March 26, 2025
We have positive news to share today! After temporarily suspending several of our services to unaccompanied immigrant children and their families and having to furlough staff, we are now able to bring staff back and restart all services.
As you may recall from our previous update, federal reimbursement for these programs, which enCircle provides as a subcontractor for Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services), had stopped for weeks. As deficits grew each day with no clear communication about the future from the federal government, we had to make a difficult decision to pause and reevaluate.
Fortunately, federal reimbursement for these contracted services has started flowing again, and enCircle has been fully reimbursed for past billing. Additionally, our partner Global Refuge has signed new contracts to continue the work with unaccompanied children in the year ahead. Though the landscape is continually changing, we believe the need to assist immigrant children and families will continue and we want to be part of meeting that need.
Thank you to all who have reached out during this difficult time. We appreciate your continued prayers and support for all those we serve and for our dedicated enCircle staff. We look forward to getting our programs back online, as well as expanding our services to include additional mental health support for immigrant children. We will continue to keep you informed about how you can be involved.
Ray Ratke
CEO
March 20, 2025
In response to actions by the federal government, enCircle has been forced to make difficult decisions about our programs that assist unaccompanied immigrant children and their families. We have temporarily suspended all services except Long Term Foster Care, in which we are still serving a few teens.
As of early March, enCircle had not been paid for services provided this year under contract with Global Refuge because it had not been paid by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. Additionally, referrals of children and sponsors to our services stopped, due to policy decisions at the federal level. While we sought more information about the future of these programs, we made the difficult decision to place many program staff on paid furlough.
Fortunately, the federal government has started paying contractors for services already provided to unaccompanied children this week; however, policy decisions of this administration and the viability of the services remain in question. We continue to gather information about whether and how we might restart some programs, and we will continue to keep our partners and supporters up to date.
EnCircle is deeply grateful to the Virginia Synod, congregations throughout the state, and the individual donors who have been supporters of the children we serve in our immigration programs. Most recent donations of backpacks and food have already been distributed to families in our programs. Any remaining donated items are always helpful in our Treatment Foster Care program and Minnick Schools.
We hope to continue to serve immigrant children and their families moving forward, as we see the work as a vital part of our mission. For the last year, we have been providing pro bono mental health counseling to a limited number of unaccompanied immigrant children after reunification with family as they work to acclimate to life in Virginia. We are hoping to expand this service more broadly to our community partners for referrals, though there is no reimbursement source for it. Gifts—especially unrestricted gifts—allow us to be more nimble, more creative, and make program adjustments as circumstances change.
Together, we can stand with our communities to ensure that everyone has the support they need to live abundant lives. Thank you for your unwavering support, especially in uncertain times.
Ray Ratke
CEO
