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SOCIAL WORK PROVISION FOR UNACCOMPANIED ASYLUM-SEEKING

CHILDREN (UASC) AND THEIR MENTAL HEALTH IN THE U.K. ARE WE DOING

ENOUGH?

By Name

Course

Professor

University

City and State

Date
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Social Work Provision for UASC and Their Mental Health in the U.K. Are We

Doing Enough?

Introduction

The number of applications for UASC in the United Kingdom has been increasing

drastically. According to the Home Office (2012b), over 20000 cases are reported yearly, with

over 2000 cases being from UASC. In 2012, out of the total UASC applicants, over 80% were

male, while Afghanistan recorded the highest number of applicants who accounted for over 30%

of the total population (Refugee council, 2012). Iran, Eritrea, Albania, Vietnam, and Afghanistan

were ranked as the top five leading countries of UASC (U.K. Immigration Statistics, 2021). In

cases where the Home Office establishes that the minor applicants do not meet the required

threshold to be given asylum, the U.K. Border Agency grants these children a discretionary leave

until when they attain seventeen years. However, a discretionary period is given when further

investigation proves that the child's country of origin has no safe reception measures for their

populations. Asylum refers to a place of refuge and shelter or retreats to individuals whose

country of origin is insecure. Therefore, UASC are young individuals seeking asylum in the U.K.

but are not accompanied by their parents due to various reasons. Once these children arrive in the

U.K., the local authority takes care of them, and whenever it is impossible to trace their parents

or kin, they are placed in foster care. Over the past years, social workers supporting UASC were

allowed to extend their stay in the U.K. even after they attain eighteen years. However, since

2010, the Home Office reviewed its policies, and since then, there have been drastic changes

regarding the extension of their stay after they attain 18 years. Immediately they reach seventeen

years, the Home Office informs them that they are required to go back to their countries of origin

since they are now considered to be adults (Home Office, 2008).

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Why do UASC shift to U.K.?

Yearly,, a high number of UASC apply for asylum in the U.K. The statistics presented

are only individuals who apply for asylum; some individuals enter the country illegally, thus

meaning that their number cannot be recorded. To identify the primary reasons why UASC come

to the U.K., the Refugee Council conducted investigative research. Results indicated that most

UASC preferred the U.K. since it is one of the few countries which could accommodate them

(Crawley, 2010). The research revealed that most UASC came into the U.K. because agents

provided them with the opportunity. Agents were responsible for organizing, facilitating, and

implementing plans that enabled young children to leave their countries illegally and move to a

secure country. Surprisingly, some minors leave their homes unaware of where they are traveling

to. However, the reasons for UASC shifting to westernized regions differ depending on their

race, religion, nationality, and political status (Kohli, 2007). However, most asylum seekers

suffer insecurity, punishment, or prosecution from their governments or local groups. This paper

provides detailed insights on social work provision for UASC and their mental health status in

the U.K. It explores the legal, historical, sociological, and psychological contexts of UASC.

Moreover, it discusses the service user provision and the service user perspectives.

Legal Context

The Children Order of Northern Ireland (1995) lays out a framework that guides service

delivery to needy children. The order affects individuals who work and take care of children.

This order introduced massive reforms by integrating both public and private laws into a once

common framework. According to this order, the Health and Social Care Trusts are tasked with

promoting children's rights and offering the necessary support required. Article 17 defines a

needy child by laying out several conditions. For individuals to be considered needy, they must
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be unable to achieve their health and development needs without being supported by the

authorities, be health impaired, or disabled, and thus cannot sustain their needs without support.

Once an individual qualifies to be defined as needy, Article 18(1-9) requires that Trust take care

of their needs by providing social support to those in need. The Trusts provides funds to social

support, voluntary and Non-Governmental Organizations to enable them to support the needy.

However, before offering support, the organizations must assess the child's needs and offer

support that is not subject to repayment, except in exceptional cases such as when the family

receives certain welfare benefits.

