Unaccompanied Children Suffer Mental Distress at Fort Bliss Facility: Watchdog

Unaccompanied children who crossed the U.S. border alone and were temporarily sheltered in a Texas military base last year suffered from distress, anxiety, and panic attacks without receiving quality services that prioritize their safety and well-being, shows a September watchdog report.

In the 58-page report (pdf) issued last week by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general’s office, investigators found that some illegal immigrant youth at the emergency shelter inside Fort Bliss had to wait weeks before hearing updates from case managers due to large caseloads, COVID-19 related manpower shortages, and lack of staff training.

“This lack of communication contributed to what another interviewee called ‘a pervasive sense of despair’ among children at the facility, who reportedly experienced distress, anxiety, and in some cases, panic attacks,” the report said.

The emergency site on Fort Bliss was firstly open in March 2021 to meet basic standards of child care for unaccompanied children on a short-term basis, as the country saw an enormous spike in illegal immigrants since President Joe Biden took office.

The number of minors who arrived at the southern border without a parent or legal guardian and were referred to the care of HHS, rose steeply from less than 2,000 in October 2020 to over 20,000 in April 2021.

Near the end of May, 700 children at the military base had not been seen by a case manager for approximately 60 days, according to a case management team member. Similarly, a youth care worker recalled compiling a list of nearly 100 children who had been at the facility for more than 30 days without frequent communication with case management staff, while many had not been contacted after their initial intake interview.

The  investigation included document analyses, a site visit last June, and interviews with 66 Fort Bliss

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