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Children's home under microscope
One of two juveniles accused of firing on Volusia County sheriff's deputies appeared before a judge on Thursday. FOX 35 News got a firsthand look at some of the damage from that incident. Meanwhile, officials are raising questions about whether a local children's home can handle an influx of kids with troubled pasts.
ORLANDO, Fla . - As law enforcement continues to investigate two juveniles accused of shooting multiple rounds at deputies during a standoff on Tuesday evening, the Volusia County sheriff has expressed concern that the foster home where they were housed might be overwhelmed.
"Here’s a worry if I live in Volusia County, that I would worry about.," said Sheriff Mike Chitwood about children from the border who are being housed at the Florida United Methodist Children’s home. "They claim they are screened and claim that they have a family ready for them. When I first heard it, I’m like, ‘You can’t handle what you’ve got now!’"
Last year, the Board of Child Care of the United Methodist Church announced they were awarded a federal grant of about $7 million that provides 50 residential beds among facilities for children who enter the United States without a guardian.
"Local officials, even members of Congress aren’t being consulted," lamented U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, "so we don’t have visibility of where these children are going and we don’t know what kind of numbers and the burden that that’s putting on our infrastructure."
Congressman Walt said he plans to highlight cases like this one to show how Central Florida is being affected.
"We need to secure the border, as we were doing in the last administration. The remaining Mexico policy needs to be reinstated."
We reached out to the Florida United Methodist Children's home, but no one got back to us.
Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest Central Florida news.
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