial Response Team provides a service to the young person under S.20 CA 1989;
That appropriate referrals are made to other agencies.

Where it is believed that the young person is older than the presenting age and over 18 years there is provision for local authorities not to offer services under the Children Act 1989 and to refer the individual to the UK Border Agency Support which provides services to adult asylum seekers.

In practice, such judgements can be problematic and contentious, and should therefore only be considered where it is strongly believed that the young person is 21 years or over, and should be subject to the agreement of the Principal Social Work Manager.

There is no right of appeal for the individual in these circumstances unless the individual is able to subsequently supply documentary proof of age.

5. Assessment

As for all young people, assessments will follow the guidelines set out in local policies and procedures, taking account of the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families and the Children Act 1989. Other considerations will need to apply in order to ensure that any additional needs of UASC are met.

Initial assessments should not seek to elicit a potentially uncomfortable amount of detail about the young person’s circumstances. Asylum seekers may have experienced considerable trauma in their home country, have experienced a difficult journey en route and may be unfamiliar with and suspicious of the circumstances they will find themselves in.

Many UASC may have experienced difficulty with officials requesting information and some will be unfamiliar with giving detailed information and may choose to withhold information, being fearful of the consequences.

Assessments should therefore proceed carefully and be paced in order to take account of complex and sensitive issues and the potentially painful history of departure from the home country and arrival in the UK.

Where a referral agency is involved, as much information as possible should be gleaned from this source in order to avoid duplication during the initial interview with the young person.

Particular attention will need to be paid to the young person’s account of the circumstances which led to them leaving their home country and of travel to, and arrival in, the UK in order to begin to make an assessment of the emotional and mental health needs of the young person.

Initial assessments should always take place with an interpreter except in circumstances where it is clear that the young person has a sophisticated use of and understanding of English or where the social worker is fluent in the young person’s first language.

Social workers should seek to establish the first language of a young person rather than making an assumption based on the country of origin and should also seek to establish whether there may be issues arising from the ethnic/religious/cultural/political group to which the interpreter belongs.

The interpreter should be briefed prior to the interview as to its content and purpose and intended outcomes e.g. to determine a suitable placement.

Where possible, interpreters employed by or used regularly by Children's Social Care should be used in order to maximise the potential for a clear understanding of the issues involved.

The social worker will, at the outset, need to be clear about his/her role and that of the department and establish that s/he is not immigration official.

It will be desirable to have information available translated into the young person’s first language. The social worker should, prior to the interview, contact the Leaving Care Service/Children Looked After Team to determine what translated material is immediately available.

The Refugee Council booklet ‘Information for Asylum Seekers’ can be downloaded at Refugee Council Website and contains some useful information translated into a number of languages, but is intended for adult readers.

There will be issues concerning the young person’s asylum application that will need to be addressed at an early stage. It will be important to ensure that the young person has access to legal representation, that the solicitor is made aware of the department’s involvement and of the contact details for the young person and that both parties are aware of the need to complete and return the Statement of Evidence form (SEF) within 14 days of the application for asylum.

Immediate support issues should be addressed. The young person may have family members or friends living in the UK who can provide support but not accommodation or may have travelled with other asylum seekers with whom s/he would wish to maintain contact.

Completed paperwork should include the additional front of file sheet for asylum seekers which has been designed to capture important information (available form the Leaving Care Service/Children Looked After Team).

Assessment will, as with all children, be a continuous and ongoing process. It may be, however, that UASC will be reluctant to share personal information until they feel able to trust the social worker or carer and are confident that information will not be used to their, or their family’s, detriment.

It will be difficult to assess the parenting of UASC when parents are not available, but with sensitivity it may be possible to explore the young person’s parenting experience and the existence/role of other supportive adults over time.

UASC will, whatever their circumstances, have experienced a number of losses – parents, extended family, peers, home, culture and way of life. It will be important to assess the impact of these losses and to be aware of the variety of ways in which young people might react and present in these circumstances.

During the course of ongoing assessment, it will be necessary to determine with the young person whether s/he wishes for efforts to be made to trace his/her family. If this is the case, the Red Cross Tracing Form should be completed. In doing so, the social worker should clarify whether or not there could be any repercussions for the young person’s family by initiating this process.

In assessing young people’s ability to live independently, social workers may need to balance skills which are well developed as a result of the need to have been resilient in the face of adversity against gaps in skills and knowledge which may not be immediately self evident but which are the result of a lack of nurturing and/or disruption which has resulted in the young person leaving the home country.

