Letter to Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida - Representatives Crist, Wilson, and Frankel Lead Letter to DeSantis Calling for End to Policies Harming Unaccompanied Children

Letter

Governor DeSantis:

We write regarding your September 28 Executive Order and the Department of Children and Families (DCF's) subsequent December 10 emergency rule to end the care of children in licensed facilities. As members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, we echo the calls of hundreds of
Florida organizations and Floridians across the state urging your Administration to consider restoring its support for the care of unaccompanied children. The September 28 EO and December
10 rule harm children, their families, and the community organizations that serve them, many of whom reside in our districts. We urge you and your Administration to consider rescinding these harmful policies and instead work with providers and the federal government to ensure that all
children in government custody are safe, housed, and cared for in licensed facilities.

All children, regardless of their country of origin, deserve to be treated with dignity. Florida has a proud history of doing just that. Sixty years ago, parents and caregivers in Cuba made the impossible choice to send their children, unaccompanied, to the United States. Faith leaders in Florida
partnered with the federal government to assist over 14,000 unaccompanied children fleeing to the U.S., many of whom were eventually reunited with their parents and are a part of our communities
today. Today's unaccompanied children have similarly fled persecution, trafficking, and abuse in their home countries and require trauma-informed, culturally competent, and developmentally appropriate care that licensed shelters and foster families provide.3 Subverting Florida providers'
ability to house unaccompanied minors needlessly exposes children to greater risks and creates unnecessary barriers to family reunification.
DCF's December 10th emergency rule denies the issuance of new licenses or renewals of current licenses to care for unaccompanied children, denies any licensed provider the ability "to add to their existing unaccompanied child population," and increase burdens for families seeking to reunify with
children. Limiting the licensed national shelter capacity is liable to result in more unaccompanied children being placed in unlicensed facilities, which have a poorer track record of providing safe and humane treatment. As the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics recently stated in response to your EO, "stable environments create better health outcomes for children, families, and communities. By threatening the future of Florida's shelters and foster homes, this emergency order directly threatens the health and safety of vulnerable children."

In providing appropriate care for unaccompanied children, the federal government must adhere to federal immigration laws and child well-being best practices. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which was signed into law by President George W. Bush, sets standards of care for unaccompanied children based on principles of well-being. We are concerned that your September 28 EO would undermine the government's faithful adherence to this law. We are also troubled that your EO charges DCF with amending Florida administrative code "to require, as a condition of licensure, the residential child-caring agencies or child-placing agencies, as applicable, to conduct in-person welfare checks of the unaccompanied alien children that they place with sponsors in Florida." This requirement is harmful and redundant, as federally funded community organizations provide follow up services of unaccompanied children once they are released.

Endangering unaccompanied children's access to care from providers who are trained to ensure the safety and welfare of children in their custody and subject to rigorous oversight is needlessly cruel. Child advocates, faith and business leaders, and community organizations have publicly stated their opposition to your Administration's policies based on the potential harm to which they needlessly expose children. We urge you to consider rescinding these policies and work with us to uphold Florida's proud legacy of ensuring the safety, welfare, and dignity of all children. Thank you for your full and fair consideration of this matter.