November 29, 2018
November Issue
Responding to the Border Crisis

International Social Service, USA (ISS-USA) was invited to attend a meeting organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross in El Salvador entitled, Responses throughout the Northern Triangle: Coordination of Legal, Psychosocial and Reintegration Strategies in Response to Zero Tolerance . The meeting, which took place from November 8-9 in San Salvador, El Salvador, brought together legal and social service providers from the Northern Triangle and the U.S. to exchange information and resources in support of parents and children separated at the U.S. border.

The goals of the event were to identify current and long term reintegration needs for families, map services for separated and reunifying families, and connect a network of social service providers in the region. Participants learned about resources available through different organizations and ways to refer families to existing services or supports. 

ISS-USA recently published the Spanish language version of the Practical Guide for Children on the Move , and is launching a pilot program in Guatemala to fund pre-departure and post-return services for children reunifying with their families after forced separation at the border. 
ISS-USA was chosen to present the workshop, Best Practices in Cross-Border Custody Planning: Promoting The Best Interest of the Child , at the AFCC 56th Annual Conference , The Future of Family Justice: International Innovations . The conference will take place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Westin Harbour Castle on May 29-June 1, 2019. We hope to see you there for our workshop!
Staff Volunteers on Giving Tuesday
On Giving Tuesday - November 27, 2018 - teams of staff members from ISS-USA volunteered at two different nonprofit organizations in their hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. The first team volunteered at PACT - Kennedy Krieger Institute and the second at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School .
Casework Corner: A Safe Home for Ten Unaccompanied Children

Ten unaccompanied U.S. Citizen minor siblings from the Brown* family were removed from their father's care in Germany* after police received reports that they were living in an unattended van parked at a grocery store. The children were taken into protective custody and placed in foster care pending repatriation to the U.S.

ISS-USA contacted Wisconsin*, the state in which the children were born, to ask for assistance with the children’s repatriation and placement with Child Protective Services (CPS).

After numerous conference calls with multiple agencies overseas and in the U.S., the ten minor siblings were finally repatriated to Wisconsin, accompanied by their German foster parents and social workers. They were met by CPS social workers. They were all placed in the same foster home under the supervision of the CPS, and their new foster parents are now hoping to legally adopt them.

You can help more children like the Browns find a loving family by  supporting ISS-USA .
*names and locations have been changed for privacy reasons

November Blog
November is National Adoption Month . Learn about a case in which we reunited two cross-border brothers on our most recent blog .
Thank you to our donors for your generosity on  #GivingTuesday ! We are overwhelmed by your support. We are a little less than halfway to our end-of-year goal of $5000.00 to provide social services to separated cross-border families . Please help us get there. Donate here today .
AmazonSmile Holiday Donations
Will you be shopping on Amazon this holiday season? Get deals and give back to vulnerable cross-border families when you shop at http://smile.amazon.com/ch/13-2720500  and AmazonSmile will donate to ISS-USA .
Looking for an Exciting New Position?

International Social Service-USA is hiring independent social work consultants! Check out our  careers page  for information.