‘Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children – A Practice Guide’ (DH 1995) suggests that ‘all case assessment, review and planning processes will necessarily include at least the following:

Personal and family history;
Exile history and its effects;
Contact with family, friends and community;
Legal and immigration status;
Education/employment history and plans;
Health, physical and emotional;
Language, religion and diet;
Placement plans;
Physical resources (i.e. clothes etc.);
Leaving care plans, where appropriate;
Support for carers.’

Initial assessments will need to include an assessment of the young person’s personal belongings and an identification of items needed immediately e.g. clothes, toiletries etc.

6. Placement

A careful evaluation of the young person’s needs and wishes will need to be undertaken in order to identify a suitable placement. Most UASC will be aged under 16 years when they become Looked After and it is envisaged that a family placement or community home will be the most common types of placement.

In considering the relative merits of these placements, it will be necessary to consider and take into account the young person’s wishes and experiences which may, for example, lead the social worker to conclude that the potential intimacy and isolation of a family placement might not meet the young person’s needs, or alternatively that a community home may be too obtrusive an environment for a young person needing to recover from his/her experiences. However, in line with current Children's Social Care policy, a residential placement should only be considered if it is not possible to meet the young person’s needs in a family placement, or if there is no suitable family placement available.

A full and considered assessment may not be possible at the initial meeting with the young person, yet it is likely that a placement will need to be identified.

It may be necessary, therefore, to place the young person temporarily pending further assessment and identification of a suitable placement.

The young person and carers should be made aware of this, and further assessment undertaken at the earliest opportunity.

Where the young person has family, friends or peer support in the UK, every effort should be made to place the young person within easy travelling distance of that support and to provide the means to maintain that support.

Where the young person has travelled to the UK with peers with whom s/he wishes to maintain contact, the above should apply. This may involve liaison with the Asylum Team where the young person has travelled with other young people aged 16/17 yrs.

Bed and breakfast accommodation should not be used except in circumstances where the young person has requested to be placed in such accommodation with an identified adult family member.

Where this is the case, the decision should be agreed and recorded by a social work manager and a suitable placement sought for both individuals at the earliest opportunity. Liaison with the Asylum Team or with another local authority may be required in respect of the adult family member.

The temporary nature of the accommodation should be recorded in the LAC materials and the Principal Social Work Manager notified if the young person is still placed in the accommodation after four weeks.

This practice should also apply where bed and breakfast accommodation is used for UASC aged 16 and 17 years where suitable placements have not been immediately available.

In addition to the usual briefing, foster carers and residential workers will need to be carefully and accurately briefed about the young person’s cultural, religious language, and ethnic needs and about the situation/their experience in the home country and during the journey to the UK. Any particular dietary needs will need to be identified and discussed with carers.

The young person should, at the point of placement, be given the name and contact number of a social worker who s/he can contact and, where the placement is made by a duty social worker, a social worker should be allocated without undue delay.

The young person should also be provided with the out of hours service details.

The expectations and rules of the placement should be carefully explained to the young person, together with any financial arrangements that will apply. It should be borne in mind that the young person’s primary needs are likely to be for food and shelter, a bath, clean clothes and caring adults. The physical appearance of the placement, its location and who lives there should be explained to the young person before s/he is taken to the placement.

An orientation with the local area will need to be organised to include relevant points of contact with the young person’s community, support agencies and religion.

A referral should be made, with the young person’s agreement, to the Refugee Council Panel of Advisors. The panel works directly with vulnerable children, and aims to allocate advisers to those most in need. Less vulnerable UASC are sent a letter explaining their rights and advising what help is available from the panel and other agencies.

Subsequent planning meetings will need to be carefully explained to young people, including the purpose of meetings and their role in them.

7. Health

The unavailability of reliable information may limit the comprehensive completion of the Essential Information Records, but every effort should be made to complete records as fully as possible, paying particular attention to past illnesses, injuries, allergies and family health history.

Registration with a GP and the LAC medical assessment should be arranged at the earliest opportunity, and an interpreter arranged when relevant.

Particular attention should be paid to the young person’s experiences in the home country, illnesses prevalent there and immunisations. Advice on immunisations for minority ethnic groups recently arrived in the UK can be obtained from the District Immunisation Coordinator at the Kingston and Richmond Primary Care Trust. Where young people travel abroad, social workers should identify any need for further immunisations.

The young person’s eligibility to register with a GP should be clarified in advance with the surgery in order to avoid potentially difficult and intrusive discussion, and issues of confidentiality clarified with the young person.

Social workers experiencing difficulties in locating a GP with vacancies should contact the Allocations Officer in the relevant Primary Care Trust. The entitlement for asylum seekers to register with a GP and access health services is covered in the ‘Health’ section of the Refugee Council’s Information Service folder, located at 91 Queens Road.

