American Bar Association Training for Attorneys: Trauma Caused by Separation of Children from Parents Worse than Staying in Troubled Homes

Comments by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News

We have reported for years now that the Child “Protective” Services of state governments are corrupt, and part of a national “child trafficking” system that is a multi-billion dollar industry funded by American taxpayers and employing hundreds of thousands of people to support this industry.

If you are new to this subject and suspect that I am overstating the problem, here are some good places to start to understand what is really happening with child welfare services in this country:

The U.S. Foster Care System: Modern Day Slavery and Child Trafficking

Child Kidnapping and Trafficking: A Lucrative U.S. Business Funded by Taxpayers

From Child Protection to State-sponsored Child Kidnapping: How Did we Get Here?

While it varies from state to state, statistics bear out that very few children are actually removed from their homes due to abuse.

True abuse, a legally defined term, happens in only 10-15% of the cases. And even in those few cases, seldom is abuse determined by law enforcement trained in forensic evidence to determine abuse, as is evidenced by the fact that social workers and judges in family courts rule on cases of abuse while no formal charges are made against the parents.

The vast majority of children are removed from their homes for “neglect,” a much broader term which has no standard legal definition.

It basically means that the government decides who is a good parent and who is not based on their own subjective standards.

The most common area we report on is “medical neglect,” which means a doctor decides what is appropriate treatment for your child, and if you disagree or want to seek a second opinion, you risk losing your children.

The trauma to children from being removed from their homes is both documented by large-scale studies, and proven by the results of what happens to these children as they grow up outside of their homes and become adults.

The American Bar Association has compiled this research and made it available for attorneys:

Trauma Caused by Separation of Children from Parents: A Tool to Help Lawyers

Children are seriously harmed when they separated from their parents. There has been quite a bit of research that proves that harm and outlines the specific ways that children are harmed.

This tool is designed to help lawyers use that research in their advocacy.

Whether you are a child welfare lawyer who wants to encourage a court to balance the harm of removing a child with the risk of abuse or neglect that the child faces by remaining in the home, a delinquency lawyer who wants to encourage a placement that preserves a child’s relationship with their family, or an immigration lawyer who wants to emphasize the damage done when a child is separated from his or her parents, this information is laid out in a way that allows you to easily use the research.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This memorandum provides a summary of the extensive research detailing the grave consequences that result when a child is separated from his or her parent(s).

Part II sets forth talking points for use by trial and appellate lawyers during oral argument. These talking points distill the key themes and conclusions of the clinical and legal research set out in the balance of this memorandum.

Part III begins with a review of the clinical literature concerning the well-documented psychological and physical effects of removal generally. These resources find that the negative effects of removal often far outweigh the harm allegedly inflicted on the child by his or her parent.

Part III next reviews relevant case law and legal journal articles applying these clinical findings in cases involving removal or attempted removal. Because one of the original driving forces behind development of this memorandum was the federal government’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border, the cases summarized in this memorandum generally concern challenges to that policy. The courts rely heavily on literature from the scientific and medical communities describing the negative effects of parent-child separation.

Part IV reviews literature discussing the effects of placement into foster care, which concludes that those effects are negative and substantial. The memorandum then reviews literature that may serve as a resource for parents facing a removal or who have already lost their children. Some of this literature provides guidance on healthy and effective parenting strategies; other literature addresses the potential benefits of post-removal visitation, mental health counseling, and other social services. Though not particularly useful for a memorandum of law in opposition to a removal petition, these resources may be helpful in counseling the client on practical actions he or she might take to protect the relationship with his or her child.

Part V reviews literature regarding the physical effects of “toxic stress,” which is prevalent among children who are removed from the parental home.

Finally, Part VI of the memorandum provides a listing of available additional resources assessing the effects of removal, including studies on the outcomes for children removed from the parental home and the long-term effects of the trauma that results from removal. (Source.)