HHS Photographs of Facilities Housing Unaccompanied Minors 

The Department of Health and Human Services has released hundreds of photos of facilities that house unaccompanied migrant children in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by American Oversight. 

The photos from the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) are from two dozen different contract facilities and show sleeping areas, recreation rooms, and kitchens. American Oversight had filed the FOIA requests following reports of abuse allegations at secure placement facilities, to shed light on the conditions immigrant children are subject to while awaiting a permanent situation.

American Oversight has identified the detention centers that likely correspond to most of the photos we have received, though some locations remain unknown and a fair amount are not identified with complete certainty. Some photos clearly display the name of the facility, or can be geolocated, and are surrounded by photos that appear to be from the same location. Thus, in the absence of certain identifiers, much of the determination of location rests on the assumption that the photos from a given facility are grouped together as they were provided by the government, and not mixed with other locations. If you have information about those photos or notice any inconsistencies, contact us at tips@americanoversight.org.

Records received April-June 2019

Records received August 2019

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6879810-HHS-OIG-18-0698-E.html

In received April-June 2019

Pages 2–77
Location: Valley Baptist Missions Education Center in Harlingen, Texas
Apparent photo date: August 28, 2018 (based on metadata)
Determination: Very confident. The exterior photos were easily matched to other available images, and interior shots of the cafeteria show Valley Baptist signage. The metadata indicates that all these photos were taken the same day.

Pages 78–114
Location: Baptist Child and Family Services in Fairfield, California
Apparent photo date: August 7, 2018 (based on metadata)
Determination: Very confident. This location has a few details that were easily identifiable, such as the long soccer field and the slatted exterior roofing, and exterior photos match other available images.

Page 115
Location: Rising Ground in Yonkers, New York (p. 115)
Apparent photo date: August 21, 2018 (based on metadata; not confident about date)
Determination: Very confident. The entrance to Rising Ground was available on Google Street View.

Pages 116–190
Location: Abbott House in Irvington, New York
Apparent photo date: August 22, 2018
Determination: Certainty. Agency counsel confirmed the location.

Pages 191–251
Location: Baptist Child and Family Services in San Antonio, Texas
Apparent photo dates: September 4–6, 2018
Determination: Very confident. The photos were all grouped by the same naming convention, and all the buildings named in the photos were geolocated at the facility. Many of the photos were matched to other available images.

Page 252
Photo of recipe, apparently taken on December 6, 2017

Pages 253–258
Unknown facility, apparently taken on August 8, 2018

Pages 259–285
Unknown Baptist Child and Family Services facility, apparently taken on August 22, 2018

Pages 287–342
Location: Cayuga Centers in Harlem, New York City
Determination: Geolocated, and photos matched with other available images.

Pages 343–346
Photos of surveillance camera, unknown location

Pages 347–355
Location: Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry, New York
Determination: Geolocated, and photos matched with other available images.

Pages 356–419
Location: Friends of Youth Griffin Home in Renton, Washington
Determination: Geolocated, and photos matched with other available images.

Pages 420–607
Location: Heartland Alliance in Des Plaines, Illinois
Determination: Photos matched with other available images, and multiple photos include signs and papers with the Heartland Alliance name or logo. Photos were also geolocated.

Pages 608–650
Location: Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children in Homestead, Florida
Determination: Geolocated, and photos matched with other available images. Note: The exterior shot on page 611 does not match windows in earlier photos; this could be a different location.

Pages 651–707
Location: MercyFirst in Syosset, New York
Determination: Geolocated, and photos matched with other available images. A calendar visible on page 658 show the month of August, either 2017 or 2018.

Pages 708–709
Unknown facility

Pages 710–748
Location: Morrison Child & Family Services in Portland, Oregon
Determination: Photos matched with other available images.

Pages 749–751
Unknown facility

Pages 752–814
Location: Selma R. Carson Home in Fife, Washington
Determination: Photos matched with other available images, and multiple photos include the home’s name.