Article 27 of this act outlines the conditions for accommodation and maintenance for

children. Article 27(1) requires that all agencies or authorities taking care of children need to

offer accommodation and support all other aspects. Subsection two of the article defines how

authorities ought to take care of the children under their custody. Authorities can place children

with families, relatives, or any other individuals who can maintain them well. The authorities can

also place them in a children's home or comply with any regulations initiated by the Home

Department. Subsection 4 defines people who are not categorized as authority foster parents.

This group includes parents of the child, guardians, and caretakers. A child is considered as

living with a person once he stays for over twenty-four hours. Under the approval of relevant

departments, the order allows authorities to ascertain that he unites and lives with relatives,

friends, or individuals falling under subsection 4. Subsection 8 of this article requires that

whenever authorities accommodate children whom it is looking after, the accommodation must

be in close proximity to the child's home. The child is accommodated together with his siblings if

they are all receiving support from the authorities. In cases where the authority is offering
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accommodation to a disabled person, subsection 27(9) requires authorities to ascertain that the

accommodation is suitable and considerate of their specific needs.

The UNCRC outlines the fundamental children's rights and what governments need to do

to achieve them. The convention dictates that all governments have to help children meet their

desires and protect their rights. In 2002, the convention added two extra protocols which

restricted governments from recruiting children aged below 18 years into the army and at the

same time prohibit them from prostitution, pornography and slavery. This convention also gave

NGOs the mandate to directly oversee the implementation of human rights since it binds all

nations which are members to protect children's rights.

Historical context

After the Second World War, there were massive displacements of individuals across all

nations. It was necessary that an international agreement is reached to help displaced individuals

find support in any nation. This led to the formation of the Refugee Convention in 1967, whose

foundation was based on the 1951 Refugee Convention. The council firmly believed that all

individuals are equal, and therefore, those seeking asylum in the U.K. should be accorded equal

treatment just like any other person. Currently, the council is one of the leading charities working

hand in hand with asylum seekers in the U.K. to offer services to asylum seekers.

According to the Refugee Council (2021), the Refugee Convention was officially adopted

in 1951, and in the U.K., two charities were founded. In 1956, the two charities offered support

to over 2000 refugees from World War II and over 17000 Hungarian refugees. Agnew House

Home was established in 1957 to accommodate asylum seekers, especially Holocaust survivors.

In the 1970s, spontaneous asylum began to increase and led to formal resettlement programs in
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the U.K. In the 1980s, the two charity organizations merged to form the British Refugee Council,

giving asylum to over 20000 asylum seekers. In the 1990s, the number of asylum seekers started

increasing dramatically, leading to the emergence of resettlement programs to handle the rising

numbers. In the 2000s, the Refugee Council opened more offices to disperse asylum seekers

nationally. The Gateway Protection Program was formed in 2004 to extend the existing schemes

set up under the UNHCR. Since 2010, the number of asylum seekers has increased steadily to

reach the highest levels since World War II.

Between 2015 and 2016, U.K. received over 6000 UASC applications, accounting for

over 4% of the total applications received in Europe (U.K. Government, 2017). However, the

drastic rise in the migration crisis attracted the attention of the U.K. government, forcing it to

embark on accommodating individuals suffering from different parts of the world due to

insecurity. The U.K. government outlined the protocols that displaced people, especially the

UASC, can follow to be resettled in the U.K. The government launched schemes such as the

Gateway and Mandate schemes to oversee the resettlement process in strict adherence to the

E.U.'s Dublin regulations and section 67 of the Immigration Act (2018). The rapidly increasing

number of UASC shifting to the U.K. has placed the authorities at the risk of being

overwhelmed. As a result, the U.K. government developed some schemes such as the National

Transfer Scheme to ensure that the caring responsibilities were evenly spread across all

authorities in the U.K. According to the U.K. Government (2017), out of the over 72000 cases

being reviewed by the authorities in the U.K., over 4500 cases were from UASC. This accounted

for over 6% of the total population being looked after by the authorities. As of June 2021, there

were over 2900 asylum claims from UASC, accounting for an over 17% decrease from the

population recorded in 2016 (UNHCR, 2020). The U.K. government defines UASC as
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individuals below 18 years who voluntarily apply for asylum and are departed from both parents,

thus having no one to take care f their needs.

