Madrid, Spain
October 25–26, 2022

Organizing committee: Douglas J. Besharov (University of Maryland), Douglas M. Call (University of Maryland), Neil Gilbert (University of California, Berkeley), Javier Paez (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia), and Sagrario Segado (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia).

Around the globe, people are migrating to other countries and regions. Some are traveling alone (and looking for work, whether skilled and unskilled) and others are migrating as family (and extended family) units. Many are youths. In many developed countries, foreign-born populations have reached 15 percent and even 20 percent of the total population. While adding often much-needed workers to national economies, immigrant populations frequently have special needs for education, housing, and financial support, and often give rise to sharp political discord. Countries differ widely in how they handle authorized and unauthorized immigration, including employment, assimilation/integration, regularization, and citizenship. What is this experience writ large and in specific countries, and what can be learned from it?

The International Network for Social Policy Teaching and Research, the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, the University of California Berkeley Center for Comparative Family Welfare and Poverty Research, the European Research Center in Policies and Action on Minors and Migration, and the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia Department of Social Work will cosponsor a conference on the design and implementation of programs for migrants (especially for youth, but not limited to them).

The conference will be held at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Madrid, Spain, beginning with a dinner on Monday, 24 October, with the presentation of papers on Tuesday, 25 October and perhaps Wednesday, 26 October. In addition, after the main conference, there will be an optional trip to the European Research Center on Minors and Migration in Melilla, Spain. This is a Call for Papers for the conference and a Special Issue of the International Journal of Social Welfare or similar publication.

We invite papers on this topic generally as well as on the impact of immigration on specific national social welfare and social protection programs, including minimum wage, earning supplements, basic income programs, unemployment benefits and social assistance, disability programs, job skills and workforce development programs, and retirement policies and public pensions. (We would welcome a paper based on your previous publications, updated as appropriate.)

Of special interest are papers that address the needs of youthful migrants and their families.

Presenting at the conference is not required to have a paper considered for the Special Issue, and presenting at the conference does not bind authors to submit their papers for the Special Issue. Submitted papers will receive peer review according to standard processes.

Authors interested in having a paper considered for either the conference, the Special Issue, or both, should submit a two-page abstract—no later than July 18, 2022—using this form.

In the abstract, please indicate whether you could present at the conference.

Authors will be notified by August 1, 2022 of whether their abstract has been accepted for the conference and/or encouraged for submission to the Special Issue of the International Journal of Social Welfare or similar publication. The notification will include information on the conference and the deadline for submitting final papers (tentatively October 1, 2022). Conference papers will be circulated approximately two weeks before the conference.

Questions should be directed to Professor Sagrario Segado (ssegado@der.uned.es) and Professor Javier Paez (javier.paez@der.uned.es).

Please note that there will be a $100 conference registration fee.