One of the nation’s largest nonprofit human‑services agencies, Cayuga Centers, filed a WARN notice on Oct. 5 indicating that its Arlington, Texas office will close on Jan. 4, 2027. The notice listed “plant closing and downsizing” as the reason and identified 18 staff members who will be laid off.
Local impact
The Arlington location, known as Cayuga Home for Children, sits at 1200 E. Copeland Road. Employees who spoke on condition of anonymity said the office’s future hinged on the renewal of a federal contract that provides Home Study and Post‑Release Services (HS/PRS) for illegal immigrant children. The contract, which evaluates temporary homes for safety while immigration cases proceed, has not yet been renewed, leaving staff in limbo.
One employee explained that case loads have dropped dramatically. “When we were hired we could expect up to 20 cases at any time, but we’ve seen a significant reduction in cases over the last two years,” they said. The staff member could not provide exact numbers of children served, noting that turnover and limited case availability affect averages.
Broader context
The Arlington office was one of six opened in 2021 as part of Cayuga’s HS/PRS program for unaccompanied migrant children, a service the nonprofit has offered since 2014. Similar WARN notices were filed for offices in Chicago, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale, all slated to close on Jan. 4, with a total of 109 layoffs across those sites.
Four Cayuga offices in New York also closed in June, eliminating 335 jobs, according to state records.
Federal policy shift
In September, the White House announced the elimination of several Department of Health and Human Services grants, cutting $567 million earmarked for services to refugees, asylees and other non‑citizens. The Administration for Children and Families noted a dramatic decline in illegal immigrant children crossing the southern border since President Donald Trump began his second term in 2025. Customs and Border Protection data show 109,998 crossings in fiscal year 2024, compared with fewer than 8,000 so far in fiscal year 2026.
“Humanitarian organizations were kept busy during the previous administration due to the sheer volume of UAC entering the U.S.,” the agency said, emphasizing that the current goal of the Office of Refugee Resettlement is to end child trafficking and smuggling, not to encourage dangerous journeys.
Funding history
From 2020 to 2023, the federal government awarded Cayuga more than $255 million for residential shelter services for illegal immigrant children. Between 2023 and August 2024, the nonprofit received $212 million for both illegal immigrant children and refugee assistance. Tax filings show Cayuga spent roughly $50 million to $82 million each fiscal year from 2020‑2024 on these services.
While Cayuga Centers has not responded to requests for comment, the layoffs highlight the ripple effects of shifting federal priorities on local nonprofit employment and the care of vulnerable children.
Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.
