Unaccompanied children are especially vulnerable to labor exploitation. Addressing and protecting unaccompanied children and youth from labor exploitation is critical to ensure their safety and well-being and to build stronger, safer communities. To this end, KIND is launching the CARE: Connect, Assess, Respond, and Educate Intervention Toolkit: A Toolkit for Professionals Serving Unaccompanied Children Experiencing Labor Exploitation (“CARE Intervention Toolkit”).
The CARE Intervention Toolkit provides a framework, tools, and library of resources for professionals who work with unaccompanied children and youth facing exploitative labor situations. The toolkit presents the CARE framework, developed by KIND, which encompasses four key components: Connect, Assess, Respond, and Educate, guiding professionals step by step on how to best support vulnerable children and youth. The toolkit is youth-centered, trauma-informed, and grounded in the principles of Psychological First Aid, an evidence-based intervention widely used by professionals to assist individuals who have experienced trauma.
America Hernandez-Lemus, social services program manager with KIND’s national team who helped create toolkit, said:
As a psychosocial professional who has worked with unaccompanied children for a number of years, I know first-hand some of the challenges that lead them to work in exploitative conditions and how difficult it is to navigate those situations with the youth. With that in mind, the CARE Intervention Toolkit was informed by key insights gained from the field that I hope will empower other professionals to support unaccompanied children in exploitative situations. By fostering safety, showing empathy, recognizing their strengths and agency, and connecting them to vital resources, we can address the needs that led them to this to work and hopefully prevent or mitigate future exploitation.
With this toolkit and other resources, KIND continues to strengthen its commitment to unaccompanied children as a leading global educator on how professionals with a wide range of expertise can help and support unaccompanied children.
The toolkit is one of many key resources KIND created to educate and empower children, youth, educators, social workers, attorneys, and advocates on how to safeguard young workers, educate them about their legal protections, and understand intervention strategies. To learn more about how to address and prevent child labor exploitation, check out KIND’s free virtual training: Understanding & Mitigating Child Labor Exploitation: Understanding & Mitigating Child Labor Exploitation.
Together, we can help protect young workers from exploitation. Please share the CARE Intervention Toolkit and other resources with your networks. If you have questions or want to learn more about KIND’s LEPP program, please reach out to lepp@supportkind.org