To safeguard the interests of UASC, the U.K. government has laid down some strategies

which aim at improving the care and health of UASC, supporting professionals taking care of

their needs, and preventing them from going missing (Kohli, 2011). Moreover, they strengthen

transparency and accountability through publishing data to children commissions based in the

U.K., advising children and families who are re-united via the Dublin program, and supporting

the local authorities to enable them to support the UASC. In the U.K., UASC are entitled to

support just like any other child since the government is committed to improving their care by

increasing their capacity, training and motivating foster carers, and channeling more funds to

cater to their needs. Besides, the government has focused on supporting the professionals

working hand in hand with young people. Diverse institutions such as schools and immigration

officials are used to deliver services that support the UASC. The U.K. government has also

instituted several legislative adjustments that have triggered an increase in the number of

professionals interacting with these children. The changes include introducing the Modern

Slavery Act (2015) and the introduction of the National Transfer Scheme.
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Sociological Context

Considering the adversity of the reasons behind their flee, it is doubtless that these

children have suffered severe social conditions, leaving them with no better options than to seek

refuge without the guidance, company, and protection of their parents (Wernesjö, 2012). Some

of the main reasons most children flee into the United Kingdom include escaping from physical

torture in their countries, violation of children's rights, or unjustified juvenile prosecution (Jensen

et al., 2015). In many other cases, the children are scared away by persistent violence and armed

conflicts in their mother countries. They are forced to face severe mental disturbance and

feelings of social insecurity. As a result, they lose trust in their environment and everyone around

them; thus, they flee into the United Kingdom with the fundamental intention of getting safer

residential ground (Wernesjö, 2012). It is, therefore, doubtless that social factors are significant

contributors to the existence of UASC in the U.K..

The social challenges these children experience in their countries of origin are also

potential contributors to various cognitive disorders such as anxiety disorders. That is because

social factors are the major causes of most anxiety disorders (Craske et al., 2011). Commonly

experienced anxiety disorders include social anxiety disorders, general anxiety disorders, and

panic disorders (Craske et al., 2011). In addition, most of these children also stand high chances

of becoming phobic to the causative agents of their flee. For instance, social anxiety disorder is a

type of mental disorder that makes people afraid of interacting with others (Stein & Stein, 2008).

The main reason patients of social anxiety disorder fear interacting with other people is that they

suspect that they will be looked down upon by whoever they communicate with (Stein & Stein,

2008). Some of them have intrinsic feelings that whatever they do will never be appreciated by
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others. In other situations, they are afraid of other factors such as self-embarrassment or hurting

others.

Violence, torture, bullying, and prejudice or unjustified juvenile prosecution are the

leading causes of social anxiety disorders in children (Stein & Stein, 2008). These children have

experienced various forms of harsh treatment in their original countries without any known cause

(Jensen et al., 2015). While they thought they were innocent, they ended up being bullied by

familiar, older people who are supposed to act as their guides and protectors. As a result, they are

always uncertain about the right things to do. They live with the ultimate fear that whatever they

do will hurt or offend others, resulting in more torture, bullying, and various other forms of

maltreatment. Therefore, even though they successfully flee into the United Kingdom, they are

still afraid of attending social gatherings, meeting new people, and talking to the people they

meet. Most of the children are even afraid of socializing and communicating amongst themselves

