Ensuring the protection of children alone

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) envisions a world in which unaccompanied and separated children’s rights and well-being are protected as they seek safety.

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We Protect Children, Every Step of the Way

Our Mission

KIND will achieve our mission by:

Ensuring that no child appears in immigration court without high quality legal representation;

Advancing laws, policies, and practices that ensure children’s protection and uphold their right to due process and fundamental fairness; and

Promoting in countries of origin, transit, and destination durable solutions to child migration that are grounded in the best interests of the child and ensure that no child is forced to involuntarily migrate.

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70,000+
Children educated on their legal rights in the United States and Mexico.
14,000+
Children received legal representation in the United States in collaboration with our 800+ global partners.
11,000+
Children and families in the United States and Mexico provided psychosocial support.
3,000+
Children assisted with legal services support in Europe in collaboration with our global partners.

Our Programs

Achieving Our Mission

Legal Protection

KIND’s expert staff, along with our extensive network of private sector pro bono and nongovernmental organization partners, provide unaccompanied children with innovative holistic care that includes legal representation, education, assistance, family reunification, and litigation.

Policy & Advocacy

KIND works to ensure unaccompanied children receive fair and humane treatment throughout their journey to safety by advocating for policies and actions that advance child protection globally.

Psychosocial Programs

KIND provides comprehensive psychosocial support programming, connecting thousands of children and families to essential medical care, mental health care, access to education, and crisis intervention to ensure their safety and well-being.

Global Programs

KIND works with global partners to protect children alone. We use our civil society partnerships and our extensive pro bono network to ensure the safety and well-being of children alone in countries of origin, arrival, transit, and destination.
Boy looking at camera

You can help us protect and defend children fleeing for their lives.

With your support, KIND can continue to protect unaccompanied children and make lasting positive changes for their future.

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Take Action

Sign our pledge to support vulnerable unaccompanied children today and help them succeed and thrive.

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Every child deserves to be safe. Here's how you can make a difference today.

Volunteer

Monthly donations help KIND guarantee there are no gaps in representation or services for our child clients.

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Our blog has weekly in-depth updates on our global programs.

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Keeping Kids Safe

New Campaign Initiative

KIND’s Keeping Kids Safe: A Seamless Safety Net for Children on the Move is a 10-year initiative designed to transform outdated laws, shift conversations about child immigration to center child protection, and reform the way the current U.S. immigration system—and subsequently protection systems across the globe—treats children.

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Global Impact

KIND in Central America

KIND and our partners in Central America work to ensure that unaccompanied children have access to return and reintegration services, family reunification, gender-based violence prevention programing, and access to vital protection services in country.

KIND in Europe

KIND has adapted its pro bono model to expand legal assistance to children on the move in Europe. In partnership with leading local non-profit organizations, we work to ensure unaccompanied and separated children's rights and well-being are protected.

KIND in Mexico

KIND assists children who are unaccompanied, separated, or at-risk of separation and collaborates with civil society and government stakeholders to promote the rights of children across Mexico.
Photo of a Ukraine refugee girl wrapped in a blanket. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Child protection is a universal value that unites all.