Grandparent Alienation Awareness Day

Proclamation
By the Governor of Alabama
WHEREAS, strong family relationships constitute the very foundation of our community; and
WHEREAS, alienation is a term used to describe any number of behaviors and attitudes on the part of one or both parents, designed to interfere, damage or destroy the relationship between a child and family member. It is a form of abuse that causes emotional trauma to children; and
WHEREAS, alienation behaviors are frequently present in high-conflict divorces, separations, asymmetrical custody arrangements, and in intact marriages, often causing mental and emotional anguish to children; and
WHEREAS, alienation takes advantage of the innocent and impressionable, as well as the suggestibility and dependency of a child, depriving children of their right to love and be loved by their extended family; and
WHEREAS, mental health professionals agree that the negative effects of alienation can follow a child into adulthood with tragic consequences; and
WHEREAS, the recently published “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-5) made several references to the dysfunctional family dynamic of alienation to be a form of psychological child abuse; and
WHEREAS, Grandparent Alienation Awareness Day is intended to increase the knowledge and understanding of this problem to help families, institutions, the legal and mental health community, and leaders to better identify and combat such abusive behavior to children:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim June 14, 2017, as
Grandparent Alienation Awareness Day
in the State of Alabama.
Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 1st day of June 2017.
Kay Ivey
Governor