The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior at all care provider facilities that house unaccompanied alien children (UAC).1 ORR's Interim Final Rule (IFR)2 sets forth standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment in ORR care provider facilities.3 The IFR was published on December 24, 2014, with an implementation date of June 24, 2015.
The IFR provides that care provider facilities and ORR will regularly collect and report aggregated information about the number of sexual abuse and sexual harassment allegations determined to be substantiated, unsubstantiated, unfounded, or for which an investigation is ongoing, in order to detect patterns so that future incidents can be prevented. As a result, care provider facilities must maintain all case records associated with claims of sexual abuse and sexual harassment, including incident reports, investigative reports, offender information, case disposition, medical and counseling evaluation findings, and recommendations for post release treatment and/or counseling.4 Additionally, the IFR pursuant to ORR issues an annual report on efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment among UAC.5
For the 2015/2016 data collection, care provider facilities provided ORR with aggregate information about substantiated incidents that occurred from the implementation date of the IFR, June 25, 2015, to December 31, 2016. As this data is aggregated from participating care providers, case-specific information is limited. ORR's IFR does not apply to individual foster homes or to secure care providers, which must follow DOJ's National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape. Additionally, influx care facilities are exempt from the data collection requirement. However, ORR made efforts to collect data from all care provider facilities, including secure and influx care facilities. ORR received responses from 129 care provider facilities, which represents the majority of care provider facilities funded by ORR during that time period.
ORR requested information about substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior. Care provider facilities relied on dispositions or findings from their state child protective services (CPS), state licensing entity, or local law enforcement to determine which incidents were substantiated (that is, investigated and determined to have occurred). In four states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Michigan),6 CPS or state licensing does not formally investigate or provide care provider facilities with a disposition or finding for each allegation. However, care provider facilities in these states are provided with information about whether sexual abuse allegations involving staff were substantiated.
Definitions
ORR began collecting data specific to sexual abuse in October 2014. Prior to the implementation of the IFR, care provider facilities used the definition of sexual abuse in state law to report allegations according to state licensing requirements and mandatory reporting laws. With the publication of the IFR, care provider facilities, regardless of their state of operation, began using one standardized definition for sexual abuse and sexual harassment to ensure consistent reporting.
Sexual abuse is defined at 34 U.S.C. § 20341 and in ORR regulations at 45 C.F.R. § 411.6. While sexual abuse, under the regulation, includes different acts depending on whether the perpetrator is a minor or an adult, the list below includes acts that may fall under the term "sexual abuse" as used in this report.7
- The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of a child to engage in, or assist another person to engage in, (2) or (3) below or the rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children;
- Actual or simulated sexual intercourse, including sexual contact in the manner of genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal contact, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
- Intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or the buttocks of another person;
- Contact between the mouth and any body part where a staff member, grantee, contractor, or volunteer has the intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire;
- Penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument;
- Any attempt, threat, or request by a staff member, grantee, contractor, or volunteer to engage in activities (1) through (5) above;
- Any display by a staff member, grantee, contractor, or volunteer of his or her uncovered buttocks or breast in the presence of a child;
- Bestiality;
- Masturbation;
- Lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a person or animal;
- Sadistic or masochistic abuse;
- Child pornography or child prostitution; or
- Voyeurism by a staff member, grantee, contractor, or volunteer.
Sexual harassment is defined in ORR regulations at 45 C.F.R. § 411.6. Sexual harassment also includes different acts depending on whether the perpetrator is a minor or an adult. The term generally includes: repeated and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal comments, gestures, phone calls, emails, texts, social media messages, pictures sent or shown, other electronic communication, or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature, including demeaning references to gender, sexually suggestive or derogatory comments about body or clothing, or obscene language or gestures. Inappropriate sexual behavior is behavior that does not meet the definition of sexual abuse or sexual harassment but is sexual in nature.
Care Provider Reporting Requirements
The reporting requirements for care provider facilities are broad and extend much further than what would meet the definition of abuse. Care provider facilities are required to report:
- Any knowledge, suspicion, or information regarding an allegation of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual behavior;
- Retaliation against children, staff, volunteers, or contractors for reporting an allegation of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual behavior; and
- Any staff neglect or violation of responsibilities that may have contributed to an allegation or retaliation.
