Up to 500 unaccompanied refugee children may arrive from Central America in 2014, according to the department.
“Our mission is to protect and promote the health of San Franciscans and we are proud to provide the services these new San Franciscans need,” Director of Health Barbara Garcia said in a statement.
The health department is partnering with school clinics and providing health care in primary care clinics. It will also offer mental health training to organizations that work with refugee youths.
“We have developed a unified plan to help these children face this humanitarian crisis,” Ken Epstein, director of Children, Youth and Families Behavioral Health, said in a statement. “In this city we have lots of trauma experts to attend to the children’s needs as well as the needs of staff who are tending to them.”
San Francisco is a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants and other city departments, including the Mayor's Office, Board of Supervisors and San Francisco Unified School District, provide resources for refugee children. The City has a resource guide available here.