- The Department of Government Efficiency says it has ended a government contract with Family Endeavors that will save taxpayers $215 million annually. DOGE said the Department of Health and Human Services paid the group millions monthly to operate empty facilities.
- Family Endeavors has faced congressional scrutiny and investigations due to questionable government contracts, leading to concerns over misuse of taxpayer funds.
- The Trump administration is canceling some Family Endeavors’ contracts while a U.S. Attorney investigates the issue.
Full Story
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) recently highlighted the termination of a contract between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Texas-based nonprofit Family Endeavors. DOGE claims that this cancellation will save taxpayers $215 million annually.
However, this contract cancellation is just the latest chapter in scrutiny surrounding Family Endeavors. A review of the partnership between HHS, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the nonprofit reveals years of controversy, including investigations into the misuse of taxpayer funds.
Former Biden official working for nonprofit
A former Biden administration official joined Family Endeavors in early 2021. Months later, the organization secured hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts.
These contracts were awarded despite the nonprofit’s lack of relevant experience in providing the contracted services, according to an Inspector General’s findings.
Investigations and findings
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inspector general concluded in 2022 that millions of dollars were wasted due to the government contracts awarded to Family Endeavors.
The report specifically criticized ICE for granting a contract to the nonprofit despite its inexperience in handling such services. Additionally, the inspector general found that millions were spent on unused hotel space under the nonprofit’s contract with ICE.
A closer look at the contracts
An investigation by The Free Press found that 99.6% of Family Endeavors’ revenue comes from government contracts. Two contracts in particular, one worth $87 million and another valued at $529 million, were awarded as “sole source contracts.” This means they were given to Family Endeavors without a competitive bidding process.
Congress raised concerns over the timing of these contracts. Further concerns were raised after a former Biden administration official, Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, joined the nonprofit months before major contracts were granted. According to the House Oversight Committee, this raised potential concerns of impropriety.
“It appears that Family Endeavors won these contracts just months after hiring Andrew Lorenzen-Strait as Senior Director for Migrant Services and Federal Affairs. The size of the contracts awarded to Family Endeavors, the manner in which they were awarded, that firm’s lack of equivalent experience, the timing of Mr. Lorenzen-Strait’s hiring, and his connections to the Biden administration combine to raise serious concerns of potential impropriety.”
DHS Inspector General’s findings
The DHS Inspector General’s investigation into these contracts uncovered that ICE did not adequately justify the need for a sole-source contract to house migrant families. According to the IG report, in 2021, $17 million was spent on empty hotel rooms, and ICE failed to meet the competitive bidding requirements outlined in federal regulations.
ICE, however, defended the sole-source contract by citing an “unusual and compelling urgency” due to increased migrant activity at the southern border.
U.S. attorney investigating Family Endeavors following DOGE find
While past contracts under the Biden administration faced significant scrutiny by Republican lawmakers, the current Trump administration is now moving to cancel some Family Endeavors’ contracts entirely, according to DOGE.
Homeland Security reposted DOGE’s latest finding and asked U.S. Attorney Ed Martin for further investigation. Martin responded, “Duly noted. We are on it.”
Straight Arrow News received the following statement from Family Endeavors following the initial publication of this news report:
As part of our contract, Endeavors was responsible for maintaining operational readiness at the Pecos shelter, ensuring the ability to scale from cold status (operationally ready but not actively serving children) to full use of 3,000 beds as needed. The vast majority of costs during cold status were allocated to facility operations, security, and IT services required to maintain readiness, in accordance with the contract terms.
Throughout our time operating the shelter, and in alignment with both the original contract and the subsequent competitively awarded agreement, federal officials were onsite daily, providing direct oversight and ensuring compliance with all contractual obligations. While we provided services as outlined in the contract, decisions regarding facility use and migrant sheltering locations were made by the federal government, not Endeavors.
We operate with full transparency and accountability, consistently earning the highest ratings under the federal Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Any claims of corruption or mismanagement are baseless.
Family Endeavors