Rachel Silberstein is reporting at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued a letter to the federal Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on June 21, requesting that he be provided information on the migrant children being housed in New York's foster care facilities. The governor said his intention is to ensure the children are being provided needed mental health services. The children have been traumatized by being separated from their parents as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. New York state is offering to provide counseling to the children, at the state’s expense, but the federal government is refusing to provide information or medical histories for the children. “It’s my constitutional responsibility to take care of the health and well being of the kids in my state,” Cuomo said in a phone press conference June 21. “I believe legally, they must tell me where they are.” As many as 700 kids may be held statewide, based on the governor's communication with state agencies, but the exact number is unclear because state agencies are under a federal gag order, he said. Cuomo said he is not even sure if HHS knows where the children are, and the state does not know if the kids are in the custody of a foster care agency or if they have been placed in private homes. Cuomo said that HHS and Azar have not returned phone calls from his office. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.