Funded Projects

Terra Firma Chicago, Connecting Immigrant Families

Project Year

2026

City & State

Chicago, Illinois

Program Name

Implementation

Topic

Immigrant/Migrant/Refugee/Undocumented Health

Program Description

Problem: Terra Firma Chicago (TFC) is a new interdisciplinary medical–legal–mental health program launching a partnership between UIC, Children’s Legal Center (CLC), and Terra Firma National (TFN). Many participating children will be recent arrivals from Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean, navigating trauma, unstable housing, fragmented access to care, and barriers to securing immigration protection. Pediatricians, behavioral health clinicians, and attorneys across UIC and CLC have identified an urgent need for a unified, trauma-informed model that collectively addresses medical, mental health, and legal needs.  Setting: TFC will operate through a co-located “Terra Firma Clinic” at UIC, allowing family-friendly access without disrupting existing clinical workflows. During these clinics, UIC pediatricians will provide comprehensive care; CLC attorneys will offer on-site legal screenings, consultations, and relief representation; and UIC’s behavioral health team will offer screening, group support, and supported referral pathways, building on UIC’s stepped-care behavioral health model. Patients will be referred to TFC in several ways: through UIC’s clinics; through CLC; through non-UIC providers; or through community-based organizations (CBOs) serving immigrants. Word-of-mouth, walk-in, and CBO referrals are critical pathways for reaching immigrant families wary of formal systems or facing barriers to accessing care, surfacing unmet legal and healthcare needs.  Number of Children: TFC will serve 30–40 children in Year 1 and 40–60 in Year 2, using a pilot structure allowing teams to build workflows collaboratively and adapt based on lessons learned. Medical, legal, mental health, and program coordination champions will participate in interdisciplinary case conferences, operational meetings, and TFN network activities. The program will include 1-2 clinics monthly, ongoing case conferences, cross-disciplinary training, and technical assistance provided by TFN.   Goal: The project’s goal is to improve health, safety, and well-being for Chicago’s newly-arrived immigrant children. TFC seeks to demonstrate a replicable, sustainable interdisciplinary model for immigrant child well-being, positioning Chicago as a national leader in integrated care for newly-arrived children and families.  Intervention: TFC will integrate immigration legal services directly into pediatric primary care to improve health equity, stabilize families, and address the profound trauma and uncertainty facing newly-arrived immigrant children. Behavioral health integration leverages UIC’s CHECK program, which provides SDoH screening, motivational interviewing, and short-term therapy for children. This positions TFC to pilot a robust mental health component, including low-intensity group models strengthening family support and social connection—critical for newly-arrived families experiencing isolation and instability. Children screening positive for behavioral health needs—anticipated to be many given trauma exposure—can be connected through existing navigator pathways or through TFC’s enhanced coordination mechanisms.  Anticipated Outcomes: Anticipated benefits include improved access to pediatric care, reductions in missed appointments, incorporation of forensic pediatric support for immigration legal cases, increased behavioral health engagement, and dissolving silos between legal, medical, and mental health teams. The model aligns with UIC’s priorities to expand trauma-informed care, strengthen SDoH screening processes, and serve as a child health equity leader. For CLC, it provides pediatric and mental health interventions, offering a trauma-informed approach to support legal cases. For families, TFC provides a single, safe, trusted point of access for multiple essential services. 

Project Goal

To improve health, safety, and well-being for newly arrived immigrant children in Chicago by launching a coordinated medical–legal–mental health clinic that reduces barriers to care, increases access to trauma-informed services, and addresses immigration status as a key social determinant of health.

Project Objective 1

By September 2026, establish and launch a co-located Terra Firma Chicago clinic at UIC that provides integrated medical, behavioral health, and immigration legal services to newly arrived immigrant children, ensuring culturally responsive and trauma-informed access for all participating families.

Project Objective 2

By the end of the grant period, implement a standardized, inclusive referral and service coordination process that enables timely, bi-directional referrals between pediatric, behavioral health, and legal partners, reducing missed appointments and strengthening continuity of care.

Project Objective 3

By September 2026, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and care coordination by implementing a structured schedule of Terra Firma Chicago planning meetings and case conferences that promote shared decision-making, trauma-informed practice, and equitable access to integrated services for newly arrived immigrant children.

AAP District

District VI

Institutional Name

University of Illinois at Chicago

Contact 1

Michelle Barnes, MD