Abstract:

Since the flood of child migrants from Central America burst upon the southern United States in the summer of 2014—a vast rise in arrivals dubbed “the Surge”—Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) had been facing overwhelming demand for its legal services. Wendy Young, KIND’s president, explained that the organization’s primary mission was to ensure that no child appears alone in immigration court, but KIND also wanted to provide leadership, research, and advocacy to protect these “children on the move” from laws and practices that threatened their fundamental human rights. Ms. Young was facing a critical juncture in the organizational life of KIND: where and how should it focus its resources for greatest effectiveness in protecting child migrants? What limits must the organization set on its activities when facing an almost unlimited need for legal, social, health, and educational support of these vulnerable children?

Available from Harvard Business Publishing