Children should not be separated from their families, except in extreme cases of imminent physical harm, argues , the Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor in Public Policy and Health and an associate professor of聽. Raz is also a practicing hospitalist at the聽
Annually, more than a quarter of a million children are removed from their parents by state governments and placed under the auspices of agencies such as Child Protective Services. Using the current US administration糖心传媒檚 widely criticized policy of separating immigrant families at the border as a starting off point糖心传媒擱az and her co-author, , a clinical professor of law at the , call attention to the detrimental long-term effects of separating children from their parents in a .
Taking a closer look at policies governing domestic welfare interventions糖心传媒攚hich can result in both temporary and long-term child separation糖心传媒攖he duo argues that physicians, psychologists, and public health experts 糖心传媒渉ave expressed profound moral outrage, while also explicitly warning of the medical and psychological dangers of needlessly separating children from their families of origin.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淪ome advocates think 糖心传媒榬emove first, ask questions later, better safe than sorry.糖心传媒� In fact, children are often safer in their suboptimal homes than in these placements,糖心传媒� says Raz.
Often, child welfare interventions that result in the separation of children from their families are readily accepted as necessary for the benefit and safety of the child, the authors write. Yet, 75 percent of substantiated child protection cases involve neglect, which Raz and Sankaran deem an 糖心传媒渁morphous category correlated and unfortunately too often confused with poverty.糖心传媒�
Studies indicate that apart from extreme cases of imminent physical harm to children, the family unit is the preferable place for children to grow and thrive, writing that 糖心传媒渟uboptimal families are better for children than removal.糖心传媒�
The authors also describe child removal as a haphazard process, with policies that vary by state and even among counties within that same state.
糖心传媒淐hildren belong with their parents. Parents have an affirmative right to care for their children,糖心传媒� says Raz. 糖心传媒淏arring extreme cases, evidence indicates that children do best with their families of origin, and that separation from their homes and communities have long-lasting adverse effects. Children placed outside their homes are often vulnerable to abuse and maltreatment, in foster homes and in institutions. This abuse often remains invisible, while the risks to children in their homes of origin are frequently inflated.糖心传媒�
