Separated and in the system: Campus event explores effects of family separation

On March 21, Valerie Jackson, founder of Monarch Family Services, gave a presentation titled Intergenerational Trauma through Family Separation Policies: The Case of Latinx Children in the Foster Care System.

The presentation was hosted by the Latina/o and Latin American Studies program. Though currently offered as a minor, staff hopes events such as this will help the program grow.

“We hope to engage more of not just our Latino students, but all students, faculty, staff, administrators,” said Desdamona Rios, associate professor of psychology and director of Latina/o and Latin American Studies. “Eventually we’d like to grow it into a major since UHCL is a Hispanic serving institution.”

Jackson’s presentation outlined the multiple factors that contribute to the trauma that children in the foster care system face, particularly Latinx children whose parents are detained when crossing the border.

Because crossing the border without proper paperwork is illegal, families are separated, and children go into the foster care system while parents face trial and often deportation. There are no official numbers on how many children have been removed through this process, but the Department of Homeland Security reports that at least 81 children have been removed since November 2018. While the policy of family separation has received an abundance of publicity recently, it is not a new phenomenon.

“I have had several conversations with people that think this is a new practice under the Trump administration, and I have to correct them and say no, this has always been the practice,” Jackson said.

Jackson explained that for children in foster care, the initial removal is often the most traumatic incident in their lives. However, the struggle does not end there. Currently, there are no regulations on the number of times a child can be moved to a different foster home. Thus, children can be moved arbitrarily.

“The most traumatic experience is the removal, but then after that we have traumatization every time they move,” Jackson said. “I’ve been in the presence of plenty of kids who have been in the system for five years or more and have experienced 50 placements, 30 placements.”

Jackson also noted this constant movement goes against children’s need for permanence, without which they are less likely to develop the skills they need to be independent and successful adults. A lack of family structure can also take an emotional toll on children.

“My children always say, ‘I want a family. I want to get out of foster care. I want to feel connected to someone,’” Jackson said.

For children separated at the border, there are even more issues. Migrant children face linguistic, cultural, and educational barriers within the United States. Once separated from their parents, these children are often left with no ties to their family or home country.

While finding next of kin is prioritized for American children, the system does not look for possible family in the United States for migrant children. Additionally, reunification is usually impossible because parental contact information is either lost or not shared with foster care workers.

While adoption could ease the situation, migrant children must achieve citizenship before they are eligible for adoption, a process that can take up to seven years, by which time the child may have already aged out of the system. Additionally, Jackson found that Latino boys are the least likely of any other group to get adopted.

However, there are solutions. From a policy standpoint, Jackson suggests an end to the zero-tolerance policy, an end to prosecution for asylum seekers, removing obstacles for legal guardianship, more transparency within Homeland Security, mandating CPS to use dialect specific interpreters, and immediate reunification and permanence for children whenever possible.

There are also things that the average person can do. Voting and writing to Congress are two simple actions that can make a big difference. Rios also encourages people to educate themselves on the topic and share information with people they know. Additionally, there are numerous charities that provide legal help for those detained at the border.

For those looking to take things a step further, there are the options to become a CASA volunteer or a foster parent. CASA volunteers spend time with children and their parents and report to a judge on how things are going within the family. Their opinion has a lot of weight in whether the child is reunified or put into the foster care system. Foster parents are also always needed. In Texas, there are 30,000 children in foster care of which 8,000 are eligible for adoption.

Rios notes that it’s important to remember that even small contributions can make a difference.

“You don’t have to be the superhero,” Rios said. “Things change by the small work of a lot of people.”