As thousands of unaccompanied children continue to cross into the United States from Central America, local governments throughout the country are bracing themselves for a considerable financial impact. As of July 31, nearly 40,000 unaccompanied children had been released to sponsors in various states since the start of 2014.

While the federal government takes financial responsibility for children being housed in shelters, its involvement ends once those children are placed with sponsors. At that point, the cost of providing children and their families with education and health services until their immigration hearing takes place—sometimes years later—falls on local governments. Many local officials are concerned about the financial stress this will place on their communities.

Burden Falling to Local Governments

“I think the biggest issue for us is the big handoff to local governments in terms of service costs and wraparound for these families and children. There’s no getting around that,” said Uma Ahluwalia, director of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Health and Human Services. “In the meantime, the children are going to be attending local schools, they’re going to have health and mental health needs . . . I think it will definitely strain our capacities,” she added.

Montgomery County and neighboring Prince George’s County have received most of the 2,804 unaccompanied children released to sponsors in Maryland thus far, according to Ahluwalia, but exactly how many are in Montgomery County is unknown, since the federal government does not provide numbers at the local level. This unknown factor has made it difficult to estimate the scope of the impending costs, let alone pay for them. “The bottom line is that there’s really no funding available,” Ahluwalia said. “That’s the issue that’s still largely uncovered.”

For the time being, Montgomery County is trying to estimate a per-capita cost per child and family, but is unlikely to have a full picture until September or October, after school enrollment is complete. The county has also made sure to continue to communicate as much as possible with all public and nonprofit partners, passing around information as it becomes known and problem-solving as issues arise.

Ahluwalia said Montgomery County is fortunate to have very strong partnerships across sectors, as well as compassionate policymakers who care deeply about this issue. The county has continued to advocate in every space that it can, conveying at the federal, state, and local levels that the undocumented minors crisis is a burden that will fall heavily on local governments. “Staying engaged and identifying resources as need arises—that seems the way we’re going to come at this,” Ahluwalia said. “I don’t think any community is prepared for [this problem], but we do the best that we can. We will continue to do that.”

ICMA International Focuses on Root Causes

ICMA is working with local governments in Central America and Mexico to help them coordinate, promote, and fund programs aimed at providing the kind of care and opportunities for youth at risk and their families that would prevent them from fleeing their countries.

Through its USAID-funded AMUPREV Program (Municipal Partnerships for Violence Prevention in Central America), the Mexico Crime and Violence Prevention Program, and previous programs in Panama and Honduras, ICMA works with local governments, police, and civil society to help them provide a safe environment by improving the built environment in their communities and giving them support and opportunities to develop personal, professional, and life skills through educational, recreational, sports, and other programs.

How Are You Preparing?

How is your local government dealing with the many issues related to the influx of unaccompanied minors? Share your programs and your thoughts in the comments section below.