. As stated above, panic disorder is another cognitive disorder whose causes are rooted in

social factors. Panic disorder involves persistent shock and panicking resulting from particular

events (Roy-Byrne et al., 2006). Even though it is normal to panic on certain occasions, it is

ultimately abnormal to keep panicking whenever such occasions recur in one's life. If not

diagnosed and cured in good time, people who have the panic disorder may live with this mental

condition for the rest of their lives (Roy-Byrne et al., 2006). Various social factors that may

result in adverse panicking include armed conflicts, wars and violence, and bullying. These are

also the factors that drive most children from their various countries of origin into the United

Kingdom. Considering that asylum-seeking children have experienced potential causes of

panicking, one can deduce that most of them are panic disorder patients (Roy-Byrne et al., 2006).

Others also develop a phobia for factors such as violence and ethical conflicts.
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Evidently, the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children need a lot more than what they

are given by the social work providers in the United Kingdom (Bhatti-Sinclair, 2021). Reports

have indicated that the main form of support given to the children in the United Kingdom is

sufficient lodging accommodations equipped with adequate security (Grady et al., 2004). Even

though it is indisputable that security is one of the fundamental aids needed by asylum-seeking

children, it is better to consider taking them through diagnosis for any form of mental disability

that they might have acquired due to the social torture undergone in their countries of origin

(Rodebaugh et al., 2004). That can assist adequately in relieving most of the children from

unnecessary fear and recurrent panic. The rest of the children should also be taken through

psychological guidance and counseling to familiarize them with the environment and assure

them of trustworthiness in the asylum (Rodebaugh et al., 2004). Otherwise, the mental conditions

of the affected children may worsen, making them dangerous amongst themselves in the asylum.

According to Rodebaugh et al. (2004), some children may panic at any slight sense of danger and

harm others in an attempt to protect themselves from their fears.

Psychological Context

The various forces that drive these children from their original countries also interfere

with their cognitive development. Many great psychologists, including Sigmund Freud, JF

Skinner, Albert Bandura, Erik Erickson, and many others, have come up with various thoughts

about the detailed process of human development. Despite the differences between their

thoughts, they all have a common understanding that human development is a psychological

process broken down into phases (Patton & Spry, 2021). In their understanding, human

development is entirely a psychological process that can easily be interfered with if an individual

is not mentally stable. Considering that the various stages of human development are dependent
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on each other, disrupting a particular stage may affect the effectiveness of future developmental

stages. Relating to the conditions facing the UASC in their countries of departure, their early

stages of human development may be severely interfered with.

Erik Erikson mentions that social relations fundamentally determine human development.

That is, the way we interact with others is highly significant to our self-realization. Since

development begins from childhood, social relations are critical for children. The people

surrounding and associating with the children are most likely to leave significant marks in the

children's lives (Kaiser, 2020). For the children seeking refuge in the United Kingdom, they have

been treated harshly by their environment. Their rights, as children, have been violated; they

have suffered primary consequences of violence, prejudice, among others (Kaiser, 2020). Based

on Erik Erikson's understanding of human development, these harsh encounters are harmful to

children and can paralyze the further development of their cognitive abilities (Kaiser, 2020).

Therefore, the theory of psychosocial development implies that these children have not satisfied

the requirements for accomplishing the first stage of their development, and an essential stage for

that matter.

Alternatively, Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory believes that children are naive

since their psychological abilities are not yet developed for efficient operation (Schimmel, 2013).

Freud explains that the mind is divided into three segments that perform different functions. He

mentions that the mind is made up of the subconscious, conscious, and unconscious parts

(Kihlstrom, 1992). All these three parts of the mind are structured to perform different functions.

Since children are naïve and defenseless in most cases, they cannot react to most of the severe

social challenges they face in their early lives (Schimmel, 2013). For instance, children whose

rights are violated cannot defend themselves since they do not know the requirement of the law.
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Similarly, children bullied or assaulted and maltreated cannot protect themselves since they are

physically weak and unable to fight back (Schimmel, 2013). Without the support of their

guardians or parents, they continue facing humiliation and maltreatment until they helplessly flee

to seek refuge in the United Kingdom. According to Freud, bad experiences faced by children

are stored in their unconscious minds for the rest of their lives. Such bad feelings sometimes are

exhibited in the form of hatred, fights, jealousy, abuse, and violence towards other people.

