Children's home holds job fair for immigrant child care

SAN ANTONIO - Local nonprofits are responding to the steady flow of illegal immigrant children coming to Texas.

The St. Peter-St. Joseph's Children's Home is holding a job fair Thursday in the effort to hire 50-60 people to facilitate the addition of 56 extra beds for young people who have crossed the border.

The nonprofit has a contract with the federal government's Office of Refugee Resettlement, and with thousands crossing the border, there's a growing need.

"We're hiring a bunch of day care workers and direct-care workers," said St. PJ's Children's Home CEO James Castro. "We're hiring case managers, therapists, and you need the support staff. So we're hiring cooks and maintenance folks as well."

Bethany "Christian" services in Grand Rapids and Lansing Michigan are doing the same. According to their website they've been under contract with the office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS) since 2012.

(From 2013)Escape from Honduras

Last year, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (Health & Human Services) in Washington, D.C., contracted with Bethany through our collaborative relationship with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services to open a transitional/residential facility to provide shelter for unaccompanied children over the age of 14. The facility, aptly named Bridgeway, provides shelter, educational and social/emotional assessment, elementary education, and ESL services to unaccompanied minors. Bethany is presently the largest unaccompanied refugee minor resettlement agency in the nation and the Office of Refugee Resettlement has announced that they are estimating a 44 percent increase in unaccompanied minors seeking help in 2013.

Each child is in care for an average of six weeks. Family reunification is Bridgeway’s primary goal, and our success rate has been more than 90 percent: since October 2012, 24 unaccompanied children have been cared for through Bridgeway, with only two unable to be reunited with their family. Both children are currently in foster care through our Unaccompanied Minor and Refugee Foster Care program.

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