Texas Senate Votes to License ‘Baby Jails’ as Child Care Facilities

‘The Texas Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would license immigrant family detention centers, which critics call “baby jails,” as child care facilities. Democrats railed against Senate Bill 1018, which would allow prison firms to skip all the burdensome regulations that other child care facilities must follow.
The bill was written by GEO Group, Inc., the nation’s second-largest for-profit prison corporation. It advanced on a 20-11 party-line vote, with all Senate Republicans in favor.
“The very idea of holding children in a baby jail is unconscionable in my book. … They’re not leaving their country to come here for fun,” said Senator Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston. “This is a vendor bill if I’ve ever seen one.”
SB 1018 provides the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) with broad authority to waive any minimum standards it deems necessary in order to license the facilities.’
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