Caliburn International will separate into two companies

Reston-based federal contractor operated largest U.S. detention center for migrant children

Published April 7, 2021 by Jason Roop / Richard Foster

Calling it a “natural progression,” Reston-based professional services company Caliburn International announced Wednesday that it will split into two companies to focus on different capabilities.

The federal contractor, which has about 8,500 employees, says it expects to complete the separation by Sept. 30. It also announced shifts in leadership to oversee the new companies, Acuity International and Valiance Humanitarian.

Acuity will take on three of Caliburn’s business units: engineering and technology, advanced medical and global mission. Robert “Bob” Stalick, president of Caliburn’s engineering and technology unit, will serve as Acuity’s CEO. Stalick, who joined Caliburn in November, will continue to serve as president and CEO of Maryland-based Owl Cyber Defense, which will collaborate with Acuity. Stalick said Acuity plans to go to market with two software products in the second quarter, CostPro and MLINK.

Caliburn International and Owl Cyber Defense are owned by Alexandria-based private equity investment firm DC Capital Partners.

Caliburn’s migrant detention-related contracts, primarily for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, will fall under Valiance Humanitarian, with headquarters in Los Fresnos, Texas. Melissa Aguilar has been named as Valiance’s CEO.

Caliburn CEO Jim Van Dusen will serve on the board of Acuity and advise both companies.

“Caliburn has reached a pivotal moment in its evolution and growth, Caliburn board chairman Thomas J. Campbell said in a statement, “and this decision to split the company into two separate entities will allow each company to have the strategic focus to better satisfy its respective customers’ missions.”

Caliburn International was formed in 2018 as a conglomerate of federal contracting businesses owned by DC Capital Partners. Caliburn’s wholly owned subsidiaries include the controversial Comprehensive Health Services, which has been described as the nation’s only for-profit operator of federally funded detention shelters for unaccompanied migrant children.

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly joined Caliburn’s board of directors in 2019; he had served on DC Capital Partners’ board prior to joining the Trump administration in 2017.

In early 2019, one out of six of the 12,500 migrant children in U.S. custody were housed at Homestead, a Florida detention center run by Comprehensive Services that was shut down by federal authorities in August amid heavy protests from human rights and immigrants groups. National Public Radio categorized Homestead as “the largest and most controversial shelter for migrant children in the U.S.,” noting that critics described it as a “makeshift prison camp.” Caliburn’s contract to operate the Homestead center ended in November 2019 and was not renewed by the Trump administration.

In February, the Miami Herald reported that the Biden administration was looking at reopening the Homestead center, which has changed names. Caliburn has been reported to be among the companies bidding for the contract to operate the facility.