At least six teens relocated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) are now being housed at KidsPeace Broadway Campus.

And, following a May 8 meeting with KidsPeace officials, Salisbury Township officials apparently have gotten the answers they sought and expressed confidence in the program during a discussion at the May 9 township board of commissioners' meeting.

KidsPeace has received a $3.5-million grant through ORR to house some of the refugee children allegedly caught at the Mexican border attempting to cross into the United States.

KidsPeace is said to be one of three facilities in the United States housing the children. The other two facilities are said to be in Texas.

During the courtesy of the floor portion of the May 8 meeting, a member of the audience asked about the housing of up to 72 unaccompanied children at one time for up to 45 days at residential homes at the KidsPeace facility along Broadway in eastern Salisbury near the Fountain Hill borough line.

"I'm living one block from there," the man said.

"Our obligation is to look at the special exception use," said Salisbury Township Manager Randy Soriano. "Cynthia [Sopka] has looked at that use."

Salisbury Township Director of Planning and Zoning Cynthia Sopka, in response to an email question from a reporter for Salisbury Press, stated, "At this juncture KidsPeace over the years has received permits indicating a host of uses that includes group homes.

"Our primary concern is the availability for the emergency responders to know the layout of the facility and where children will be housed more for an emergency perspective."

Salisbury Township Chief of Police Allen W. Stiles, Eastern Salisbury Fire Department Chief Clint Ballet Jr. and Sopka attended the May 8 meeting with KidsPeace officials.

"I cannot guarantee the conduct of anybody," Soriano said. "But that's why we have the police department."

Chief Stiles, noting that he met with KidsPeace officials, said, "They won't be there for a long-term." Stiles said the age range of the youths is 15- to 17-years-old.

"They are juveniles," Stiles said.

"We're not talking about convicts. They're undocumented refugees," Soriano said.

"We have been reassured that the federal government was involved. They evaluated the site," Sopka noted.

"It basically met that criteria," Stiles said of the KidsPeace program. It was said that up to 109 can be housed at the KidsPeace campus.

"I don't see any major problems with this. It's a well-regulated program," said Stiles.

"If the kids leave, then ICE will intervene," Stiles emphasized.

ICE is the acronym for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"The kids will be happy to have a place to sleep and get food," Soriano continued. "The program is worthwhile. They will have more bilingual staff."

KidsPeace is hiring and training about 60 bilingual associates.

According to a press release, KidsPeace stated, it "will begin offering a safe haven for these youth until they can be placed in permanent homes."

"I know they're going to be working closely with everybody," Sopka said of KidsPeace.

At the April 25 township meeting, Soriano, Stiles, Sopka and the five-member board of commissioners said they had not been informed in advance of the KidsPeace program.

KidsPeace Broadway campus children residences have been unoccupied since 2008 when youths were relocated to KidsPeace Orchard Hills Campus, Orefield, North Whitehall Township, where as many as 200 are housed.

At the May 9 township meeting, the audience member also asked about transportation of the youths.

Salisbury Commissioner Joanne Ackerman said township residents have spoken with her about the KidsPeace program. "People are asking: 'Are they going to be using our school system?'"

"The children will attend school there," Sopka said of the KidsPeace Broadway campus.

"Daily education will include core subjects, English language education, art, music, health and physical education and citizenship; counseling from a bilingual master's level clinician; recreation; medical and mental health assessments; and ongoing medical, psychiatric and dental care as needed," KidsPeace Director of Public Relations and Communications Bevin Theodore stated in an April 24 press release.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement is an Office of the Administration for Children & Families in the United States Department of Health & Human Services.

According to the department's website, "Through its network of caretakers, the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program helps unaccompanied refugee minors develop appropriate skills to enter adulthood and to achieve social self-sufficiency."

According to the KidsPeace press release, it's estimated that 20,000 children could require these services, a number that has grown 200 percent over the past three years.

KidsPeace expects an average length of stay to be 45 days, with the goal of moving the children toward reunification with relatives, or when that is not possible, returning them safely to their home countries.

For information on available job openings: go to the Careers section of kidspeace.org