Care provider facilities must report allegations of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual behavior; retaliation; and staff neglect or violation of responsibilities immediately but no later than four hours after learning of the allegation. In addition to ORR, care provider facilities must report these allegations to the state licensing agency and CPS, in accordance with mandatory reporting laws, state licensing requirements, federal laws and regulations, and ORR policies and procedures. Additionally, allegations of sexual abuse must be reported to the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and HHS' Office of Inspector General (OIG). In the case of a sexual abuse allegation involving minors, CPS or state licensing may cross-report to local law enforcement. If an allegation involves an adult, the care provider facility must independently notify local law enforcement.
Tables 1 and 2 summarize the number of allegations (most of which were not substantiated) reported to ORR and DOJ during the latter half of fiscal year (FY) 2015 and FY 2016, respectively. Each allegation refers to a separate allegation reported during the month. One allegation could involve multiple children. Additionally, one allegation could be reported multiple times. For example, if a child transfers from one facility to another, two care provider facilities could report the same allegation to ensure that all that the information and follow-up actions are documented.
The incidents reported to ORR refer to a broad range of allegations, including sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior. Only allegations of sexual abuse, as defined by 34 U.S.C. § 20341 and in ORR regulations at 45 C.F.R. § 411.6, are reported to DOJ.
Table 1: Allegations of sexual misconduct reported to ORR and DOJ, by type of allegation, June-September 2015
| June | July | Aug | Sept | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegations Reported to ORR* | 123 | 152 | 116 | 162 | 553 |
| Allegations Reported to DOJ† | 27 | 38 | 30 | 52 | 147 |
| Staff-on-Minor†† | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Non-staff Adult-on-Minor*** | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Table 2: Allegations of sexual misconduct reported to ORR and DOJ, by type of allegation, FY 2016
| Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Total | |
| Allegations Reported to ORR* | 124 | 108 | 90 | 97 | 75 | 85 | 81 | 85 | 120 | 107 | 120 | 134 | 1226 |
| Allegations Reported to DOJ† | 46 | 39 | 29 | 37 | 22 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 22 | 26 | 27 | 19 | 348 |
| Unknown Perpetrator | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| UAC-on-UAC | 35 | 32 | 24 | 28 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 27 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 16 | 276 |
| Non-UAC Minor-on-UAC** | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Allegations with an Adult Reported to DOJ | 8 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 62 |
| Staff-on-Minor†† | 8 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 56 |
| Non-staff Adult-on-Minor*** | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
|
*This includes all allegations of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior that occurred in ORR care and custody and were reported to ORR. As noted below, the majority of allegations were not substantiated. |
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From June 2015 through September 2016, care provider facilities reported a total of 1,779 allegations of sexual misconduct to ORR. This sexual misconduct includes a wide range of acts from vulgar language to more serious claims of sexual assault. Of these 1,779 allegations, 495 allegations were reported to DOJ, or approximately 28 percent.
The vast majority of sexual abuse allegations are UAC-on-UAC, accounting for approximately 86 percent. Allegations of sexual abuse involving staff account for approximately 13 percent of all reported sexual abuse allegations; allegations involving non-staff adult account for approximately one percent. For the purposes of this report, staff is defined as employees contractors, foster parents, and volunteers in ORR-funded care provider facilities, but does not include federal employees8.
Results from the 2015/2016 Data Collection
For the time period June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016, ORR care provider facilities reported a total of 108 substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior. The majority of substantiated incidents reported by care provider facilities were UAC-on-UAC, approximately 91 percent. In comparison, approximately six percent of substantiated allegations reported by care provider facilities were staff-on-UAC. Care provider facilities reported three substantiated incidents that were non-staff adult-on-UAC, all of which occurred in foster care programs9.
Table 3 summarizes the total number of responding care provider facilities reporting substantiated UAC-on-UAC and non-staff adult-on-UAC incidents. Even if a facility reported "zero" incidents for the period, the facility is counted in the totals of facilities that responded with reports. As discussed above, care provider facilities in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, influx care facilities, and shelters in New York could not provide information as to whether an allegation was substantiated, unsubstantiated, or unfounded, with the exception of staff-on-UAC incidents. A minority of the responding care provider facilities, 39 facilities out of 129, are located in states that do not provide dispositions for UAC-on-UAC allegations. Table 4 summarizes the same information related to staff-on-UAC substantiated incidents.
