Vulnerable Populations
What Does Trump’s Executive Order Mean for Children at the Border?
When news broke this week that President Trump was going to stop separating families at the border, we felt cautious optimism. As we waited for the details, I wondered what the Administration’s new policy would say about addressing family immigration and how it would ensure families already separated would be reunited. I hoped the President’s […]
Detention or Separation: Administration Sets False Choice for Families
The legal parameters around immigration and detention have been hotly debated in the past few weeks. I turned to the experts in immigration law for the answer, and here’s what I learned. The Administration has falsely asserted that the law requires them to separate children from their families, but there is no such requirement. As […]
How the toxic stress of family separation can harm a child
PBS By: Laura Santhanam Federal officials at the U.S.-Mexico border separated nearly 2,000 children from their families between April 19 and May 31. While it’s not clear how the political fight about the practice will play out, researchers do know how a traumatic event like being separated from a parent affects a child. … As soon […]
“Pain & Profit:” How Not to Do Medicaid Managed Care
We know that CMS Administrator Seema Verma doesn’t think Medicaid should cover “able-bodied” adults. But she does believe that coverage of the “society’s most vulnerable citizens” is the right thing for Medicaid to do. In her major policy address to state Medicaid directors last November, she opened with the stories of Richard, a para-pelagic, and […]
Congress Proposes Fix to Provide Medicaid for Former Foster Youth Up to Age 26
At long last, a fix in the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid coverage for former foster youth up to age 26 is back on the table in Congress. I last wrote about this issue almost three years ago, so it has taken far too long for Congress to correct a technical error in the drafting of […]
Family Separation at Border Exposes Children to Potentially Irreparable Harm
Recently, the Administration announced a change in immigration policy that has resulted in at least 700 children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border since October 1. Historically, crossing the border illegally was considered a civil offense and parents were able to stay with their children while legal proceedings were carried out (for […]