The Journeys of Migrant Children in Virginia
The Journeys of Migrant Children in Virginia
My data analysis and visualizations exploring the migration of unaccompanied children to Virginia
Happy Friday! It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? Now that I’m no longer doing the weekly local news recaps, I’ve been chipping away at some bigger projects, and I’m excited to share one of those with you today.
This week, the Virginia Mercury published a story on the journeys of unaccompanied migrant children in Virginia, and I created interactive data visualizations to support the article, raising critical questions about who is caring for these children, their education, and in some cases, their disappearances.
The Project
With data from the US Department of Health and Human Services obtained by The New York Times, I filtered the data for Virginia and used a Google tool called Looker Studio to develop three dashboards designed to help readers dig into the details of this issue.
Timeline of Migrant Children Arrivals
📅 Timeline Dashboard: Readers can select a time period to see how many migrant children were sent to which zip codes within that window.
Key Takeaway: More unaccompanied children arrived in Virginia after the start of the pandemic (April 2020) than in the previous five years.
Relationships with Sponsors
👨👩👦 Relationship Chart: This chart allows readers to explore the types of relationships these children have with the adults they were released to (sponsors) after immigration proceedings.
Key Takeaway: Nearly 3,000 migrant children were placed with distant relatives or unrelated sponsors in Virginia.
Overview of Migrant Children in VA
📊 Overview Dashboard: Readers can search by country of origin, gender, release date, and sponsor category, with results illustrated on a map and table.
Key Takeaway: Culpeper County stands out, where a disproportionate number of migrant children have been sent compared to the relatively small local population. Dozens of migrant children in that county have gone missing.
The Goal
My hope is that these tools equip policymakers and advocates with the information they need to find solutions to better ensure these children receive the care and education they deserve.
If you have any questions about this story or these dashboards, message me!
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