Louisiana Voice

(Clarification: The Department of Children and Family Services has issued a denial that any Louisiana children are housed in the two states cited below in yesterday’s post. “These are not residential contracts and do not involved the placement of housing of Louisiana children or youth,” the DCFS statement reads.

“Our contract with BCFS [a Texas non-profit] is for Human Trafficking Advocacy services. We contract with Youth Villages [a Tennessee non-profit entity] for implementation of the Lifeset model with our Extended Foster Care youth and staff, along with the implementation of the Intercept prevention model through the Family First Prevention Services Act.”

It should be noted that my original public records request said the following: “Pursuant to LA. R.S. 44.1 (et seq.), I hereby submit my formal request for: The opportunity to review copies of any and all current contracts between DCFS and any and all out-of-state providers of (a) treatment, (b) training, (c) housing, (d) rehabilitation, (e) counseling, or (f) residential facilities for Louisiana children.” DCFS responded by providing copies of contracts with vendors based on that request and on which I based the story below.

This, of course does not change the fact that the State of Louisiana is spending more than $6 million on contracts with two vendors that have a troubled history in their treatment of residents charged to their care.)

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has multi-million-dollar contracts with two out-of-state providers of emergency shelter, foster care, adoption services and housing for problem and migrant children that have experienced scrutiny over the treatment of children in their care.

Youth Villages, Inc., of Memphis, Tennessee, was awarded a one-year, $2 million contract by DCFS on July 1, 2023, to provide housing for youths from the southeastern Louisiana parishes of East and West Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, St. Hela, Washington, Orleans, East and West Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Iberville, East and West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee.

BCFS (formerly Baptist Children and Family Services) was awarded a 18-month, $4.3 million contract on January 1, 2023.

Both the Youth Villages and BCFS contracts expired on June 30 and it was not immediately known if the contracts were renewed.

BCFS, which houses more than 900 kids in San Antonio, Harlingen, Baytown and Raymondville, by 2018 had been cited for 52 VIOLATIONS, including:

• “Inappropriate relationships” between employees and children in their care;
• Raw and undercooked food given to children;
• Staff member kept money sent by parents for a child;
• “Inappropriate magazine pages” depicting nude women given to children.

In Fiscal Years 2015-2018, there were 23 separate ALLEGATIONS of BCFS staff members sexually abusing migrant minors.

BCFS is an affiliated ministry partner with the Baptist Convention of Texas, the largest association of Baptist churches in America. Originally founded as an orphanage, it morphed into a “children’s home,” and eventually managed to tap into massive federal contracts, mainly for the housing of children of undocumented immigrants, which translated to generous pay packages of $500,000 for the BCFS president and salaries north of $200,000 for a half-dozen other staff members.

Those salaries were made possible by the awarding of $77 million in CONTRACTS to the non-profit by the Biden administration. Subsequent to the awarding of that contract, BCFS was cited for mishandling children at the border.

The political problems of BCFS are bipartisan, though; prior to Biden’s becoming president, Donald Trump was said to have PRESSURED administrators of the BCFS infamous tent city in Tornillo, Texas, to take in more migrant children than it could care for.

Like BCFS, the Youth Villages web page is peppered with wholesome photographs of happy children and their families. But the facility apparently has a darker side.

The mother of a 17-year-old girl who died at the facility last year says her daughter was “BODY SLAMMED” for failing to comply with an order to undress in front of male residential staff.

Youth Villages has denied that it did anything inappropriate to Alegend Jones.

The story about her death, however, prompted several negative comments about the home, including allegations by one person who claimed that there was sexual abuse, illegal restraints of kids and staff smoking with underage girls at the facility.

Two other comments resonated with similarity of allegations against other residential facilities for kids. Both writers indicated that Youth Villages, like other homes, works to keep kids for monetary reasons rather than treating and releasing them to their parents.

”…[T]hey ave done this over and over,” wrote one person. “They want kids in their care because the state pays big bucks. They want to provide the doctor as well to make sure you cannot remove a child. It’s scary as s*** and hard to get your child out of their grips.”

Homes and programs for troubled youth have come under increasing federal scrutiny, an effort spearheaded by socialite Paris Hilton who, as a teen, was sent to a home in Utah where she says she was beaten, raped and watched every minute – even when she showered or went to the bathroom.

There was no indication of how many Louisiana children are housed in the Tennessee and Texas facilities, though the total of more than $6 million in contracts would indicate that there are/were perhaps dozens.