Statement. Rep. Garcia thank you very much, mr. Chairman and i also want to thank our witness. I know that this is a very difficult job and i wanted to start first by talking a little bit about the office and the role it plays and how important it is and also address some of the concerns that i think many folks of the country have. First, the office of Refugee Resettlement is have has absolutely a Critical Mission in this country. When i was mayor of long beach, orr actually opened an Emergency Shelter from july right around july 2021. We had about almost 1600 Migrant Children that orr reunited with family or sponsors. I met dozens and dozens of these children at the center. It was a heartbreaking experience, but also i saw firsthand the incredible work that the partners on the ground, the immigration defense attorneys, the social workers, the doctors were doing to assist all of these Young Children, many of who were were scared, what wanted to see family and many also who are very grateful to be here in this country trying to escape a very difficult situation back home. And so i just first want to thank all of the workers at orr who i know do a very hard job in this country. But it is also important to note that we are concerned any time that children are children are placed in unsafe conditions. And we believe that to be of course, not just heartbreaking but unacceptable. We want to make sure that we have an agency that supports legal asylum. And folks that who come as refugees are not victims of human trafficking. I think we can all agree on that. We also know that these refugees and these children are some of the most Vulnerable People that we have, and these people need a helping hand to build their lives. Immigrants, folks seeking asylum, they make contributions to our community. I personally am an immigrant myself. I came as a small child. I know how difficult that process is and i see these kids just wanna have the same opportunities that were given to me and to others in this country as well. Now, one of the most critical things that we do to make sure that we can do is make sure that our office of Refugee Resettlement is strong, is wellfunded, and is doing the important work that they have in this country. When an accompanied child arrives at the border, the child is quickly transferred out of the custody of home on security and into the office of Refugee Resettlement. The or are is tasked with placing the least restrictive settings be best possible the best interest of the child while the Legal Immigration process proceeds, the office, the process allows the department of Homeland Security to do its job while protecting children. And so we know that studies, we know that orr policies try to connect these kids with their sponsors as soon as possible. We all can agree that kids should not be long in cages. We also have to get kids out of unsafe shelter conditions and into sponsor homes. I know about 90 of kids that are in orr custody end up in as sponsors that are direct family, and others are other types of sponsors that i know are vetted as best as possible through orr. We need to make sure we have conditions that are safe for all of our children. And we want to make sure we have enough trained and qualified managers, social workers that can really cope with the influx that we have of children that arrive at the border and the plans and systems that are in place to deal with this demand are gone through a process of vetting for sponsors and that all suspicious partners are flagged. Hhs must ensure that immediate follow up happens when children request assistance regarding labor exploitation or the safety, security of their placement. We also need to have a serious conversation about how we make sure that were fully enforcing our labor laws and Holding Corporations accountable when they knowingly and illegally profit from child labor. So i personally support legislation to crack down on these unethical employers. We also wanna make sure that an unaccompanied children have the full range of services they need, including Mental Health care to keep them safe. And certainly, and hopefully, our colleagues are committed to securing those resources. We want to make sure that we are not attacking asylum, but that we are actually working to ensure those that are seeking asylum are being treated in a way that is fair and with respect. We also wanna make sure that we are not that we are focused on increasing funding, that the, the needs that are real at orr actually need additional funding support. Right now, there are bills being marked up that would actually stop additional funding, that would roll back and eliminate orrs ability to even do any post release followup. So we know that some of these bills that are moving through the house and the Committee Process would actually hurt our efforts to make corrections and to improve orrs capability of supporting children throughout the entire we also wanna make process. We also wanna make sure that were doing everything we can through this committee to be serious about getting funding for the department of labor. Thank you. Im pleased to introduce our witness today, robin dunn marcos, the director of the office of Refugee Resettlement or orr as we refer to them today in the administration for children and families at the Us Department of health and han human services, position shes held since september of 2022. I look forward to hearing from director marcos today. Pursuant to Committee Rule nine g, the witness will please stand and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear and affirm that the testimony that youre about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . So help you god. Let the record show the witness answered in the affirmative. Ok. Now ill open things up for myself to ask a few questions. Dn grothman, Ranking Member