A foster family says they were forced to vacate their home and split up their family after the nonprofit organization that provided the home decided to use it to house migrant children.
“They sent us out there to die,” said Edmundo Serena Sanchez, a foster parent who lived in the home in Washington state. “Just, go find a place in 45 days in the midst of this pandemic.”
The couple was only able to find a two-bedroom condominium on such short notice, forcing them to split up their four foster children. The family was forced to send three of the foster children to a different home, while the fourth teenager ran away after hearing the news and has not returned.
Friends of Youth, a Washington nonprofit group that provides services to homeless and foster children, told Serena Sanchez and his wife Paula in January that their home contract “will be terminated” so the home could be used “to provide a different scope of services in support of unaccompanied youth.”
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The Biden administration has been struggling with a surge of migrants at the U.S. southern border in recent months, with over 10,000 unaccompanied youths crossing the border in February alone. Detention facilities meant to house migrant children temporarily have struggled with crowding during the surge, a reality worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Washington Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier, who grew up in foster care, speculated that Friends of Youth took a Department of Health and Human Services contract to house migrant children, perhaps incentivized by the increased revenue.
But Friends of Youth’s Chief Program Officer DeAnn Adams denied that money was a factor in the organization’s decision.
“The money is not a factor in this decision,” Adams said, saying it is “directly related to being able to use our resources in order to serve the largest number of youth that we’re able. We will not be receiving additional or increased revenue as a result of this decision.”
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The loss of their home came as a shock to the couple, who are trained to foster children with serious behavioral issues and raised more than 20 children in the home over their seven years there.
It remains unclear if any other foster families were asked to vacate homes run by Friends of Youth. The organization did not immediately respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment.
