Need Home For 440 Unaccompanied Minors in Fairfax County
Posted by:
The US Government
()
Date: August 06, 2019 05:42PM
The federal government is looking at Fairfax County for another space to house hundreds of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to a new notice posted by the General Services Administration.
The notice posted on FedBizOpps.gov says the GSA seeks to lease shelter space for 440 unaccompanied children on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. These children are defined as "age 17 and under who are unaccompanied by parents or other legal guardians and who have no lawful immigration status in the United States (unaccompanied alien children) and apprehended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security."
The facility will be between 95,607 and 109,948 square feet with a lease up to 15 years. About 147 staff will provide 24/7 care. According to the notice, the facility will have children's bedrooms or sleeping areas, children's bathrooms, classrooms, recreation or multipurpose areas, medical service, food service, administrative and support space, and about two acres of outdoor recreation space.
The notice calls the potential facility "Virginia (National Capital Region) Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Shelter." The estimated date for occupancy is July 2020.
Shelters for immigrant children are run by private agencies under contract with the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Children are supposed to be placed in age-appropriate facilities and have access to social workers, counseling and education while they wait to be placed with sponsors.