garcia, members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the department of health and human services. Since assuming my position as orr director in september 2022, i have led a dedicated team of career staff who are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care. I have also visited 18 care provider programs and shelter facilities. I have met children we serve and some of the dedicated professionals who serve them, and i have witnessed the commitment and devotion of our staff. Providing for the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is not only our mandate, it is also our guiding principle. Under the Homeland Security act of 2002 and the trafficking victims protection reauthorization act of 2008, orr is legally required to provide for the care and custody of all unaccompanied children from the time they enter orrs custody following a referral from the department of Homeland Security or other federal entity until they are released to a vetted sponsor. The flores Settlement Agreement establishes minimum standards for specific services for orrfunded programs to provide for unaccompanied children for their care and wellbeing while in orr custody. Orr funds nearly 300 programs in 27 states for Different Levels of care including shelter programs, transitional foster care, longterm foster care, group homes, residential treatment centers, and staff secure and secure facilities, as well as one active orr provides childappropriate Services Including education, health care and counseling services, Case Management services, recreation, access to Legal Services, access religious services. Pursuant to that, we conduct Due Diligence to provide Due Diligence to provide for a childs physical wellbeing. O are six to work in the best interest of the child to safely expedite the release of unaccompanied children to parent or other appropriate sponsor and has thorough screening processes for all sponsors. This includes verifying the relationship to the child, speaking with the childs parents, conducting separate interviews with the child and sponsor, collecting the sponsor information, administering background checks home address verification, public records and sex offender registry checks as well as fbi checks in certain cases. Orr also conducts home studies if it may provide Additional Information about the sponsors ability to care for the child. While orrs custodial responsibilities and when a child is discharged, her concern does not. We have policies in place to promote childrens welfare as they transition into a new community. Although children and sponsors are not required to participate in may not answer for a variety of reasons, and fiscal year 2022, care providers made contact with either the child, the sponsor or both and more than 81 of households. In addition, the call center connects children and sponsors with resources in their community and is required to report any safety concerns, including exploitation or abuse or trafficking. Orr is continually assessing and implementing improvements. I am pleased the memorandum of agreement will further expand our work together. Orr has launched an audit back colludes with two concurrent efforts. One, a review of unaccompanied children released in calendar years 2021 and 2022 to an unrelated sponsor who sponsored more than two unrelated unaccompanied children. An ongoing, concurrent review of current vetting requirements for potential sponsors who have previously sponsored unaccompanied children. Orr intends to provide information on the findings from this audit. Furthermore, this administration more than doubled the rate of children provided prs, serving more than 40 percent of children compared to just over 20 percent in fy 2021. We are currently on track, with the continued funding support from congress, to achieve our goal of providing all children with prs by the end of fy 2024. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Children who have come through orr care face unique challenges and we will safeguard their wellbeing following orr discharge. I am happy to address any questions you may have about our critical work. Audio check, testing. We will start in about one minute. In the past administration we heard a lot about people being separated from parents. I know cell phones are common all over the place. How many percentagewise of these unaccompanied kids coming across, do we wind up talking to one parent or both parents . Director marcos thank you, chairman. We reunite 85 of the kids with close immediate that is not the question. It could be an uncle they have never seen before. What percentage do we talk to one. And what percent do we talk to two parents so that the parents the children are safe. Director marcos we do everything we can to speak to child sponsor and parent the parent is not the sponsor. Chairman grothman percentagewise, say we have a group of 1000 unaccompanied minors, what percent do you talk to one parent, two parents or no parents . Director marcos i will have to get back to you on that. Chairman grothman ok. We know there are fraudulent identifications. Do you ever find that . Director marcos our vetting process is done in a way that if there are fraudulent documents, they would be identified in the process. We have a number of steps in place. Chairman grothman one final thing. It was reported in the New York Times, you have lost or do not know where 80 unaccompanied minors are. Was the New York Times right . How frequently do we check in with these kids who enter without their parents . Director marcos thank you for that question. I would like to set the record straight. We did not lose anybody. We provide safety and wellbeing calls between 30 and 37 days after release. Orr app up custodial Authority Ends when they are discharged. We have a number of things in place where we try to maintain contact. Chairman grothman if we had 