Date and Time: 26/05/2024, 3pm-4h30pm

Place: Sheffield Management School, Seminar Room 1

Description: Unaccompanied migrant children are considered one of the most vulnerable groups of migrants globally. In the U.S., more than 120,000 unaccompanied children were placed into the “care and custody” of the U.S. government in 2021 alone. This seminar will discuss who these children are, what protection mechanisms are in place for them, and the system of care that exists in the U.S., including what happens once they are released from custody. It will cover the concerns around categorizing and caring for this population and will explore what happens when a child turns 18 years old and is no longer considered “vulnerable” or “protected.” Implications around the role child welfare can play in this system will be examined as related to the political forces often at odds with providing support for migrant children and families.

Refreshments will be provided. 

Bio: Kelsey LeBrun is a Senior Advisor at ICF International and works on national contracts supporting refugees, asylum seekers, humanitarian parolees, and unaccompanied children with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. She has over 15 years of experience working as a director, therapist, social worker, and policy analyst with refugee and asylum-seeking populations. She is a Ph.D. Candidate in Migration Studies and Political Science at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon, completing her dissertation on the politics of protection and categorization for refugees and displaced migrants.