From all psychological perspectives, the ill experiences of the children in their original

countries remain in their minds even after they seek asylum in the UK. When they grow into

strong and healthy adults, their lives remain affected by the harsh situations they went through in

their earlier stages of development (Patton & Spry, 2021). That implies some of them are likely

to become abusive, violent, rude, and ungrateful. Generally, most unaccompanied asylum-

seeking children are likely to grow up into gross offenders (Bhatti-Sinclair, 2021). Considering

their large numbers, they can cause significant harm to the UK society despite the outstanding

efforts of the social work providers to accommodate and protect them. As mentioned above, it is

golden that the UK social work providers attempt to provide food, accommodation, and security

for the children (Grady et al., 2004). That comforts them and makes them feel like they have a

new, friendly home where they can interact freely with their peers. Nevertheless, that is not

enough to satisfy the mental depressions already undergone by the children in their countries of

origin. The children need strategic guidance and counseling and a long duration of psychological

healing (Kohli, 2006). Freud suggests that such children should be placed in a free environment

and allowed to speak out the hidden facts in their unconscious mind (Kohli, 2006). After

knowing what is stored in their unconscious mind, the children can be adequately counseled and

guided on the best ways to move forward. By doing that, the social work providers can be
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confident that the children have recovered from their psychological predicaments and can live

safely with their colleagues, growing up into responsible adults.

Service user/mental health service user perspective

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children always have needs that they seek help from

social work organizations. Most of the children have mental problems that arise from past

experiences, and therefore, they cannot contain the experience and suffering they go through

(Department of education, 2017). They go through unimaginable traumatic experiences as they

are victims of torture, rape, domestic violence, physical and emotional abuse, and human

trafficking. They have also observed their relatives going through death, abduction, or torture.

The observation and experience have subjected them to mental disorders such as anxiety

disorders, bipolar disorder, paranoia, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder characterized

by flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety. (Department of education, 2017). Therefore, these

children have intensively distressing but normal reactions to the life contusion they have gone

through, which indicates their resilience and toughness in surviving the experiences.

Therapeutical support is offered to these children so that they can be able to deal with

mental health issues. Service is offered in a group setting or with the child one-on-one where

they are assisted in dealing with nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and anxiety disorders. Twelve

weekly appointments are scheduled for one-on-one therapy, and they have individual therapists

to ensure privacy (UNHCR Geneva, 1997). Mental health is the biggest challenge these children

have, and therefore the government has employed a lot of resources to ensure that these children

will receive the help they need.

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Involvement of the government in helping and assisting these children has reduced a lot

of burden to the social work organization since they receive assistance to cater to the needs of

these children, which reduces the struggle of these organizations and increases efficiency in the

delivery services to these children (Department for Education, 2014). The government has also

ensured that the appropriate people who are in need receive care and necessary services.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children always seek help from social work

organizations to deal with mental health issues they experience since they believe that they are

going to receive quality services. They will be able to overcome the challenges they are

experiencing. There are many assessments that are done to consider a child in need of the

services offered by the organization where they consider what type of care is and

accommodation suites the individual child (Home office, 2016). They try to identify if the child

needs foster care or semi-independent accommodation, which is influenced by age and the level

of assessment (Home office, 2016). If they qualify, they are informed of the services available

from both local authorities and other stated agencies.

