Bethany Christian Services says it's making $200 a day per child caring for immigrant minors separated at the border from their parents and that it's not profiting off the humanitarian crisis that's displaced more than 3,000 children.
The Grand Rapids-based foster agency also says that 100 percent of all children ages 5 and under in its care have been reunited with their families.
Bethany Christian Services disclosed this information on Tuesday following weeks of speculation from critics who have questioned the group's finances and contracts with the federal government, largely due to its ties to one of President Donald Trump's cabinet members: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
According to tax records, DeVos and her billionaire family have donated $853,000 to Bethany Christian Services over a 14-year period. Brian DeVos, a cousin by marriage, also served as a senior vice president with the foster agency until May.
"Betsy DeVos and the DeVos Family Foundation have been generous supporters of Bethany Christian Services long before Betsy became the Secretary of Education and we are forever grateful for their continued support," Bethany said in a statement. " ... The idea that any single individual or organization could cause us to change practices is simply false and diminishes the incredible work of all those firmly focused on the well-being of displaced children."
Bethany also disputes claims that it won federal contracts due to Brian DeVos, stating: "Our partnership with the federal government to support vulnerable children and families has been part of our 75-year history, long before Brian DeVos was an employee."
Foster care is cheaper
According to Bethany, the federal government pays the agency about $200 a day per child to provide care for refugee children. The money provides a trauma support team for each child, including a clinician, case manager, trauma-informed teacher and education services staff. The $200 also covers supplies for children placed with foster families, including food, clothing and other materials as needed.
Bethany says placing unaccompanied children in foster homes is about one-third the cost of providing a bed for a child in a tent city on a military base.
"The specific amount of funding varies based on circumstances, but the care provided by Bethany is significantly more affordable than placing children in detention facilities," the group states.
Bethany Christian Services has been highly critical of Trump's zero-tolerance policy and once lambasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions for citing the Bible as a way to justify the separation policy.
"We will not rest until every separated child in Bethany’s care is safely reunified with family," the group states. "Our mission has always been, and will always be, to keep and bring families together ... We believe children belong with their families."
Bethany has taken in at least 50 displaced migrant children, most of them arriving after the zero-tolerance policy took effect this spring. The average age is 7 to 9.
"One hundred percent of children under the age of 5 who were separated during the 'zero tolerance' policy that were in Bethany’s care have been reunited with their parents," the group states, adding nearly half of all the refugee children in its care have been reunited with family.
Number of children in Michigan uncertain
Bethany did not say how many children are still in their care. It said many children speak to family members several times per week, depending on the varying policies of each detention center where their parents are held.
Bethany said there are multiple factors for why reunification takes long, including finding close relatives to care for the children if their parents are detained and verifying the relationship. The Department of Health and Human Services is paying the reunification costs.
Bethany, meanwhile, remains opposed to reunifying families in detention facilities.
"Bethany Christian Services has long maintained that jailing asylum-seeking families should not be the alternative to separating families at the border. While we want to see all families reunified, we are concerned that recently reunified families may remain in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security ... It is wrong to jail refugee children and their families."
According to Bethany, individuals who are ultimately granted asylum wait about three years for relief. The group believes the families should be allowed to live together in the community while their asylum claims are reviewed.
"Rather than jail families or quickly return them to the terror from which they fled, let’s come together and support policies that compassionately bring families together and keep families together," Bethany states.
Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the WZZM 13 app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@wzzm13.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.