ORR served 59,170 unaccompanied alien children in FY 2016, with an average number of 6,503 minors in care at any point in time. Shelter programs reported the highest percentage of substantiated incidents, approximately 71 percent. This is consistent with the percentage of children cared for by shelter programs in the ORR network, as approximately 87 percent of unaccompanied alien children were initially placed in a shelter in FY 2016. Foster care was the second most common initial placement at approximately 12 percent. Foster care programs reported the second highest percentage of substantiated incidents (approximately 22 percent). However, both substantiated incidents reported by foster care programs are related to the same allegation.
Secure, staff secure, and therapeutic placements (such as residential treatment centers) accounted for the remaining initial placements of UAC in FY 2016. Staff secure and secure facilities reported six substantiated UAC-on-UAC incidents and one substantiated staff-on-UAC incident. Therapeutic facilities reported zero substantiated incidents.
Table 3: Number of substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior by type of incident, June 25, 2015-December 31, 2016
| Type of Care Provider | Number of Total Facilities Responding | UAC-on-UAC | Non-Staff Adult-on-UAC† | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelter | 51 | 73 | 0 | 73 |
| Foster care | 26 | 19 | 3 | 22 |
| Staff Secure/ Secure | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Therapeutic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 90 | 98 | 3 | 101 |
|
Source: Data reported by ORR-funded care provider facilities, with the exception of facilities in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, influx care facilities, and shelters in New York for the period of June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016. |
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Table 4: Number of substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior involving staff at ORR-funded care provider facilities, June 25, 2015-December 31, 2016
| Type of Care Provider | Number of Total Facilities Responding | Staff-on-UAC* |
|---|---|---|
| Shelter | 74 | 3 |
| Foster care | 37 | 2 |
| Staff Secure/ Secure | 13 | 1 |
| Therapeutic | 2 | 0 |
| Influx | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 129 | 7 |
|
Source: Data reported by ORR-funded care provider facilities for the period of June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016. |
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UAC-on-UAC Substantiated Incidents
As part of the 2015/2016 data collection, care provider facilities provided data on a number of areas related to UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents, including information about the characteristics of victims and perpetrators. The majority of victims and perpetrators were male. This mirrors the gender make-up of the UAC population in FY 2015 and 2016, when approximately two-thirds of UAC were male.
Care provider facilities also provided data about the circumstances surrounding UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents, including who reported an incident. Care provider facilities are required to provide every unaccompanied alien child with an orientation on topics related to preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse and harassment. During orientation, care provider facilities must provide information about ORR's zero-tolerance policy, the child's rights and responsibilities for reporting, how to report sexual abuse and harassment, and other topics.10 Care provider facilities must display posters and notices in prominent locations throughout the facility and provide pamphlets with phone numbers and guidance on reporting sexual abuse and harassment. 11 ORR ensures that care providers provide these materials through its routine on-site monitoring visits and compliance audit process. 12
As summarized in Table 5, the majority of substantiated incidents were reported to the care provider facility by the victim. Other common reporting methods included by another UAC (who was not the victim or the perpetrator) and a youth care worker. In foster care programs, foster parents were another common reporter of substantiated incidents. The majority of UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents were reported by a youth care worker in secure and staff-secure facilities.
The data in Table 5 suggests that UAC, including UAC victims, know how to report incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior. The orientation provides UAC with valuable information about their rights regarding abuse and the multiple ways they can report sexual misconduct while in ORR custody. ORR is committed to supporting care provider facilities in providing high quality orientation services to every child. ORR is identifying ways to increase the frequency and quality of training for staff and foster parents in the UAC network to ensure they understand their obligations under ORR regulations and policies, and are able to identify sexual abuse and respond appropriately.
Table 5: Circumstances surrounding UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior, by type of care provider facility, June 25, 2015-December 31, 2016
| Type of Facility | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circumstance | Shelter | Foster Care | Staff Secure/Secure | Thera-peutic | Total |
| Who Reported the Incident | |||||
| Victim | 47 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 56 |
| Care provider medical/mental health staff | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Foster parent | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Case managers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-care provider medical/mental health staff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attorney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Victim's family or sponsor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Another UAC (not victim or perpetrator) | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Perpetrator | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Perpetrator's family or sponsor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Child advocate | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Youth care worker | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Other care provider staff | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
|
Source: Data reported by ORR-funded care provider facilities, with the exception of facilities in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, influx care facilities, and shelters in New York for the period of June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016. |
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Care provider facilities are responsible for providing immediate follow-up services after an allegation of sexual abuse or sexual harassment is reported and taking necessary actions to ensure the safety of the victim and all children in care.
