Become a trained Child Advocate for immigrant children

Save to Favorites

A Volunteer Child Advocate is an adult who volunteers to spend time with and advocate on behalf of an unaccompanied or separated immigrant child while they are subject to immigration and removal proceedings. Volunteers receive continuous training, support, and supervision from Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights San Antonio social workers and attorneys, and together they advocate for the best interests of the child they are serving. Future advocates must attend an entire volunteer training before they will be able to appoint as advocate for a child.

Our next training for future Volunteer Child Advocates will be hosted in-person in San Antonio on Saturday March 25 and Sunday March 26. Applications to attend the training will be due due March 7, and interviews must be completed by March 14. Prior to being invited to the training, advocates will be required to complete an application and a screening call. At the training, volunteers will learn about child development, child-led communication and activities, U.S. immigration law, and issues facing unaccompanied immigrant children. Please fill out an interest form at https://www.theyoungcenter.org/volunteer-child-advocate-interest-form to receive an application.

We welcome volunteers in the San Antonio area from all cultures, professions, races, ethnicities and social backgrounds. We are particularly seeking volunteers who are Spanish speakers; there are limited spaces reserved for non-Spanish speakers at the training event. We also work with limited volunteers in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

As a Child Advocate, volunteers commit to:

• Visit with the child in-person, once a week for the duration of their shelter/facility stay, typically around 3-5 months
• Help the child think through options and decisions.
• If available, accompany the child to court hearings and other important meetings and interviews when applicable.
• Conduct research on the child’s situation in his or her home country, if the volunteer is interested
• Help a staff attorney or social worker draft a written report regarding best interest recommendations.
• Maintain communication with the Young Center staff, the child’s Case Manager at the shelter and the child’s attorney.
• Advocate for the best interest of the child to stakeholders

If you are interested in applying to become a trained child advocate for unaccompanied immigrant children in San Antonio, please fill out an interest form at https://www.theyoungcenter.org/volunteer-child-advocate-interest-form.

Please feel free to contact Julia Beck, San Antonio Volunteer Coordinator, at jbeck@theyoungcenter.org or respond to this listing for more information about upcoming virtual information sessions, the training event, and the volunteer experience.

*Advocates must be at least 21 years old. Per federal policy, a background check, COVID immunization, and tuberculosis screening will be required before visiting with a child.*