As religious groups across the country open more maternity facilities for pregnant women and teens, the nonprofit that oversees some of the facilities in Florida is facing new criticism from state lawmakers over its practices. are.
The nonprofit Florida Association of Christian Child Protection Agencies has the authority to regulate about two dozen maternity facilities, ranches for troubled youth and group homes for children whose parents cannot care for them.
Facilities overseen by the company have faced allegations of abuse, misconduct and restrictive practices for decades. In September, The New York Times and the investigative podcast Reveal reported that some birthing centers were imposing severe restrictions on residents’ communication and movement. One required residents to download a tracking app and keep their phones in a safe overnight.
Unlike state-licensed homes, association members are exempt from visits from state inspectors. Instead, the association conducts its own inspections and holds its members to hiring standards for staff that government records show are less stringent than those adopted by the state.
Our association also provides its own training. In one online course for new employees, an instructor described humiliating a teenage boy who cheated on his homework by making him wear a sign that read, “I’m a liar and a cheater.”
In recent interviews with The Times, four councilors raised concerns about some of the association’s lax standards. State Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Republican from Miami, and state Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando, called on Congress to investigate them.
![Anna V. Eskamani](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 862"/%3E "Anna V. Eskamani")
Eskamani said children in group home care “need special care and support” and should not be placed in low-standard facilities.
The organization’s executive director, Matthew Higgins, declined an interview request, citing an open records lawsuit filed by The Times against the organization seeking access to the birth center’s inspection reports.
The state Department of Children and Families did not respond to questions about the organization or its standards.
In September, The Times and Reveal reported that pregnant women and teenagers were increasingly turning to birthing centers run by charities amid new abortion restrictions and rising housing costs.
In Florida, facilities for pregnant adults and their infants can operate without government regulation. However, homes that take in minor mothers must obtain a state permit or register with a Christian association.
Florida is unusual in that faith-based child care facilities can register as nonprofit organizations in lieu of state licensing. Texas had a similar system, but lawmakers let it expire more than 20 years ago after allegations of abuse at unlicensed facilities.
Florida’s law was enacted in 1984, when lawmakers updated the state’s foster care standards to align with new federal guidelines. The Florida Association of Christian Child Care Agencies took the opportunity to propose that religious group homes be exempted from state oversight if they do not accept federal funding, according to state archive records.
The proposal was opposed by child welfare advocates, civil liberties groups and the state agency that oversees Florida’s foster care system, now named the Department of Children and Families. Christian organizations such as the Florida Baptist Children’s Home, the National Lutheran Council, and Catholic Community Services also opposed the measure, arguing that all children should receive the same level of care.
Still, this clause became law. This allowed Christian families to register with “eligible associations” established before January 1, 1984. The only organization that met this requirement was the Florida Association of Christian Child Protection Agencies.
The association’s membership currently includes nearly 25 faith-based organizations and other nonprofit organizations, according to its website. Some facilities are free, while others cost thousands of dollars a month in room and board. In some cases, children are placed in the state’s foster care system, according to data reviewed by The Times and Reveal.
Most of the association’s board members founded or operated member facilities, according to federal tax records. Higgins, the executive director, runs Hope Children’s Home in Tampa, according to its website.
The association’s 2024 standards gave members more freedom than states when it came to hiring and training.
For example, home supervisors registered with the association were not required to have a college degree or experience in residential care, as is the case with state-licensed programs.
Additionally, the association required at least 20 hours of training per year, which was half the amount required by the state. Also, unlike states, it does not require training in trauma-informed care, which includes recognizing and responding to trauma, which is a widely accepted standard in residential care settings.
Four people who were registered with the association and working from home said in interviews that the only training they were offered was an online course on behavior management and crisis prevention.
The Times reporter completed a six-hour self-directed program last year. Most of the course focused on how to defuse a crisis. Mr Higgins said in training that if a young person becomes violent, staff can use “defensive physical measures” such as grabbing a young person’s arm or leg in “extreme cases”. He offered no demonstration.
Asked to review course materials, Martha Holden, director of Cornell University’s residential child care project, said the program was “inadequate” for new employees.
She added that physical restraints are best learned first-hand through several days of training. “It’s a very high risk,” she said. “Such interventions can result in serious injury or even death to children.”
In Florida licensed homes, staff must receive annual training in the use of passive restraints.
At another point in the online training, Higgins described how he dealt with students who repeatedly cheated on English assignments. Mr Higgins said he initially issued a warning and sent the student out, but later changed his tactics and decided to “humiliate” him with a paper sign.
When the teenager refused to sign his shirt, Higgins ordered him to walk several laps while holding a cinder block. Higgins said in the video that the boy agreed to wear the sign after walking one lap.
According to records, the Christian association’s standards prohibited employees from subjecting children to “cruel or humiliating treatment.”
Facilities registered with the association have been under intense scrutiny since the late 1980s, when the caretaker of a home near Port St. Lucie was charged with sexually abusing three 10-year-old girls. According to reports, the girls’ mothers later said they did not want to pursue the case and the charges were dropped.
In 2012, the Tampa Bay Times reported that young people in the state’s religious boarding schools and troubled teen facilities were subjected to severe corporal punishment. After publishing the results of the newspaper’s investigation, the association banned the use of handcuffs and other restraints. The Legislature also required associations to report emergencies to state regulators within 24 hours.
Most recently, a 17-year-old resident of a Lakeland home was denied medical attention and died from an apparent seizure. The facility, Lakeland Girls’ School, will close in 2022.
Experts say state approval does not necessarily prevent abuse. But a license “provides a framework for people to know exactly what is expected of them,” said Gene Strout, senior attorney at the National Youth Law Center.
“Without that, it’s really just the Wild West,” she said.
Florida has what amounts to a two-tier system of group homes for children and pregnant teens, said Shamra Boel Stud, an associate professor of social work at Florida State University who specializes in child welfare. It is said that there is. “We have two facilities, one that is subject to stricter licensing and oversight, and the other that seems to be flying under the radar,” she said.
Congress at one point considered ending the Christian Association’s monopoly and allowing other nonprofit organizations to register religious group homes for children. At a 2023 hearing, some councilors criticized the association for overseeing facilities run by board members and slammed allegations of abuse at homes run by Higgins.
Mr Higgins told MPs the group was working with independent inspectors and the abuse allegations were unfounded.
The proposal advanced in both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. But Republican Rep. Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville, who introduced the Senate version, removed it from consideration without publicly explaining it.
Through a spokesperson, Yarborough declined to comment on the bill.
Laura C. Morrell is researching birth centers and other social services in Florida as part of a New York Times field research fellowship.