The leaflet ‘Registering with a doctor – why bother?’ is available in Albanian translation from the Leaving Care Service.

The use of counselling and CAMHS may need to be considered in circumstances where experiences in the home country, in transit and in the UK have led to emotional and mental health difficulties. Experience has tended to show that asylum seekers can demonstrate a resilience and capacity to cope that often belies their experiences and can mask underlying difficulties that may emerge at a later time. Apparent confidence and maturity can cover fear and inability to cope well. Emotional stain and depression is sometimes manifested in extreme exhaustion and can be misinterpreted as laziness.

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture is based in London and provides medical treatment, practical assistance and therapeutic support for survivors of torture in the UK in addition to providing advice and information to practitioners.

Accurate recording will be important in describing behaviours which may indicate trauma.

Social workers should endeavour to familiarise themselves with cultural norms which might influence behaviour, emotional displays and reactions to loss and grief in order to avoid any potential for misinterpretation.

Particular attention should be paid to ensuring the young person receives advice on sexual health and relationships and to ensuring that this is undertaken in a culturally sensitive manner.

8. Education

Education provision is of primary importance for UASC. In order to access education, training and employment opportunities, UASC will rely on good quality ESOL provision, whether this is provided in schools or colleges. Education will be a significant vehicle to social inclusion and may serve to counteract the disadvantages which may be encountered as a direct result of their ethnicity and status as asylum seekers and Looked After children.

Young people will need to be made aware of educational requirements and opportunities in the UK as the structure may differ substantially from that in their home country, where, for example, there may be no legal requirement for full time education to 16 yrs.

A school or college placement should be identified as soon as possible. It may prove difficult to integrate a young person aged 15 years and over into Year 11 provision and in these circumstances college provision may better meet the young person’s needs if it is able to provide a sufficient level of ESOL provision combined with a core programme of courses relevant to ability and understanding of English. However, college provision will not be available until the young person reaches 16 years (and may then be limited) so it will be important to ensure, as far as possible, that 15 year olds are allocated mainstream school places.

In considering education provision, it will be important to ensure that language support is in place and that an assessment of the young person’s previous educational experiences and current abilities is made. The young person’s wishes should be taken into account in identifying provision where the young person is 15/16 yrs. The school’s EAL co-ordinator and, where appropriate, an interpreter should attend the initial admissions interview in order to begin the process of identifying the young person’s educational needs.

EMTAS (the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service) in Richmond provides an assessment and support service for all children and young people of statutory school age for whom English is an additional language.

This assessment will assign a language stage to the pupil and will, where appropriate, assess the pupil’s literacy in his/her mother tongue.

Following assessment, EMTAS may provide direct support to pupils in school or may advise school staff on appropriate strategies.

The service will also advise schools on broader issues concerning asylum seekers and will advise on the desirability of college based ESOL provision to supplement in school language support and curriculum based activities.

This assessment service should be used for all UASC who are of school age and the assessment and recommendations incorporated into the pupil’s Personal Education Plan (PEP) for looked after children. It will be invaluable in enabling the young person’s access to the school curriculum and in maximising the young person’s achievement.

EMTAS is based at the Curriculum and Teachers’ Centre, Clifden Road, Twickenham.

Induction to schools and colleges should be undertaken sensitively, preparing the class for the arrival of the young person and preparing the young person for the routine of the school and the content of the curriculum. Support networks should be clearly identified and explained, and the young person prepared for the possibilities of racism and bullying. Teachers and other school personnel should be made aware of the young person’s circumstances and have clear contact instructions for carers and social work support. Contact should be maintained with the English as an Additional language (EAL) co-ordinator in schools.

Schools should be encouraged to enable literate children and young people to use their mother tongue in school, for example in note taking, completion of tasks and discussion of tasks set with one another. This will assist UASC to maintain their own identity and language at the same time as learning written and spoken English.

Education plans should be made with the assumption that the young person will gain refugee status.

9. Employment

Young people are able to apply for a permit to work six months after they have made an application for asylum, regardless of immigration status. This must be made in person at the Home Office, and all young people should be assisted to do so where it is their wish.

Further information on employment and benefit rights can be found in the Refugee Council’s Information Service located at 91 Queens Road.

Liaison should be maintained with the Careers and Connexions Services in order to consider employment and training options. Consideration might be given to the transferability of skills to the young person’s home country where there is a possibility the young person may be returned home at a later date.

10. Legal Process

Social workers should maintain regular liaison with the young person’s legal representative throughout the process of the asylum application and ensure that interpreting is available where appropriate for all legal appointments.

