Five on Friday: Changes to Public Charge Harm Children's Oral Health

Fri, 08/23/2019 | by Claire Hutkins Seda

An image of a young boy smiling

It’s back to school time! School can be intimidating, especially for refugees starting at a new school in the US. Many refugee children have come unaccompanied to the US, fleeing violence and instability, and have been settled with family members or foster parents while they await their court date. You can see how many children have been settled in each county across the country in this map, which we originally shared in 2017 but has been regularly updated. A table below the map breaks down the number of resettled children per year, through the end of May. How many child asylum seekers are in your local schools? Are they getting the services they need to address their unique health needs related to the trauma of pre-, peri- and post-migration? With new rules from the Trump Administration this month, will children sit in detention for months or years, compounding their trauma and threatening their health, instead of finding safety, community, and a sense of a normal childhood with family members? Immigrant health is always at the top of the list here at MCN. Here are a few news pieces that MCN staff members shared this week -- including our “weekly win”, where we celebrate a step in the right direction.

Nestor sent the CBS News article, “US Won't Give Flu Vaccines to Migrants in Border Detention Centers.”

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It’s hot! Alma from Massachusetts shared the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene’s special collection of articles on heat stress.

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Jillian shared the Children’s Dental Health Project opinion and analysis on the changes to public charge: “Immigration Rule Would Harm Children's Oral Health and Success.”

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