The young individuals are assisted in the registration with a GP and dentists. They are

enrolled in local schools or colleges given support by the virtual school. In case of appointments,

the child is accompanied by the assigned interpreter where it necessitates. Unaccompanied

asylum-seeking child assessment may suggest that they need care and all the appropriate

procedure relating to care plans, personal education plans, health and plans for allocating

independent reviewing officers, which should be completed, so that they may receive financial

assistance (Department of education, 2017). Social workers arrange payments of the relevant

amounts according to procedures outlined by the local authority, which include essential items

provisions like clothes, toiletries, or any other materials required by the religion of the childlike
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Bible or Quran. Also, they are to be supported financially in accordance to the attending

appointments concerning their claim in asylums such as to UK Borders Agency or appointment

from the solicitor.

Although social work involves the offering of care services, a child made be denied the

services in cases where they involve corruption or documents contain false information. Social

workers always refer a young person to the necessary agency where they can receive help if they

do not fit into the criteria after assessment. Such agencies include Refugee Council, the UK

Borders Agency (Home Office), or any other relevant agency.

The more the young person continues to qualify for the service, the more the provision

services, but the provider may end due to cases like a family member offers to assume care.

Authorities assess the situation before releasing a child to adoption or special guardianship order

as the authority withdraws from service provision (Children legal center, 2017). Another reason

for the withdrawal of services is when authorities realize that the person was not a child before

receiving the service, and they are referred to NASS. The local authority then informs UK

Borders Agency to withdraw the services (Children legal center, 2017). An agreement with the

social worker manager is made to withdraw services from the child. After the withdrawal, the

finances team is informed by the social worker about the end of the service provision.

If the young person is looked after, their case is reviewed according to the Looked After

Care Planning and Review procedures. Social workers update reviewed documentation and share

it with both the child and the independent reviewing officer, contemplating the child’s desires

and feelings (Department of education, 2017). The unaccompanied asylum-seeking child is

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always involved in the review, and interpreters are sought, and in case of additional support

services, plans are updated. In case of service withdrawal, relevant parties are informed.

The UK has put in place efforts to indicate that social work provides protection to this

young person in need. The process and procedure incorporated show that the government is

ensuring that appropriate parties receive the help they need.

Conclusion

The legal context that deals with the service delivery of social work to the

unaccompanied Asylum-seeking children are best for the country to deal with the cases of mental

health increase in the country among young people. The government aims to ensure that they

provide quality care to people who ask for assistance and prepare children to have a better future,

considering the history of the subject that there was no much emphasis on the welfare of

children. The government efforts to safeguard and promote children's welfare by imposing a duty

to the local authorities in section 17 of the children Act 1989.

The government has displayed its effort in ensuring that underprivileged parties receive

care and necessities they require having shown the efforts it has put in place to ensure they do

not suffer traumas but enhance the lives of children who need help by offering the appropriate

services to children which include giving them basic needs like shelter, education, clothing, and

food. This shows that the government is employing all relevant resources and displaying all the

efforts needed to cater to the needs of these children. Still, it has several gaps that need to be

closed to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the government efforts.

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Recommendations

Uk government through local authority has done, and social work organization has doe=ne

tremendous job in catering and assisting the children who sought Asylum. Providing them with

therapeutical resources has enhanced their lives. Also, providing basic needs such as clothing,

shelter, food, and even financial assistance for their needs is commendable since the government

commits a lot of resources to ensure they provide care to these children in need.

However, there is a lot to be done to ensure that children heal from the past traumatic events

they experienced, make sure that they don't develop unethical behaviors, and develop the right

attitudes towards people and the environment where they grow. There are few recommendations

that will eliminate the negative consequences of these experiences. They include:

I. They should be taking the child to a rehabilitation center where they will fully recover

from the traumas.

II. Offer psychological guidance and care to these children by showing unconditional love.

Children should be subjected to fun activities that equal their age to ensure that they do

not miss any part of their life journey.

III. Another recommendation is encouraging those who have gone through the same life

experience to provide guidance and help to these children. That is, people who have been

through UASC Should be nominated to higher positions to install policies that will

benefit the group.

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