On August 21, 2019, the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium and 220 other organizations signed onto a letter by the The National Child Abuse Coalition urging the prevention of child abuse and neglect, and to express our concern and alarm about the ongoing treatment of children at the United States border. Read the letter below:

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader McConnell, and Leader Schumer:

The undersigned organizations, which are committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect and the well-being of children, write to express our grave concern with the ongoing treatment of children at the United States border. As child welfare advocates with expertise in the impact of trauma on children, we are deeply alarmed by the reports of government-sanctioned conditions and separations, which knowingly expose children to emotional abuse and physical injury and draw clear comparisons to child abuse. We urge Congress and the Administration to immediately end these abusive acts toward children.

Despite an official end to the Administration’s Zero Tolerance Policy, recent reports have made clear that the federal government continues to separate children from parents and other caregivers with whom they arrive, including aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. Reports have also made clear that the standard of risk needed to justify a child’s separation from a caregiver is often not being met; therefore, the government’s actions are decidedly not in the best interest of the child and causing serious emotional harm. These ongoing separations are unjustified, unlawful, and deeply detrimental to children’s wellbeing.

Separation, detention, cages, deplorable physical and hygiene conditions, bullying and intimidation by guards, and being held in enormous institutional facilities reflect traumatic practices in direct conflict with what science tells us about healthy child development. Traumatic experiences, toxic stress, and prolonged exposure to unsafe conditions, like those children are experiencing in ICE and CBP custody, have lifelong consequences for children. The U.S. government must stop intentionally subjecting children to these experiences, separating children from parents and caregivers, and holding them in conditions of confinement that violate state child abuse statutes across the country. It is unconscionable that the federal government would sanction conditions of confinement for children that can be equated to child abuse as part of any policy. For both U.S.-born children and immigrant children, the government has a responsibility to ensure safety and prevent an unreasonable risk of harm. The current policies at the border do not meet this minimal standard.

We urge the Administration take swift action to ensure children are never detained for more than 72 hours in CBP facilities and to ensure that all CBP facilities that temporarily house children provide safe conditions that do not expose children to an unreasonable risk of physical or mental harm. We also call on the U.S. Congress to take swift action if the Administration will not. The members of this Coalition are ready and eager to join with the Administration and the U.S. Congress to consider how to best achieve this goal.

Sincerely,

The National Child Abuse Coalition and 221 partner organizations

Download the letter and see the list of organizations who signed on:

National Health Center Week 2019 (August 4-10) is an annual celebration with the goal of raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s health centers over the past five decades. This year, we spoke to nurses at the Abbottsford Falls Family Practice & Counseling Network and Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership to explore the partnership between primary care and home visiting nurses, and how a public health approach can provide quality care.

The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium supports health centers by providing resources, training, and technical assistance to optimize health center care delivery. Health centers serve 28 million patients - a number that continues to grow along with the demand for affordable primary care.

The National Academy of Medicine organized the Future of Nursing 2030 Town Hall in Philadelphia, PA on July 24 to discuss "Payment and Care for Complex Health and Social Needs." The town hall included comments from Erin Graham, a nurse supervisor with our Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership program.

You can see Erin's full remarks here:

This was the second of three Future of Nursing 2030 town halls organized by the National Academy of Medicine. The first town hall was held in Chicago on Education, Research, and Practice. Click here to watch a recording of the Chicago town hall. The third town hall will be in Seattle on August 7. Click here to register to attend the Seattle town hall online or in-person.

Following the Future of Nursing 2030 Town Hall, we attended the Pennsylvania Action Coalition's Summit about the Future of Nursing in Pennsylvania.

The National Nurse-Led Care Consortium (NNCC) is looking for organizational partners to host AmeriCorps State Members for the Opioid Outreach and Education Program in Pennsylvania. All healthcare partners are welcome to apply. AmeriCorps State Members can support existing programming or build new community outreach.

NNCC has an AmeriCorps State Program grant, and we are seeking partner organizations throughout Pennsylvania to participate as host sites. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) considers the opioid epidemic a high priority for service work. Organizations can leverage AmeriCorps members to build outreach and education programs targeted at combating the opioid crisis.

As a sponsor, NNCC provides oversight and support for organizations interested in hosting AmeriCorps members at their sites to address their communities’ needs. NNCC is responsible for AmeriCorps program application submission, AmeriCorps candidate recruitment, AmeriCorps member training, site supervisor support and completion of financial and reporting requirements. The cost for the health center or organization to host an AmeriCorps member is $15,000 per member for the entire year of service.

How AmeriCorps State Members can help your organization: