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[This article is from 2014.]
By Editor Becky Watts
Pike County officials made a recent visit to the Meansville campus of the Georgia Baptist Children's Homes to investigate complaints of new construction that could be used to house unaccompanied minors from Central America at the campus.
"We had a number of calls about new construction, but they were not valid," County Manager John Hanson advised after driving around the facility with Planning and Zoning Director David Allen. "We were going to see if construction work that requires permits was being done and there was no sign of new construction," said Director Allen.
James S. Harper, President/CEO of Georgia Baptists Children's Homes & Family Ministries, Inc. released a statement earlier this year regarding the Unaccompanied Minors Program:
“As a Christian caring ministry to children, we believe it is our mission to reach out to any child who comes to our door.
From 1998 – 2005, our ministry operated a successful residential program for hundreds of unaccompanied minors from approximately 53 different countries around the world. In March of this year, our agency was contacted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement concerning our interest and capabilities in providing these types of services once again.
At this time, we continue to have an open dialogue with State and Federal agencies and stand ready to assist these children in need.” (end of statement)
Georgia Baptist Children's Homes has three campus locations in Baxley, Meansville, and Palmetto, Georgia. Click here to find out more about current Georgia Baptist Children's Homes ministries.
Click here to read a later follow up article on this situation.