September 6, 2019
By U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General
“The number of young children, age 12 and younger, in ORR’s [Office of Refugee Resettlement] care increased sharply in May 2018 when DHS formally adopted the zero-tolerance policy of criminally prosecuting all adults for illegal entry into the United States. This policy led to children, some of them quite young, being separated from their parents.”
Read the complete Report here: Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody.
“According to mental health clinicians and program directors, some children experienced or witnessed violence during the trip to the U.S. border. For example, a mental health clinician in one facility shared the story of a child who, while attempting to cross from Guatemala to Mexico, was abducted by a gang and held for ransom. The gang held the child in a compound, where another individual was shot in the head. Later, a woman who helped the child escape from the compound was shot by the gang.”
Read the complete Report here: Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody.
“Some children faced additional trauma when they were unexpectedly separated from a parent. Even for children who entered the United States without their parents—those not separated—some found it traumatic to adapt to new and unfamiliar situations in facilities. As one mental health clinician explained, adapting was difficult because children ‘lose friends, staff, the routine. And if they have to move somewhere else, it’s just one more loss.'”
Read the complete Report here: Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody.
Read the complete Report here: Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody.
“Facilities reported that some reunifications were scheduled with little advance notice, or suddenly canceled or delayed, which increased the levels of uncertainty and anxiety in separated children and other children in the facility. In one case, a child was moved from a facility in Florida to a facility in Texas to be reunited with her father. However, a mental health clinician reported that after the child made several trips to the detention center, she was returned to the Florida facility “in shambles” without ever seeing her father.”
Read the complete Report here: Care Provider Facilities Described Challenges Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody.
“Physical symptoms felt by separated children are manifestations of their psychological pain. You get a lot of “my chest hurts,” even though everything is fine [medically]. Children describe symptoms, “Every heartbeat hurts,” “I can’t feel my heart,” of emotional pain.” ~Medical Director