Peter Flierl reports in the Columbia Paper that more than 75 persons turned out Jan. 13 to a Canaan town meeting to hear about a new program for “unaccompanied alien children” at the Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth on state Route 22. The "Sheltered Hearts" program would bring about 300 migrant children, primarily teens and boys, to the center each year. The center is overseen by the Administration for Children and Families and the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. The Berkshire Farm Center used to host up to 250 youth in residence, but the capacity now is 60, and there are currently 17 residents. The group provided statistics: 54 percent of the children come from Guatemala, 26 percent from Honduras, 12 percent from El Salvador, and eight percent from elsewhere. About 73 percent of children are over 14 years of age, and about 71 percent are boys who are in the program an average of 93 days in 2018. That lowered to an average of 50 days in late 2019. Berkshire Farm Center CEO Brian Parchesky denied there are any plans to sell its Queechy Lake property. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.