By TANYA RIDINO, DOUG KEEGAN and MIRIAM STOMBLER
No matter how you feel about immigration policy, we can all agree that we want all children to be and feel safe. As a team of community leaders and activists, we are working to make sure all children have a secure place to live should something happen to their parents.
In a political climate beyond our control that disproportionately impacts our country’s most vulnerable residents, most notably immigrants, the Childcare Safety Plan (CSP) is a concrete way for parents to protect their children. We urge all those who work with Central Coast children and families to complete a free two-hour training and make the CSP available to the people they serve.
The CSP is a free tool for all families to protect their kids in case the family is separated for any reason, including accident, illness, incarceration or deportation. The CSP allows for a smooth and informal transition of care from parents to caregiver, without the need for court or government intervention. This minimizes trauma to the children, protects the parents’ rights to care for their kids to the greatest extent possible, and reduces the need to place children in foster care or guardianships during family separations.
This document is a simple, fill-in-the-blank template. In it, parents identify themselves, their kids, and their chosen caregivers. Parents and caregivers hold on to the document in a secure place, and it will only come out if it needs to be implemented. The CSP lets the caregiver get medical care and other essential services for the children, and ensures that the children can participate fully in school and community activities. Parents have an option to nominate a future guardian in the event a child has extraordinary and grave needs that require the court to assign a legal guardian who can consent to care in the parents’ absence. They also have the option to authorize an adult to travel outside the country with their children, which may be necessary in order to reunite the family abroad.
We believe that all families will benefit from protecting their kids by creating a CSP. Families at risk of deportation have an even greater and more immediate need to prepare for emergencies. The CSP is a critical component of family preparedness and, combined with learning about legal rights during ICE encounters, contacting their consulate and/or an immigration attorney, and getting passports when possible, makes for a comprehensive and solid approach to this type of contingency planning.
The CSP provides parents with peace of mind. With this document in place, parents can reassure their children that, no matter what, they have a plan. This lessens stress that is proven to generate mental health issues in young children fearful of separation from their parents. Most importantly, even if parents are physically removed from their children, the CSP allows them to continue exercising decision-making powers over their children’s well-being, which is a parent’s right, regardless of immigration status.
Accidents, illnesses or immigration detentions are unpredictable and can vary in length of time. A parent seeking to cancel a deportation order may be detained for weeks or even months. Our aim is to arm all families with the tools to protect their children, allowing them to stay with a caregiver of their choice — an adult whom the parent trusts and who also cares about the children. This person need not be a U.S. citizen or even a legal resident; they don’t need to have a big house or a spotless criminal record. They should be the person in whose presence children will be and feel safest.
It is up to all of us as community members to come together to protect California’s children. Our document is available for download at ready-california.org and monarchscc.org/legal-services. To schedule a training or for assistance filling out the documents in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, email us at [email protected]. As a community, we need to help all families to make a clear plan to protect their kids.
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Tanya Ridino is an independent general counsel for Monarch Services and Attorney at Law with Community Law and Mediation Services. Doug Keegan is program director of the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project. Miriam Stombler is an attorney/member of Proyecto Plan Familiar and Childcare Safety Plan Coalition. Their opinions are their own and not necessarily those of the Pajaronian.