Young people should be accompanied to Home Office interviews, appeal hearings and reporting stations by a familiar adult. These appointments can be particularly anxiety provoking for asylum seekers.

Social workers should ensure that young people understand the legal advice given to them and are aware of their rights and the liberties and restrictions that apply at difference stages of the legal process, with particular reference to education, employment, benefits, health, entitlements, housing and travel outside the UK.

Information, regularly updated, on these areas can be found in the Refugee Council’s Information Service located at 91 Queens Road.

Information regarding the legal process should be entered and updated on the front of file sheet for asylum seekers. Copes of any relevant documentation relating to the legal process should be kept on the young person’s file, in particular the Standard Acknowledgement Letter (or equivalent document or card) and letters advising on decisions relating to the asylum application.

Where Legal Advice and Assistance (previously Legal Aid) is refused, the local authority is not able to fund legal representation. In these circumstances, the young person may wish to contact the Refugee Council for advice on possible sources of assistance.

Young people who receive a refusal of their asylum application but are granted Exceptional Leave to Remain to their 18th birthday should be encouraged to seek advice from their legal representative.

11. Support

It will be of immeasurable importance for UASC to maintain contact with their own community in order to maintain their cultural identity and draw on the support that can be gained from such contact. The needs of the young person will be equally to maintain his/her own cultural integrity and language and to learn to integrate into and operate effectively in the UK.

This can be achieved in a number of ways through direct contact with family, other supportive adults and peers and contact should always be supported unless it is unsafe or clearly not in the young person’s interests.

Best use should be made of local and national support groups and agencies, some of whom will offer activity based involvement, others will offer information and advice. Details of local and national organisations can be obtained from the Leaving Care Service.

Young people who are not able to call on supportive adults from their own community should be considered for the allocation of an independent visitor, who will ideally be from their community.

Translated materials should be made available wherever possible and appropriate. The Leaving Care Service have a range of material translated into Albanian. Newspapers and articles will be helpful in informing young people about events in their home country and the Home Office website provides some outline information about a range of countries, useful for professionals and carers.

Advice and information about local facilities to practice religious observance should be sought and made available to young people.

The local authority complaints procedure should be explained carefully to young people and be presented in a positive way. Cultural attitudes to complaining vary widely and it will be positive for young people to hear that making comments about services provided will be helpful.

Support in coping with bullying and racism may be of particular importance to this group of young people who may have experienced physical aggression en route to and in the UK. The Ethnic Minorities Action Group, based in Richmond will assist individuals who are the subjects of racism.

Young people may need support in being assertive and solving problems in a culture which may differ greatly from their own in the challenges and norms it presents.

12. Giving/Receiving Information

The provision of advice and information to UASC will be of particular importance given that many of these young people will be unfamiliar with the norms and structures of UK society. Advice and information will be provided verbally and through published materials and it will be important to ensure that communications contain sufficient detail and explanation for the young person to understand, for example, the purpose and role of organisations and individuals involved in their lives and of the processes they will be involved in.

Many UASC will have no cultural models for understanding the structure and purpose of Education and Children's Services, foster care, residential establishments etc. and health and education provision may differ significantly from that available in the young person’s home country.

A range of materials and an information pack for UASC translated into Albanian is available from the Leaving Care Service. Where material is required for languages other than Albanian, arrangements should be made to translate key documents.

Interpreters should be used for all meetings where the young person does not have a sophisticated use of English. Discretion will need to be applied where the young person’s understanding of English is developing, but particularly careful consideration should be given to engaging interpreters at review and planning meetings, medicals etc. The Language Line telephone interpreting service should be used in circumstances where an interpreter is not available. This service provides interpreting in a range of languages and is subscribed to annually by SCF.

Priority should be given to using the interpreting service provided by Children's Social Care (based at 91 Queens Road) and, when not available, to using interpreters used regularly by SCF.

Advice on immigration matters should not be provided by social workers. Part V of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 requires that individuals and organisations apply to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) in order to do so. Social workers may, however, provide basic information on which individuals may act and signpost individuals to appropriate services e.g. solicitors, advice providing organisations. Applications for immigration related matters should not be made on behalf of young people.

Further guidance on this area will be issued in due course.

Information about social, linguistic, cultural and religious organisations and groups will be of particular importance to UASC in order to maintain social, cultural and religious identity.

Sensitivity will need to be maintained in requesting information from UASC. Young people will wish to protect their own and their family’s security and information about how information given is recorded and shared may be of particular importance.

Translated materials (review records, correspondence etc.) should be filed alongside the English language version on the young person’s file.

End