1000 people six months after they were released, how many of those 1000 people do we know where they are . Director marcos orr does not monitor or track the whereabouts of children after they are released from our care, however, we are very committed to continuing to provide support. Postrelease services is our best option to provide continual care for them. Chairman grothman is the 85,000 number right . Director marcos we do not track or monitor. Chairman grothman the answer is no. Is that right . Apparently it is. Director marcos orr works within the statutes and authorities. Chairman grothman i will take that to mean we do not know where they are. Congressman garcia . Rep. Garcia i would like to submit statements, the u. S. Committee for refugee. Without objection i want to get that into the record. I want you to clarify little bit further for the committee this number that is being brought up as far as the unaccompanied children. Sponsors are not currently required to connect themselves with orr once the child is released. There is no legal requirement for the sponsor to continue to work with orr. Director marcos that is absolutely correct. The sponsor is not required to report to us. Rep. Garcia it is important to note that there is no official tracking system post release to the sponsor, 85 of which are family. That is something that is within the statute and within the framework of your work. Many of these families have our migrants themselves and there is not a positive relationship with the government because of the dehumanization that happens to these families. We want to make sure every kid is place into a safe situation. Are there new measures being put into place or how you dress and some of these reports . Addressing some of these reports . Director marcos orr is dedicated to continue improving processes. Every sponsor goes through a thorough vetting where we reviewed documents they submit, we talked to the child and the sponsor, we run a public records check, criminal check, sex offenders registry check. If there is any concern, we can do a home study. We also have a Quality Control process in place where the case manager is making a recommendation about this particular release and we have a third party who was weighing in with the information that has been provided and whether they believed the release would be safe and appropriate. An orr professional approves, denies or sends it back for Additional Information. We make sure both children and sponsors know about the orr National Call center. It is a 24 7 hotline that can provide a number of different resources. I have recently started doing regular meetings with the ncc. Rep. Garcia any time anybody reads about child labor, what are we doing through the department of labor to ensure that this might happen to these children . Director marcos we completely agree that child labor exploitation has no place in our society. Orr is working closely with the department of labor. We just signed an agreement where we will provide much more coordinated information sharing. We have bought a number of steps in place that when a particular area or location may be flagged that we can do everything obtuse up to temporarily stopping placements until we are satisfied the child is going into a safe setting. Rep. Garcia part of the mission is of of orr is to make sure the child is placed quickly. How do you ensure case workers are not being pushed to act too quickly . Director marcos thank you, congressman. A very important question. Because it is our job to release children to vetted sponsors without undue delay. We have gone to a seven day work week. When i have gone out to visit programs, i asked have they ever felt pressured to release to an unsafe situation. I have been told no or our staff listens. Rep. Garcia if a child is placed in unsafe situations, does orr have the legal power to remove them from the sponsor . Director marcos orr does not have the authority. Our custodial Authority End when the child is released to a vetted sponsors. Rep. Garcia that is a very important part. That is something that is concerning to me personally. That once a child is placed in the sponsors home, orr does not have the legal power to remove that child from the sponsor. I want to thank you. It is very difficult work. We are concerned about the safety of every child. Thank you. Are we all going to get extra time . Chairman grothman we have an easygoing chairman. I went over which is why allowed i may want to go over too. It shows a very disjointed process because if you do not know the results, how do you get it at the very beginning . In an effort to make sure the people who are applying to be sponsors are actually fit to care for those children. One of the forms was improved to ask basic questions about fitness of care for children. Including background, income, Health Insurance and so on. These were very basic questions. I would like to enter these into the record. The other form was the the attending sponsor needed to sign. It details obligations the sponsor would have while serving and reminds them of all criminal penalties for providing false information. I want to enter this into the record. The Biden Administration canceled both of these key upgrades, which means the orr reverted to the previous form. Director marcos, i would like you to make a commitment to resubmit the forms that were introduced during the previous administration. They asked for the right information to make sure a person who applies to be a sponsor is actually fit to have a child in their home. Can you make that commitment to me right now . Director marcos thank you, congressman. What i cant commit to is a review what i can commit to is a review of those forms. We continuously review our policies we are limited in our time here. It seems that you reverted back to the previous form, which was inadequ