The Upended Lives of Detained Children

"We've recognized for two hundred years, when the New York Children's Aid Society and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children were established, that children are not just early versions of adults; they need to be protected. We've learned a great deal more about child development since then. We know that the early years are critical for building the foundations of the brain and the person we will become."

"Large-scale studies and detained families themselves report the lack of medical treatment and mental health screening or treatment for children who may have been traumatized before detention, or by the circumstances of the detention. There are few, if any, educational programs, and sometimes, inadequate food or water (Sridhar, Ratner, and colleagues, 2025). Children in detention are confined to small, crowded areas with no schooling, no space to play, and nothing to play with."

Five-year-old Liam Ramos was heading home from preschool when he was sent to Texas with his father, and a judge ordered his return home. More than 3,800 children under age 18, including 20 infants, were booked into detention in the past year; over 1,300 were held longer than 20 days despite the Flores Settlement of 1997. Children detained face crowded confinement, lack of schooling, play, and educational programs, and sometimes inadequate food or water. Large-scale studies and detained families report shortages of medical and mental-health screening and treatment. Play and schooling are central to cognitive, social, and emotional development, and their removal undermines children's foundational development and well-being.

Read at Psychology Today