Supporting DACA and DREAM Act-Eligible Youth: What systemic changes are needed?

Picture source: http://juventudecuatoriana.org

On Tuesday, the Migration Policy Institute and the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy hosted a webinar tackling the most challenging area in DACA programming: how to provide support for DACA-eligible youth. In order to be eligible for DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, youth must meet the following requirements:

-At least 15 years old but not 31 years old as of June 2012
-In the US before age 16
-Unauthorized as of June 2012
-Resided in the US since June 2007
-In school, have high school/equivalent diploma, or enrolled in a “school” program
-Can pass security/criminal background check

DACA is important because it allows youth to remain in the US and receive a work permit, social security card, and "in-state" tuition rates. While many might want to take advantage of the program, many who are eligible face numerous economic or educational hurdles, or might not know enough about the program to apply.

One of the biggest hurdles to DACA enrollment is not having the resources (like information and money) to meet the educational requirements of the program. To promote increased enrollment in the program and provide these resources, speakers on the Webinar suggested the following:

Disseminating information to those under 19 through outreach events
Programs in NYC and California have worked with community based organizations to reach out to youth. These programs range from presentations in the community to using “ambassadors” who have been through the DACA process who can not only help provide insight to the technicalities of the process, but also relate to youth who are beginning the same journey. Additionally, outreach in the form of flyers and websites can also reach a population that may not have been reached otherwise.

Providing support for adult education
For those over 19 without a high school diploma, returning to school to become DACA eligible can be a struggle. Educators suggest changes in the system such as providing money reimbursement for adult education to adjust for lost wages when returning to school.

Providing relevant programming to help adults ease the transition back to education
Programs like Bridge and English for Academic Purposes make returning to school a little bit easier.

Providing legal support
Programs in NYC provided legal advice to those who may not know if they are eligible for DACA. Lawyers mostly provide help filling out forms and helping people understand the legal process.

Providing funding for college students
In the future, immigration legislation may require that students have at least 2 years of college education, like the current requirements of the DREAM Act. However, many high school students may not have the resources to continue on to college. Scholarships and grants such as those from programs like “Invest in the Dream” can help students continue school without feeling like they are digging themselves into too much debt.

Through these avenues, educators hope to help address the needs of DACA-eligible youth and help them achieve academic success.

For more information about DACA, please visit:

MPI (webinar):
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/events/realizing-daca-and-dream-promise-actions-support-educational-attainment-potentially-eligible

Creative platform for immigrant youth:
www.thingsillneversay.org

Scholarships:
http://e4fc.org/resources/scholarshiplists.html

New Recruitment Strategy

In our effort to increase outreach and recruitment for undocumented Latina/o college students in the state of Maryland, we specify we are seeking all participants including UNDOCUMENTED & DOCUMENTED Latina/o students. Check it out!

Want to take the survey? Go here: http://tinyurl.com/l93mptl

Our Growing Research Team

Welcome everyone! The start of a new fall semester has also brought to the research a whole new talented group of individuals to the research team.  

Lynsey Weston is a third year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UMCP. She received her B.A. in Psychology and English from Georgetown University in 2008, and previously worked in sales and marketing for a textbook publishing company. As a member of Dr. Colleen O’Neal’s Emotions, Equity, and Education research lab, Lynsey does research on how motivation, engagement, and perseverance can support academic success among economically disadvantaged students. As a school psychologist, Lynsey hopes to work with teachers, parents and students to improve the mental health, emotional well-being, and academic achievement of students suffering from poverty, trauma, and other obstacles to success.

Molly Morin is a first year doctoral student in the Student Affairs Program. She received a B.A. in Elementary Education and Sociology from the University of La Verne in 2008 and a M.Ed. in College Student Personnel from the University of Maryland College Park in 2010. She is from Southern California and most recently worked at Chapman University as an Academic Advisor and Program Director for their First-Generation College Student Support Program, the Promising Futures Program that she developed at Chapman. Her research interests currently include college access and retention for underrepresented students especially first-generation, Latina/o, and low-income students and factors contributing to their academic success. She is excited to join the research team and will be supporting the qualitative components of the study.

Annie Marie Goldthrite is currently a first year graduate student in the School Psychology program. She received a B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University in May 2014 and is interested in youth academic success, minority mental health, and at-risk youth development. She looks forward to helping with all steps of the research process (especially data analysis!) She's excited to be a part of the team and is looking forward to using this research to inform her practice as a future school psychologist. 

With this collective talent we hope to outreach and recruit more participants, analyze more quantitative surveys, and conduct and analyze more interviews. 
Amy Fuhrmann, M.S. is a Doctoral Student in the Counseling Psychology Department at the Univesity of Maryland. She is dedicated to research and practice that promotes psychological and physical well-being, especially among populations with invisible identities, such as those with health challenges. She aims to conduct research that informs intervention directly through the experiences of participants, thereby developing culturally sensitive and reality-based conclusions to inform theory, further research, and practice.