News
Fellow Social Workers,
As a school of social work, we don’t often talk “politics” but we do always talk “policy.” We have all become aware of the mounting crisis created by the new policy of separation of children from their parents at the border. Although the President yesterday signed an Executive Order halting one piece of the current policy, many questions remain. As of today, it appears that those children who have been separated from their families will not be reunified in any timely manner, and it is unclear how the current federal court order limiting detention of children will be managed as families enter detention. Some, both in and out of government, have observed that many families may never be reunified. It is important that our concerns for these separated children and families not fade into the background as events unfold.
Let me be very clear, the policy of separating families is not congruent with the ethics of our profession nor with what we know about the effects of separation on children and their parents. As Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) has said:
Dean and Distinguished Professor
Rutgers School of Social Work
Selected Statements and Recommendations
- Dean Luis H. Zayas, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, University of Texas Austin
- National Association of Social Workers
- National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine
- Congressional Social Workers Caucus Statement
- Former First Lady Laura Bush, Washington Post Op Ed
- Dr. Colleen Kraft, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics
- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Ways to Act
Call your Representative and Senator
Volunteer
- First Friends of New Jersey and New York provides volunteer opportunities to support detainees in local detention facilities.
- Immigrants Advocates Network provides information on many local organizations
- CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project
- A list of relevant organizations on the ground in Texas