As ICE amplifies its campaign to deport thousands of immigrants, many of our immigrant neighbors live in fear of being abducted by ICE, worrying about (among other things) who will take care of their children if they are unable to do so. 

In response to these threats, Welcoming Network members and dozens of other community volunteers and agency staff have helped hundreds of local parents complete Childcare Safety Plans (“CSP”), covering over 1000 children to date. The CSP is a free, bilingual (English/Spanish), user-friendly and self-help template for a parent to designate another adult as a caregiver for their minor child and give that caregiver the authority and information necessary to care for the child.  The CSP allows parents to continue to participate in their child’s life as fully as possible, even in the face of immigration actions or other emergencies, without risking the loss of their parental rights.  The CSP does not require court involvement, offering families autonomy in making these critical caregiving decisions. (The CSP can be found at this link: Childcare Safety Plan).  

The primary goal of the CSP is to protect children from exclusion or neglect if their parent is not available to consent to their full inclusion in life’s activities - such as school, medical and recreational activities. A critical secondary goal of the CSP is to help families feel empowered to make their own choices in the face of the risk of traumatic disruption caused by events outside their control, and to ease the anxiety they are experiencing amid news reports of widespread immigration enforcement and family separations.  The CSP helps to facilitate meaningful family conversations about who will care for the child if the parents are unable to do so. One of our Welcoming Network parents reported, "Completing the CSP was truly helpful for me. It gave me practical steps to support my children and brought me a sense of clarity during a stressful time. It helped me feel more organized and secure and reminded me that I have support along the way.”

The CSP is the result of a group effort of concerned attorneys and people from across the spectrum of social service and government agencies who were concerned about the risks to children and families caused by sudden and involuntary family separations that were in the national news in 2017.  This group included Miriam Stombler, a retired attorney from the Santa Cruz County Counsel’s Office, who later became one of the cofounders of the Welcoming Network.  Says Miriam, “We were animated by the beliefs that no child should be left vulnerable or excluded from school, health, or community services for lack of an adult to consent to their participation; no child should be placed unnecessarily in child protective services or guardianship proceedings when their parents have already chosen reliable and loving caregivers for them; and no parent should fear the loss of parental rights because of their immigration status.”  

The CSP Coalition now includes over 100 volunteers and agency staff who are trained to assist parents in completing the CSP.  These volunteers include several Welcoming Network members, who are assisting the families we accompany, as well as parents throughout the community. 

The CSP dovetails perfectly with recently enacted AB 495, the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, which affirms the California legislature’s commitment to protecting immigrant families in the event of separation by federal law enforcement.  This Act expands protections for immigrants in schools and childcare facilities, directs the Attorney General to create and disseminate model policies to bolster the web of protection needed for vulnerable families, expands the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit ("CAA") to include more authorized relatives, and creates a “joint guardianship” procedure to address a parent’s temporary incapacity as a result of ICE enforcement and other circumstances. 

“Our goal is to have every child in the State covered by a CSP, so that they can have a smooth continuity of care by loving caregivers if they are separated from their parents by immigration enforcement.” says Miriam.  “In a time when immigrants are being demonized and parents are being terrorized, we owe it to our children to reassure them that they are loved and cherished and we are doing everything we can to protect them.” 

People who are interested in volunteering with the CSP Coalition and/or completing a CSP should visit the CSP website at https://communitybridges.org/csp/ 

In addition, please join us in asking the California Attorney General to provide a free, multilingual child care safety plan template for every family in the state! Click and share please!! https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/ab495csp

2 December 2025 | Written by Miriam Stombler