USCCB FR Meeting to Discuss HSPRS Changes

USCCB FR Meeting to discuss ORR HSPRS Changes is scheduled for:

Thursday, February 2nd

2 -3:30 PM EST

Use this LINK to access the call via Zoom on the indicated day/time.

Meeting ID: 226 039 8849 

Passcode: 432369 

USCCB Closings:

Monday, February 20th

Presidents Day

ORR Program Updates

• For a complete list of ORR policies and procedures, click here.
• Here is the latest UAC program assignment list. Please use this updated list to find the Federal Field Specialist (FFS) when submitting home study reports.
• ORR Project Officer (PO) is Andrea Francis (andrea.francis@acf.hhs.gov). The PO is to be copied on certain NOC submissions (i.e., media attention, death of a UC, and/or trafficking concerns)

USCCB/MRS Program Updates

USCCB Staff:

As reported in the November newsletter, with the promotion of John Abraham and resignation of Nikeita Lawrence, Family Reunification has two vacancies for Children’s Services Specialists. Additionally, with the approved budget USCCB Family Reunification will be hiring two Program Specialists to assist with the increased workload related to the expansion. We are actively recruiting and hopeful to fill these positions soon. In the meantime, please see program assignments below:

Kailey Cano

• Catholic Charites of Atlanta
• Catholic Charities of San Diego
• Catholic Charities of Nashville
• Bethany Christian Services of Florida
• Catholic Charities of Boston
• Catholic Charities of Arlington

Simy Cuervo

• Catholic Charities of Trenton
• Catholic Charities of Houston
• Catholic Charities of Los Angeles
• International Christian Adoptions, Inc.
• At Promise Youth Solutions

McKenna Heap-Garner

• Catholic Charities of Ohio
• Catholic Charities of New York
• Catholic Charities of Newark
• Bethany Christian Services of Maryland
• Catholic Charities of San Antonio
• Catholic Charities of Baltimore

We’re excited to announce that we have filled both of the Children’s Services Specialists vacancies and they are scheduled to start on February 21^st. The program assignment indicated above will remain in effect while they onboard and become familiar with the Safe Passages program. Your currently assigned program CSS will inform you when you the transition and re-assignment will occur.

*With the continued transition, CSS shortage, and increased caseloads, we sincerely appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding. For matters that require immediate attention, please include "URGENT" in the email subject line.

FY22 Training Tracker:

If you have not done so yet, please submit FY22 Training Trackers for all staff to your assigned CSS ASAP. January 20th was the previous due date.

MRIS Updates:

We are actively working on adjusting MRIS to reflect the new FY23 Level System inputted by ORR. However, in the meantime, please indicate the level of the case in the PRS reports.

Training

As a reminder, all *new* staff are required to complete 40 hours of pre-training prior to case assignment.

Mandatory Training:

• Pre-recorded** UAC Portal Trainings - Below are the updated links:  
• Cybersecurity Training
• Privacy 101 Training
• Rules of Behavior
• Pre-recorded** Trauma Informed Care: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Unaccompanied Children (For new staff. Existing staff can complete any trauma informed training that focuses on unaccompanied/immigrant children.)

New Directors Orientation

New Program/Staff Onboarding Training:

• Introduction to Safe Passages Family Reunification Training (handout)
• Platforms Training (handout)
• Home Study Training (handout) *
• Post Release Services Training (handout) *
• Monitoring and Quality Assurance Training (handout)

*Partial recordings due to technical difficulties

Additional Training Opportunities:

• April 26-28, Washington, DC - The CWLA 2023 National Conference, Stronger Together: Uniting to Advance Change
• July 10th- 13th, Columbus, OH (Conference) - FFTA 37th Annual Conference of Treatment Family Care
• ORR/OTIP SOAR to Health and Wellness Training - How to respond to Human Trafficking.
• SOAR training equips professionals with skills to identify, treat, and respond appropriately to human trafficking.
• Additional Trauma Trainings:
• TFCBT Training
• CBT Orientation & Fundamentals
• CBT Part 3 Screening and Assessment
• Interventions: Trauma Focused CBT
• Stigma Surrounding Trauma & Treatment. Recommendations Hispanic Community Engagement
• Trauma Screening Trainings for Professionals:
• ScreenTime Training

In the event that you are unable to print the certificate of completion for any mandatory training, please take a screenshot of the final screen, including your training score, and forward it to your assigned CSS

New trainings completed in 2023 should be noted in this FY23 Training Tracker

Resources/News



• MRSConnect Web Library
• BRYCS - Bridging Refugee Youth & Children's Service
• Language Line and Translation Services
• LanguageLine, Cyracom, Tarjimly (telephone) or Native interpretations, MasterWord, AccuracyNow Language Services, Interpretalk, Voyce Interpretation Services, Boost Lingo, Linguava, Maya Interpreters, Global Village Language, Pacific, and ITS. 
• Mayan Translation Services in Bold.
• USCCB Elected new Chair in November - Bishop Mark J. Seitz
• 'At the Crossroads of Migration'. " 
• "As a priest, I need to be clear: Title 42 and policies like it are merciless and are literally killing people by driving them to cross the desert and to drown in the river. Children are dying. Death can’t be an acceptable part of the overhead of our immigration policy. Have we become that numb?"
• Updated Title 42 Backgrounder
• Child Abuse Prevention Resources
• Resource Guide
• Child Maltreatment Data
• Multimedia Gallery
• Publications
• Morgan State University: Partners with TheDream.US to provide scholarships for Current and Prospective Students.
• APYS Home Study Contractor Job Description
• Community of Practice Call Shared Resources
• Child Friendly Interviewing Techniques
• PFA with UC's
• Safety Tips for Social Workers in the Field

Reminders

NEW FORMAT FOR NOC EMAIL SUBMISSION:

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Notification of Concern: AB,CD_1234

Synopsis of Incident: one sentence summary the incident.

Flagging: PRS provider does/does not recommend flagging the Sponsor [reason]. PRS Provider does/does not recommend flagging the Sponsor’s address [reason].

Please use standard password. 

Subrecipient of USCCB

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This is the latest NOC template.. Please use this template until further notice.

• Flagging Sponsors - Per ORR's request, please remember to specifically indicate in NOCs whether or not the sponsor should be flagged. This is particularly important as it pertains to NOCs for placement disruption, CPS, or lost contact. This should be noted in both the submission email as well as the NOC report.
• Please use current NOC template above. The NOC template with Tiffany Pham as ORR contact is outdated.
• Please CC Jenny Cachaya (jcachaya@usccb.org) - Children's Services Director on NOC's that concern the following:
• CPS
• Trafficking
• Media Involvement

• Monthly reports are due the 2nd Friday of the following month. There are several data components from the reports that are used to complete subsequent reports that USCCB/MRS Safe Passages Family Reunification submits to ORR. Please remember to submit your monthly reports on time. The 2023 Updated Monthly Report Form can be found here.

• Capacity Issues - If any sub-recipient program experiences capacity issues due to staffing challenges, medical leave, etc., please notify your CSS immediately via email and be sure to include Minh Martinez, Child Placement Specialist.

• UAC Portal Access:
• Please reach out to Simy Cuervo or Kailey Cano to register new employees on the UAC portal.
• scuervo@usccb.org
• kcano@usccb.org

• Please remember to change your UAC Portal password when prompted via email; as a precaution, be sure to check your spam folders for the alerts. Failure to update your password within the time indicated will result in suspension of your Portal account. Also, you MUST login to the Portal weekly/bi-weekly to prevent being locked out due to inactivity.