case study

StatementbyCenterDirectorJackP.ShonkoffM.D.onSeparationofFamilies-CenterontheDevelo.pdf

Statement by Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D. on Separation of

Families

The policy of separating families is a critical issue that transcends political

ideology and partisanship and speaks to the heart of what the mission of the

Center on the Developing Child is all about.

June 20, 2018

Two critical concepts at the core of our understanding of early childhood development stand out

from decades of scientific research. First, healthy brain development in babies and young children

requires the consistent availability of a stable, responsive, and supportive relationship with at least

one parent or primary caregiver. Second, high and persistent levels of stress can disrupt the

architecture of the developing brain and other biological systems, with serious negative impacts

on learning, behavior, and lifelong physical and mental health.

Sudden, forcible separation of children from their parents is deeply traumatic for both. Above

and beyond the visible distress “on the outside,” this overwhelming experience triggers a massive

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biological stress response inside the child, which remains activated until that familiar caregiver

returns. Even more important, continuing separation removes the most important resource a child

can possibly have to buffer the effects of toxic stress—a responsive adult who’s totally devoted to

that child’s well-being. Stated simply, each day we fail to return these children to their parents,

we compound the harm and increase its lifelong consequences.

There are multiple ways to mitigate this potential damage, but the best thing we could do for

the children who have been separated from their parents at the border is to reunite them

immediately. If children were being fed poison and someone asked, “What’s the best treatment?”,

the best answer is not to come up with an antidote. The solution is to stop poisoning them in the

first place.

Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D.

Founding Director

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

See also: Migrant Family Separation Congressional Testimony by Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D. –

February 7, 2019