Children experience long-lasting harms when they are forcibly separated from their families. Even just brief separations can cause deep, permanent damage. This isn’t based on hypotheticals or assumptions — it’s something we know to be true.
Given the overwhelming research proving the trauma that such separations inflict on children and their parents, a state’s decision to take such a drastic step should always be deeply vetted and dependent on the safety and well-being of the involved child. The unfortunate reality, however, is that the modern child welfare system was built on a deeply racist foundation that encourages family separations instead of providing robust and meaningful help for children and their families.