(AP) – With a federally-owned property continuing to stay
vacant for at least several months more, the U.S. Health and Human Services
Department has the opportunity to convert the Arkansas facility into a
short-term shelter for migrant children held at the U.S. and Mexico border.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the property first sparked the interest
of the Arkansas National Guard in December. The Guard wants to use the former
Ouachita Job Corps site near Hot Springs to house a program that would offer
life-skills lessons to at-risk youth, but spokesman Lt. Col. Joel Lynch says the
majority of the details and a concrete timeline are still unknown.
An HHS official said Friday the agency might temporarily run the shelter at
the federally-owned site if the Guard doesn’t plan to establish the program by
summer or fall.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI