[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 140 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5827-S5828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF LYNN JOHNSON

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, these are incredibly harmful and traumatic 
times for immigrants and refugees in America. Perhaps there is not 
greater example of the damaging immigration policies of this 
administration than the so called zero-tolerance policy that led to the 
cruel and needless separation of thousands of children from their 
parents.
  Separating a child from his or her parents has lasting, harmful, and 
traumatizing impacts. These separations have been shown to increase 
anxiety and depression among children that have already experienced 
significant trauma in their home countries and along their journey to 
the United States. Best practices in child welfare promote keeping 
children and their parents safely together, unless removal is in the 
child's best interest.
  While the Department of Justice ended the family separation policy 
after an incredible outcry from the public and experts in children's 
health and well-being, the damage is far from over. The administration 
is now undergoing a court-supervised process to reunify separated 
children and families. Significant and self-inflicted obstacles remain 
in this reunification process, and I and my Senate colleagues will

[[Page S5828]]

continue to doggedly press the Departments of Justice, Homeland 
Security, and Health and Human Services until every child is safely in 
the custody of a parent, relative, or other guardian and to ensure 
nothing like this happens again.
  Hundreds of children still remain in government custody, scared and 
unsure if they will ever see their parents again. Children who were 
separated from their parents or arrive on their own are placed in the 
custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which falls under the 
Administration for Children and Families, ACF, within the Department of 
Health and Human Services. The President has nominated Lynn Johnson of 
Colorado to fill the role of head of ACF. If confirmed by the Senate, 
Ms. Johnson has one of the most important jobs in public service, and 
that is ensuring the safety and well-being of these vulnerable children 
and working toward their reunification.
  I voted against Ms. Johnson's nomination when it came before the 
Senate Finance Committee due to the sheer volume of unanswered 
questions and false or misleading answers from this administration 
regarding its family separation policies. Tonight, I had the 
opportunity to discuss my concerns with Ms. Johnson and secure her 
commitment to changing the way things are done in the Administration 
for Children and Families.
  Ms. Johnson committed to enacting and enforcing policies that prevent 
Office of Refugee Resettlement grantees and facilities from engaging in 
activities that are not consistent with best practices for children 
including prohibiting solitary confinement for punitive purposes or 
behavioral modification; prohibiting the distribution of psychotropic 
medications or sedatives absent the informed, written consent of a 
parent or guardian, except in the case of well-documented emergencies; 
prohibiting arbitrary restraint policies; prohibiting any security 
measures that are not necessary for the protection of minors or others, 
such as denying them access to drinking water or preventing them from 
making private phone calls; and guaranteeing the maintenance of 
confidentiality of information disclosed by children to therapists and 
counselors in the context of a therapeutic/treatment relationship.
  In addition, Ms. Johnson committed to ensuring ORR and its supported 
grantees and facilities allow any separated child to call a parent or 
legal guardian as frequently as the child wishes--if there are 
documented safety concerns, calls may be monitored by staff with the 
child, but otherwise, children must be able to contact a parent or 
legal guardian as they wish. If the parent/legal guardian is in the 
custody of the Department of Homeland Security, the two agencies must 
establish a process to accept children's calls and connect them to 
their parents; and conducting a full review within 90 days of the 
oversight, staffing, training, medication, and licensing policies for 
ORR-funded facilities and issue a report to Congress describing the 
oversight of these facilities and the actions ACF will take to address 
oversight and program shortcomings. The review must include the extent 
and adequacy of policies related to post-release services; legal 
services; and health, including reproductive health, to ensure that 
they are consistent with constitutional protections. In the event the 
full review cannot be completed within 90 days, ACF will provide the 
summary of their work at that point, with a timeline and guarantee that 
the full report will be soon available.
  I am grateful for these commitments and will hold Ms. Johnson to them 
if she is ultimately confirmed by the full Senate.

                          ____________________