ORR provides routine and emergency medical and mental health care for all unaccompanied alien children in its care, including weekly individual and group counseling sessions with clinicians at the facility. If a child is sexually abused while in ORR care, the care provider facility must ensure that the child is offered appropriate medical and mental health care services. The type of follow-up services offered to a UAC depend on the nature of the sexual abuse allegation. 13
The most common follow-up service provided was counseling or mental health treatment, which was provided to 47 victims in substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual behavior. Care provider facilities must offer ongoing medical and mental health evaluations and treatment to all UAC victims of sexual abuse or sexual harassment while in ORR care and custody. Four UAC victims were provided with pregnancy tests and two UAC victims received a medical exam, HIV/AIDS testing, and STD testing following an incident of sexual abuse. Care provider facilities must offer pregnancy tests to a child when an allegation involves penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina with any body part. HIV/AIDS and STD testing must be offered when an allegation involves oral, genital, or anal contact by or to another person. Forty-one UAC victims were already discharged from ORR care when the care provider facility learned of a substantiated incident.
Care provider facilities should employ multiple protection measures to ensure the safety of UAC victims and to provide a supportive environment. 14 Care provider staff reported a number of actions taken to ensure the safety of the victim. The most common action taken was separating the victim from the perpetrator, which care provider staff did in 70 of the cases. Care provider staff also provided increased supervision to 12 victims in substantiated incidents. ORR regulations allow care provider facilities to use increased supervision to protect a UAC victim in exigent circumstances. .15 ORR policy defines exigent circumstances as any set of temporary or unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action in order to combat a threat to the security of a care provider or a threat to the safety and security of any person.16 Given the frequency of use, ORR should provide additional guidance and training regarding the appropriate use of increased supervision of UAC victims.
Table 6 summarizes the impact on perpetrators of UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents. Care provider facilities are required by regulation to provide appropriate interventions to UAC who engage in sexual abuse, with the goal of promoting improved behavior by the UAC and ensuring the safety of other UAC. Care provider facilities must take into account the social, sexual, emotional, and cognitive development of the UAC when deciding on an appropriate intervention.17 The type of intervention will depend on the nature of the incident, particularly if the incident was sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual behavior.
Care provider facilities provided counseling or mental health treatment to 43 UAC perpetrators. Thirty-nine UAC perpetrators in substantiated incidents were already discharged when care provider staff became aware of the incident. Care provider facilities must still report incidents involving discharged UAC to the appropriate oversight entity based on the nature of the incident. The most common actions taken for perpetrators included separating the perpetrator from the victim (56 cases), providing increased supervision (29 cases), and moving the perpetrator into a different bedroom (18 cases).
Additionally, care provider facilities reported on sanctions imposed on the perpetrator. Care provider facilities imposed a loss of privileges for 17 UAC perpetrators in substantiated incidents. Loss of privileges may be privileges that are earned for good behavior including an outing or attending a special movie night. Thirty-eight UAC perpetrators in substantiated incidents were arrested or referred to law enforcement. While ORR's policy does not require programs to contact local law enforcement for incidents involving only UAC, CPS or state licensing in some states may have reported the incidents to local law enforcement. Additionally, some care providers, though not required, reported incidents involving UAC directly to local law enforcement.
Table 6: Impact on perpetrators of UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or inappropriate sexual behavior, by care provider facility type, June 25, 2015- December 31, 2016
| Type of Facility | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact | Shelter | Foster Care | Staff Secure / Secure | Thera-peutic | Total |
| Actions taken for the perpetrator | |||||
| Given increased supervision | 19 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 29 |
| Moved to a different room | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Placed in a different foster home | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Restricted to room | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Separated from victim | 43 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 56 |
| Transferred to a more restrictive setting | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Transferred to another care provider | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| No action taken | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Sanctions imposed on the perpetrator | |||||
| Arrested or referred to law enforcement | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Convicted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Loss of privileges | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Referred for prosecution or indicted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Source: Data reported by ORR-funded care provider facilities, with the exception of facilities in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, influx care facilities, and shelters in New York for the period of June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016. |
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Adult-on-UAC Substantiated Incidents and Allegations
In addition to providing information about UAC-on-UAC incidents, care provider facilities also reported information about adult-on-UAC substantiated incidents, including incidents involving staff.
