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\u201cThere\u2019s this huge gap between our world of academia and science and the world of policy,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cWe kind of take our time and ask questions and explore, and the publication cycle may take a year and a half, whereas policy is minute-to-minute. What\u2019s happening today? What are the issues?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meeting with families and social workers and lawyers and those doing work on the ground every day put a face on the abstract concepts about migrant families and children\u2019s trauma, Nguyen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily separations lead to adverse outcomes. The evidence is pretty clear on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The January paper presented to policymakers stressed a number of recommendations on how to ease the trauma of children and families, recognizing that have already experienced trauma that drove them to leave their home countries, and that has been made worse by separations and long waits in detention camps. The recommendations stress that service systems involving immigrant families should be trauma- and culturally informed. The collaborative is also suggesting a national toolkit for communities receiving migrant families that support effective responses to trauma.<\/p>\n
Incorporated into congressional bill<\/h3>\n
More than 700 copies of the paper went to congressional representatives and their staffers, and Nguyen has been heartened by the response. A few members of Congress have already incorporated some of the ideas from the collaboration into bills.<\/p>\n