Discusses the challenges facing social agencies in meeting the needs of refugees from Southeast Asia who are both minors and unaccompanied by adult relatives. These minors are deprived of their most familiar source of support-their families-and consequently experience stress, uncertainty, and fear in their new country. Casework concerns include: striking a balance between security and adaptation to a new life; addressing a young person’s feeling of guilt, depression, and ambivalence; helping minors understand their roles and responsibilities under guardianship (foster care); and facilitating the transition to independent living. Programs serving these unaccompanied minors need to: (1) adequately prepare for new arrivals; (2) improve communication among the various agencies involved in resettlement; (3) subject themselves to increased monitoring by state and federal agencies; (4) assess the reliability of funding; (5) provide appropriate staffing and placement guidelines and bolster standards governing foster-care situations; and (6) create successful orientation programs that dissolve minors’ misconceptions and help foster families deal with cultural differences. Since substitute care for unaccompanied minors is a relatively new field, further study and exchange of ideas could help caseworkers improve the quality of the programs. (8 references)