Care provider facilities reported information about non-staff adult-on-UAC substantiated incidents. A non-staff adult may include an adult family member, friend, non-staff teacher, an adult with no previous relationship to the UAC, or other adult. In 2015/2016, care provider facilities reported three non-staff adult substantiated incidents. All three substantiated incidents occurred in foster care settings, one in long-term foster care and two in transitional foster care. The perpetrators in the three substantiated incidents were males. In two of the substantiated incidents, the perpetrator was a family member and in the third substantiated incident, the perpetrator was a member of the foster parent's family. In the three substantiated incidents, two perpetrators were arrested and one of those perpetrators was also indicted.
Care provider facilities reported seven substantiated incidents involving staff. For the purposes of this report, staff is defined as ORR care facility staff, contractors, foster parents, and volunteers, but does not include federal employees. Two of these incidents were reported by two different foster care programs, but detailed the same allegation. The victim of the incident transferred facilities and the receiving care provider facility reported the incident to ORR to ensure that all information about continuing services and investigative results were documented.
The victims in substantiated staff-on-UAC incidents were male, with the exception of foster care. The majority of victims in staff-on-UAC substantiated incidents were 15 or 16 years old.
The perpetrators in substantiated incidents were predominantly staff at ORR-funded care provider facilities in the position of youth care worker. ORR continues to strengthen its guidance to care provider facilities to ensure that applicants at risk of engaging in sexual abuse or sexual harassment are identified during the hiring process and screened out through the use of background checks, reference checks, and other methods. ORR continues to increase the amount of training provided directly to care provider staff regarding professional boundaries and other topics relevant to sexual abuse prevention to ensure that staff behave in a professional and respectful manner with UAC.
The majority of substantiated incidents reported by care provider facilities occurred in a bedroom. Two substantiated incidents occurred after the UAC had been discharged from ORR custody. Similar to UAC-on-UAC substantiated incidents, in the majority of cases, the victim reported the incident, as summarized in Table 7.
As discussed in the UAC-on-UAC section above, care provider facilities must offer appropriate medical and mental health care services if a child is sexually abused while in ORR care. The type of follow-up services offered to a UAC depend on the nature of the sexual abuse allegation. The most common follow-up service provided was counseling or mental health treatment, which was provided in three incidents. One victim was given a forensic interview and HIV/AIDS testing. One victim was already discharged from ORR care when care provider staff was made aware of the allegation, and two incidents occurred after the victim was discharged.
Table 7: Circumstance surrounding staff-on-UAC substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior, by type of care provider facility, June 25, 2015- December 31, 2016
| Type of Facility | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circumstance | Shelter | Foster Care | Staff Secure / Secure | Thera-peutic | Total |
| Who Reported the Incident | |||||
| Victim | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Care provider medical/mental health staff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Foster parent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Case managers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-care provider medical/mental health staff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attorney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Victim's family or sponsor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Another UAC (not victim or perpetrator) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Perpetrator | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perpetrator's family or sponsor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Child advocate | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Youth care worker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other care provider staff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Source: Data reported by ORR-funded care provider facilities for the period of June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016. |
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Table 8 summarizes the sanctions imposed on staff of substantiated incidents. The most common sanction was temporary suspension. Care provider facilities are required by regulation to suspend any staff member suspected of perpetrating sexual abuse or sexual harassment from all duties that would provide the staff member with access to UAC pending investigation. 18 In six cases, the staff member was suspended. The staff member was not suspended in one case because the substantiated incident was inappropriate sexual behavior under ORR's definitions. However, the staff member was placed on a safety and supervision plan by CPS and state licensing and required to complete additional training on sexual abuse and sexual harassment. As a result, the care provider facility was not required to suspend or reassign the staff member. In all six substantiated cases of sexual abuse, the staff member was suspended.
After investigation by an oversight entity, a care provider facility must take disciplinary action up to and including termination for violating ORR's or the care provider facility's sexual abuse-related policies and procedures. Termination is the presumptive disciplinary sanction for staff who engaged in sexual abuse or sexual harassment. 19 Care provider facilities reported discharging, terminating, or not renewing the contract of five staff members involved in substantiated incidents of sexual abuse. One staff member involved in a substantiated incident of sexual abuse resigned before the care provider facility could terminate the employee.
