The Legal and Protection Needs of ‘Undocumented’ Children and Young People in England and Wales
In 2012, MiCLU received funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Unbound Philanthropy to use its children’s rights expertise across immigration, housing, social welfare, education and public law to develop a pioneering wrap-around legal service for young people.
- What does ‘undocumented’ mean?
- Who are undocumented children and young people?
- What are the problems they face?
- What help do they need to address these?
- What are the risks if they don’t get help?
- Will there be more undocumented children and young people in a ‘post-Brexit’ landscape?
Conscious that we were at a watershed moment in terms of the availability of legal aid for this vulnerable group we built into our service data capture and analysis of our clients’ multiple needs.
This socio-legal research is the first of its kind in the UK to scope the legal, protection and welfare needs of ‘undocumented’ young people who are alone: documenting complex stories and histories to understand the issues young people face; mapping their multiple needs and the barriers that prevent them accessing vital support; and monitoring the impact of the removal of legal aid upon this vulnerable group.
Our recommendations call for changes to law, policy and practice.
