Don’t miss the companion article to this one:
The Consequences of Forced Separation
When Traumatized Children Return to Traumatized Parents
Several hundred more children are being held in family detention facilities (which are essentially prisons), typically with their mothers. On a recent visit to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, Shepherd saw young children with runny noses and pink eye, many of them engaging in regressive behavior like kicking and biting. There are no soft furnishings in these facilities, and the infant formula and other dietary provisions are barely adequate. The Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997 stipulates that these families be released to relatives after 20 days.
“Detention is not humane for babies,” asserts Jones-Taylor. Even well maintained, fully stocked and staffed conditions are inherently damaging. “There is no optimal separation from community.”
“As you make decisions about the level of domestic spending and specific funding levels, I urge you to think about the 4 million babies who will be born this year and ensure that we do not squander the potential of a single one.”
Read Jones-Taylor’s Spring 2019 Statement to the House Committee on Appropriations
“Informed by the daily work we do, we cannot—and will not—stand by while policies are enacted that inflict severe and significant collateral damage on families, including young children.”
Read the joint statement from Jones-Taylor and 13 other Aspen Institute Fellows, on the Trump Administration’s January 2017 Immigration Executive Order
- Immediate: Detention and separation are incredibly stressful ordeals for children who’ve already gone through the stressful experience of getting here. During the journey, at least they had a parent or caregiver to trust. In these circumstances, however, the brain goes into immediate response mode: fight, flight, or freeze. Stress hormones are released and not turned off. That biological response is on constant loop.
- Long term: The mental and physical health outcomes are well known. The cognitive disabilities can persist through adulthood and adult relationships. Children in their first three years are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of trauma because their brains are so plastic and receptive.
Professional resource:
Supporting Young Children Experiencing Separation and Trauma A directory of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) clinicians across the country who have experience working with this population and are trained to provide developmentally appropriate, two-generation, trauma-informed services.
Early Learning Nation columnist Mark Swartz writes for and about nonprofit organizations. Author of the children's books Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, Lost Flamingo, Magpie Bridge and The Giant of the Flood as well as a few novels, he lives in Takoma Park, MD, with his wife and two children.