State health officials have lifted a months-long freeze on admissions to a facility for unaccompanied, undocumented immigrant children, and Southwest Key Programs can now take in a limited number of kids per day in Arizona.

State health officials say the admissions freeze has only been lifted at one Southwest Key facility, 2932 N. 14th St. in Phoenix, and the nonprofit is still barred from taking in children at its other 10 Arizona locations. Decisions on lifting the admissions freeze at the those facilities will be made individually.

The freeze was part of a legal settlement after Southwest Key ran afoul of state regulators, who’d upped oversight due to charges and accusations of abuse.

The Uncage and Reunite Families Coalition has called for a commission to help oversee Southwest Key.

“We’re not happy with freeze being lifted because the one thing they have failed to do is to involve the community,” said Esther Lumm, a spokesperson for the advocacy group. “And why don’t they want to involve the community? They don’t want us to know what is really going on.”

Geraldo Rivera, vice president of immigrant children’s services for Southwest Key, released a statement via email.

“Over the past few months, we have examined every part of our organization in Arizona to improve upon our mission to provide a safe and nurturing environment in our shelters," the statement says. "We’ve been working closely with experts like Robert Hess III, the Child Welfare Partnership and leaders across the state who have partnered with us as we focused on enhancing our clinical and operational capabilities.”

“We are thankful that the Arizona Department of Health Services has lifted the admissions hold and our Lighthouse shelter can begin admitting minors again immediately. This is welcome news for many children in need of care. We especially want to thank the entire Bureau of Residential Facilities Licensing at ADHS for their recommendations and direction during this process. We view this as an opportunity to start a new chapter in Arizona and look forward to working with local and state leaders to ensure the health and safety of these children while the reunification process occurs.”