Two staff members were arrested and referred for prosecution. In one case, a staff member at IES Los Fresnos was arrested following an allegation of molesting a child in ORR's custody. A protective order was later executed on behalf of the child and the staff member was terminated. ORR no longer funds IES Los Fresnos.
In the second case, a staff member at Homestead continued communicating with a child who had been discharged from the UAC Program. The child's sponsor reported the inappropriate communication and the staff member was arrested and terminated. The staff member was convicted of attempting to coerce and entice an unaccompanied alien minor to engage in illicit sexual activity. She received 10 years imprisonment and 50 years of supervised release.
Table 8: Sanctions imposed on staff involved in staff-on-UAC substantiated incidents of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior, by care provider facility type, June 25, 2015- December 31, 2016
| Type of Facility | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact | Shelter | Foster Care | Secure/Staff Secure | Thera-peutic | Influx | Total |
| Sanctions imposed on the perpetrator | ||||||
| Arrested or referred to law enforcement | ||||||
| Convicted, plead guilty, sentenced, or fined | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Demoted or diminished responsibilities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Discharged, terminated or contract not renewed | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Placed on paid administrative leave | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Placed on unpaid administrative leave | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Referred for prosecution or indicted | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Reprimanded or disciplined | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sent to training or counseling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Staff resigned | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Suspended temporarily | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| No action taken | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Source: Data reported by ORR-funded care provider facilities for the period of June 25, 2015 to December 31, 2016. Note: Allegations may involve multiple perpetrators and the care provider facility may have imposed multiple sanctions on each perpetrator. |
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UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline
ORR is committed to multiple, easily accessible methods for children and youth to report sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior. Children and youth in ORR care may report to care provider staff verbally, in writing, anonymously or via a grievance. Additionally, care providers must provide UAC with access to and instructions on how they can report incidents using telephones with preprogrammed numbers for the UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline, CPS, and the local community service provider or national rape crisis hotline. The Hotline provides an alternative method for a child or third party, including family members, sponsors, legal service providers, and child advocates, to report knowledge or suspicion of sexual abuse or harassment at a care provider.
Hotline staff immediately notify CPS, the state licensing agency, and local law enforcement, as appropriate, of any allegations received directly from any child or third party. After ORR receives a Hotline report, it notifies the care provider, who follows up with any additional reporting, including the FBI and HHS/OIG, as appropriate. The care provider facility must also ensure all children and youth are safe and provided with appropriate follow-up services. The UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline began operations on August 31, 2015.
From the start of operations to December 31, 2016, ORR received 104 reports from the UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline. Given the low number of reports, ORR has provided guidance to ensure that care provider facilities make the preprogrammed telephones available in a manner that decreases stigma. Children must feel safe and comfortable using these telephones to report allegations they are uncomfortable reporting directly to facility staff.
Corrective Actions
ORR conducts monitoring to ensure that care provider facilities meet minimum standards for the care and timely release of unaccompanied alien children, and abide by federal and state laws and regulations, licensing and accreditation standards, and ORR regulations and policies including the IFR. If ORR finds a care provider facility to be out of compliance with requirements, ORR issues corrective action findings and requires the care provider facility to resolve the issue within a specified time frame. ORR also provides technical assistance, as needed, to ensure that deficiencies are addressed.
Table 9 summarizes the corrective actions issued in 2015 and 2016 to care provider facilities for noncompliance with the IFR and related policies.
