Here’s what the tough new rules for Florida shelters that house migrant youth would do

Looking to put teeth on a controversial mandate from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Department of Children and Families will discuss a new rule on Thursday that would deny licenses to shelters that house unaccompanied migrant children for the federal government, unless there is a resettlement agreement between the state and the feds.

The proposed regulation, which expands on a previous emergency rule, has put Florida religious and business leaders at odds with the governor. In recent weeks, the escalating feud has led to dueling press conferences, a Spanish-language radio campaign critical of DeSantis, and the governor’s press secretary accusing Miami’s archbishop of being a liar.

It also comes as legislators in Tallahassee consider bills that would prohibit the state from contracting with transportation companies that bring immigrants on behalf of the federal government into Florida.

The rule would apply to shelters, foster agencies, and family foster homes that house unaccompanied migrant children on behalf of the federal government. It targets organizations that have done this work for decades, including Catholic Charities’ Msgr. Bryan Walsh Children’s Village.

Under Florida law, shelters and agencies must show “evidence of need” for their services to obtain licenses. But under the new rule, the federal government goal of resettling migrant children would no longer qualify as evidence of need, unless there is an agreement between the state and federal governments.

“In the absence of such cooperative agreement, no license will be issued or renewed,” reads the proposed rule.

The proposal would also require the shelters and agencies to offer copies of education plans for the children in their care, as well as to conduct welfare checks on the youth they place with sponsors. The twice-a-year, in-person visits include taking photos of the children, visually inspecting the child for “unusual marks,” and interviewing the child. The checks stop once the child is of legal age, leaves the state, becomes documented, or is removed from the U.S., among other conditions.

The governor’s press secretary, Christina Pushaw, said the DCF rule would “ensure Florida children can be served by state-licensed facilities without unfair competition from the federal government.” Pushaw has told the Miami Herald previously that the federal government pays a much higher rate to house migrant youth than what the state can pay to shelter children, which she argues discourages providers from taking in Florida kids.

There are key differences between the earlier emergency rule and the proposed rule, said Lisette Burton, Chief Policy and Practice Advisor at the Association of Children’s Residential and Community Services, a network of community-based organizations focused on children’s behavioral healthcare, which includes residential shelters.

Previously, the emergency rule focused on “child-caring agencies,” while the new one specifies that “child-placing agencies” as well as “family foster homes” also fall under the rule.

The previous rule could be understood as allowing providers to take in new referrals as long as they did not go over the number of children they already had, said Burton. But the new rule clears up potential ambiguities.

“It is also clear now that providers serving unaccompanied children are being ordered not to accept any new intakes,” she said over text message, “This essentially shuts down providers...as they will soon discharge all existing children.”

The rule also distinguishes how the regulations, including the welfare checks, apply to the Unaccompanied Children’s Program and the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program, both run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a federal office that cares for unaccompanied migrant children. The refugee minors program offers “specialized foster care” for refugee and asylum-seeking minors and trafficking victims, as well as Cuban and Haitian kids, according to the resettlement office.

The state measure has ignited sharp opposition from religious leaders, business leaders, immigration advocates, and some Cuban migrants who came to the U.S. as children through the 1960s Operation Pedro Pan. DeSantis held a roundtable discussion on Feb. 7 at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora with other former Pedro Pan kids who support the policy. Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and the American Business Immigration Coalition, along with other former Pedro Pan kids, countered with their own press conference.

DeSantis has described the federal government resettling of unaccompanied children in Florida as “clandestine human smuggling flights.” He has defended the measure as a way to counter what he views as President Biden’s failing on immigration policies.

Meanwhile, detractors of the policy are concerned the measure will harm migrant children by not allowing them temporary safe housing while they await to be reunited with vetted sponsors or family members.

This week, the business coalition released a strongly worded radio campaign in South Florida condemning the governor for the policy. It is the latest public condemnation of the policy, which has sparked opinion editorials, letters to the governor, and speeches at legislative hearings from service providers, religious leaders, and others. The governor’s office characterized the ads as “false” and as a “blatant example of Spanish-language misinformation.”

The public can send comments on the rule to the agency here, and can tune in to the Feb. 24 hearing over Zoom.

Read the proposed rule below: