A residential facility housing migrant children in Westchester County, New York, is under federal investigation, following reports that children were physically abused and punished with long periods of isolation.
Details of the alleged abuse at the Children’s Village Dobb’s Ferry site were first reported by CNN Thursday. Sources told the outlet that a “special unit” of security staff used excessive force to restrain children who had behavioral issues. One teen described spending four days alone, without bathing or proper food, in a “red room” — a space with a red light and no door. Legal advocates told CNN that kids reported similar concerns about the facility as far back as 2019.
In a statement sent to The Imprint, Christopher Rucas, spokesperson for Children’s Village, called allegations of employee misconduct “deeply distressing.”
“We have zero tolerance for any form of punishment,” Rucas told The Imprint over email. “All teens in our care deserve the highest level of care, support, and professionalism from every adult responsible for their well-being. We will take all necessary steps to ensure that any staff member found to have engaged in misconduct is addressed appropriately and without hesitation.”
The facility under investigation is run by Children’s Village, one of New York’s oldest nonprofits serving at-risk youth, including children in foster care and the juvenile justice systems. With funding from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, since 2004 the organization has also housed unaccompanied migrant children. CNN reported that 50 migrant youth lived at the organization’s Dobb’s Ferry site, where children were housed in Tudor-style cottages until they were moved early this year.
Federal officials visited the location in January, after a resident reported abuse at the facility. Investigators found “significant child welfare concerns,” according to CNN’s review of the internal audit, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) subsequently removed the unaccompanied minors to an unknown location a week later.
Health and Human Services Department spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the cable news station its officials acted “swiftly” to remove the kids after receiving the abuse allegations.
“The safety and well-being of children in ORR care is a top priority, and any credible concerns are addressed swiftly and thoroughly,” Nixon said.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement is responsible for the care of minors who arrive in this country alone, until they can be placed with a U.S.-based sponsor — family members, friends or foster parents. Under the Trump administration, stricter vetting of these sponsors has resulted in longer detention periods for children. The average length of time an accompanied minor spent in federal custody almost quadrupled in 2025, according to federal data.
Children’s Village, one of 171 programs nationwide that house this group of children, has several locations across New York that largely serve American children in the state’s foster care system. New York State data show that as of as of Dec. 31, the nonprofit housed 363 foster youth from counties across southern New York, including New York City.
Following the federal agency’s allegations in January, the nonprofit stopped taking in new migrant children, CNN reported. The news outlet also reported that in addition to the federal scrutiny, state authorities have been notified of problems at the Dobbs Ferry site, and local investigators have contacted some youth residents for interviews.
Michael Fitzgerald contributed to this report.