Table 9: Description and number of corrective actions issued, June 25, 2015- December 31, 2016
| Description | Noncompliance Identified | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Employee Background Investigations and Hiring Decisions | Background checks were not done in a timely manner | 2 |
| Background check information was not properly documented | 7 | |
| Staff Training | No documentation that staff received required training. | 16 |
| Training was not done or not done in a timely manner | 6 | |
| Staff training did not include all of the required topics | 10 | |
| Employee Performance Evaluations and Promotion Decisions | Employee evaluation did not meet ORR policy | 3 |
| Employee evaluation was not in employee file | 8 | |
| Staffing Levels | Facility did not comply with required staffing levels | 2 |
| Staffing Plans and Video Monitoring Restrictions |
Video monitoring did not meet requirements |
5 |
| Access to Community Service Providers and Resources | Did not provide information about community services and resources or did not provide all required information about community services and resources | 23 |
| Educating Children and Youth on Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment | No documentation that UAC received required orientation | 9 |
| UAC did not receive required refresher information session | 4 | |
| Bulletin Board Posting | Bulletin board did not have required information or information was not translated | 9 |
| Bulletin board was not present or was not properly located | 4 | |
| Pamphlets on Sexual Abuse and Harassment | No documentation that UAC received pamphlet | 16 |
| Pamphlets are not available throughout the facility | 14 | |
| Pamphlet did not have required information or information was not translated | 18 | |
| Assessment for Risk | Initial risk assessment was not provided | 2 |
| 30-day review was not completed or was not completed on time | 16 | |
| Risk assessment was not completed | 2 | |
|
Methods for Children and Youth to Report |
Children could access pre-programmed phone without staff assistance or did not have adequate access to pre-programmed phone | 9 |
| No preprogrammed phones available or not enough preprogrammed phones | 7 | |
| UAC did not receive adequate information about preprogrammed phones | 6 | |
| UAC is unclear on grievance process | 10 | |
| Grievance procedure was not available or not easily accessible | 6 | |
| Grievance procedure did not meet requirements | 6 | |
| Confidentiality | Staff did not sign required confidentiality document | 7 |
| Program did not adequately protect confidential information | 1 | |
| UAC Sexual Abuse Hotline | Staff did not have adequate information about hotline | 1 |
| Total | 228 | |
| Source: ORR Monitoring Reports from June 2015 through December 2016. | ||
Conclusion
The 2015/2016 data collection provides valuable information regarding the prevalence and nature of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior in ORR care. ORR and care provider facilities will use this information to tailor policies and procedures to better prevent and detect sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior. Information regarding the most common times of day and locations of incidents can inform care providers' staffing plans and facility upgrades, such as video monitoring.
Additionally, this data collection provides a baseline that will help ORR assess its progress towards combating sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and inappropriate sexual behavior in care provider facilities. ORR will provide a comparison of data across years in future reports.
Footnotes
- 1.↩ An unaccompanied alien child is defined in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 as a child: (1) who has no lawful immigration status in the United States; (2) who has not reached 18 years of age; and (3) with respect to whom there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States or there is no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody. See 6 U.S.C. § 279(g)(2).
- 2.↩ See 45 C.F.R. Part 411.
- 3.↩ Section 1101(c) of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-4) amended the Prison Rape Elimination Act to include a provision directing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to publish a final rule adopting national standards for the detection, prevention, reduction, and punishment of rape and sexual assault in facilities that maintain custody of unaccompanied children. 34 U.S.C. § 30307(d).
- 4.↩ See 45 C.F.R. § 411.102.
- 5.↩ See 45 C.F.R. § 411.103.
- 6.↩ Additionally, shelter programs in New York, and the influx facilities Fort Bliss and Holloman are unable to provide information about the disposition of each allegation. An influx facility is a type of care provider facility that is opened to provide temporary emergency shelter and services for UAC during an influx or emergency. The IFR refers to these facilities as "emergency care providers."
- 7.↩ See 4.1 of the ORR Policy Guide, available online, for the comprehensive list of acts that may meet the definitions of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. See also 45 C.F.R. § 411.6, distinguishing between (1) sexual abuse of a UAC by another UAC; and (2) sexual abuse of a UAC by a staff member, grantee, contractor, or volunteer.
- 8.↩ ORR federal employees do not provide direct care to children.
- 9.↩ ORR foster care programs are part of the ORR care provider network and adhere to ORR policies and procedures along with state licensing requirements.
- 10.↩ See 45 C.F.R. § 411.33(a).
- 11.↩ See 45 C.F.R. § 411.33(d) and (e).
- 12.↩ ORR's monitoring team conducts week long visits to every care provider to review policies, procedures, and practices and guidelines compliance. See ORR Policy Guide § 5.5.1. In addition to routine site visit monitoring conducted by ORR staff, ORR is required by the IFR to establish an external process to audit care providers. The audits determine a care provider’s compliance with standards in the IFR and ORR policies and procedures during the preceding 12 months. See 45 C.F.R. Part 411 Subpart L.
- 13.↩ See ORR Policy Guide § 4.9.
- 14.↩ See 45 C.F.R. §411.68(b).
- 15.↩ See 45 C.F.R. §411.68(c).
- 16.↩ See ORR Policy Guide § 4.6.3.
- 17.↩ See 45 C.F.R. §411.83.
- 18.↩ 45 C.F.R. §411.66.
- 19.↩ 45 C.F.R. §411.66.
