Florida's Faith-Based Childcare Loophole: Weak Oversight Sparks Concerns

Florida lawmakers are scrutinizing a Christian nonprofit that oversees faith-based group homes after reports of restrictive practices and weak oversight.

The Florida Association of Christian Child Caring Agencies regulates about two dozen maternity homes, youth ranches and group homes for children whose parents cannot care for them. Unlike state-licensed facilities, these homes are exempt from unannounced inspections by state regulators. Instead, the association conducts its own reviews, which experts and lawmakers say fall short of state standards.

In September, The New York Times and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting reported that some maternity homes under the association’s oversight imposed strict limits on residents’ movements and communications. One required pregnant women and teens to install a tracking app and lock their phones in a safe overnight.

Four lawmakers—State Representatives Vicki Lopez and Anna Eskamani—said the association’s standards are too lenient. Eskamani noted that children in group care “require extra attention and support” and should not be in facilities with lower oversight.

The association, which has regulatory authority over nearly two dozen facilities, allows supervisors to be hired without college degrees or prior experience in residential care—unlike state-licensed programs. Its required annual training (20 hours) is half of what the state mandates, and it does not include trauma-informed care, a widely accepted standard in youth residential settings.

In an online training video reviewed by reporters, the association’s executive director, Matthew Higgins, described humiliating a teenager who cheated on homework by forcing him to wear a sign saying, “I am a liar and a cheater.” When the boy refused, Higgins ordered him to carry a cinder block while walking laps. The association’s own standards prohibit “cruel or humiliating treatment,” though it is unclear if Higgins faced consequences.

Critics argue that Florida’s system—created in 1984 when lawmakers exempted faith-based homes from state oversight if they did not accept government funding—has created a “Wild West” environment. Tax records show most association board members also run member facilities. Higgins, for example, leads Hope Children’s Home in Tampa.

Facilities under the association’s oversight have faced repeated allegations of abuse. In the late 1980s, a home director was charged with sexually abusing three 10-year-old girls, though charges were dropped after the girls’ mothers declined to pursue the case. In 2012, the Tampa Bay Times reported widespread harsh punishments at religious boarding schools; the association later banned restraints like handcuffs. In 2022, a Lakeland facility where a 17-year-old died after being denied medical care closed following public outcry.

Jean Strout, a senior attorney with the National Center for Youth Law, noted that while state licensing does not guarantee safety, it “provides a framework for knowing exactly what the expectations are.”

Florida is one of the few states that allows faith-based homes to operate outside state licensing. Texas had a similar program but ended it over two decades ago after widespread abuse claims.

The state Department of Children and Families declined to comment, and Higgins did not respond to interview requests due to an open-records lawsuit.