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In our Unaccompanied Children program, MCHS supports refugee children who enter the United States on their own. We support youth through home studies, case management and resources across Michigan and the Midwest.
Our primary goal is the reunification of unaccompanied children with their parents or other family members living in the U.S.
We seek out friends and family members of unaccompanied children to serve as sponsors, who will provide care once the child has entered the U.S.
When reunification is not possible, we help to find foster parent(s) who can provide a temporary safe and loving home.
We are currently searching for long-term foster parents for our Unaccompanied Children program. Individuals must be open and willing to accept different cultures, languages, geographic backgrounds and religions. They must also be willing to provide self-efficacy, self-esteem, and hope for the future.
Foster parents receive monetary support as well as stipends to help cover expenses, access to foster parent support groups, and more.
To learn more about our Unaccompanied Children program, contact our Director of Foster Care Services, Elisabeth Wriston at
Ruben escaped violent cartel drug trade, human exploitation and ransom kidnappings by walking from his village of Dolores in the Honduran state of Copán. He was just 14.
“Tell the truth and you’re in trouble,” Ruben says. “Because I saw people stealing things, other people wanted to kill me.”
Walking from Honduras, through Guatemala and into Mexico – a grueling trek of 800 miles by road or longer if by trail or field – Ruben and other migrants boarded the Ruta Golfo, a freight train running along Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
Filled with migrants sitting in cargo beds or atop boxcars with no protection from the elements, the trains are rife with criminals seeking victims for kidnapping ransoms.
“One night I huddled for warmth with a stranger so I didn’t die from the cold,” Ruben says. “If I was crying or feeling sad, I asked God to take care of me.”
On August 1, 2012, wearing nothing but the clothes he traveled over 1,000 miles in, Ruben waded across the Rio Grande River into the United States.
From 2013-2014 Ruben moves across five states before he was finally reunited with his mother in 2015 and granted CINA status to begin his American dream.
It takes a village. Our work is made possible by the community partners and donors who stand by our side.
MCHS Family of Services is a child welfare agency located in Redford and Detroit providing foster care and adoption, transitional living, child abuse prevention and community wellness programs.
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