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Archive for July, 2015

Talenfeld Law Child Advocacy Lawyer Named Rising Star

July 27th, 2015   No Comments   News & Events

Talenfeld Law Partner Stacie Schmerling recently was recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Daily Business Review – the leading South Florida publication for the legal profession. A long-time child advocate who pursues cases of child abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse perpetrated against children by organizations and institutions entrusted to care for them, Stacie was recognized as a South Florida lawyers under the age of 40 who is making a difference in the community and will continue to do so in the future. Read more here.

Stacie helped found Talenfeld Law after a successful career in child advocacy law and social services. She had been an associated in the Foster Care/Disabled Persons Damages Division of another law firm, where she practiced in the area of civil rights and child welfare.

She received a Certification in Child Advocacy from Montclair State University in 2002. This Post-Bachelor of Arts Certificate Program emphasized a multidisciplinary understanding of the child advocate’s role as seen through the disciplines of law, sociology and psychology.

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Like the Broward Bar Young Lawyers, Raise Money to Help Florida’s At-Risk Foster Kids

July 22nd, 2015   No Comments   Abuse, Advocacy, Florida's Children First

In our shared mission to help and protect children and foster children who are the victims of sex abuse, child abuse, emotional harm and other abuses, the Young Lawyers Section of the Broward County Bar Association has partnered with Florida’s Children First for a fundraising effort through August 1st.

For every FACEBOOK LIKE that the Young Lawyers section gets, they will donate $1 to FCF, up to $1500. Just:

1. Click HERE to access the Young Lawyers page
2. Click the like button of the Young Lawyers’ Facebook page

That’s it!

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Florida’s Children First Earns Prestigious Child Advocacy Award

July 16th, 2015   No Comments   Florida's Children First

Florida’s Children First, the premier statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the rights of at-risk children and youth, especially those in foster care, received from the Florida Bar Foundation the recipient of the 2015 Paul Doyle Children’s Advocacy Award for its “Counsel for Dependent Children with Special Needs” Project.

Through the passing of House Bill 561 last year, this project secured the right to counsel for dependent children in five categories. FCF and Florida Legal Services were also selected as second runner-up for the “Medicaid to Age 26” Project.

The awards were presented at Foundation’s 39th Annual Reception & Dinner at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

“Since our beginning in 2002, Paul Doyle and the Foundation believed in FCF’s mission to seek legal representation for Florida’s most vulnerable children. To receive the Foundation’s most prestigious award is the highest achievement that we as an organization aspire to,” said Howard Talenfeld, president of FCF.

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Advocates Ask: Sarasota Girl Stabbed after DCF Knew of Family Risks?

July 2nd, 2015   No Comments   Abuse, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Florida child advocates and attorneys who fight for the rights of abused, neglected and physically abused and sexually abused children are awaiting more information following the stabbing of a young Sarasota, Florida, girl, allegedly at the hand of her mother.

The 6-year-old girl was left fighting for her life in the hospital. Meanwhile, her mother, Ashley Parker, was jailed on charges of attempted murder. In late June, Sarasota police were called to the family home to find the daughter stabbed in the stomach and legs. The child’s “insides were hanging out with Band-Aids on her stomach,” according to police reports.

To those who know the family, this isn’t the first time the authorities have had to respond to the family’s home. Some reportedly believe that the Florida Department of Children and Families should have done more and ultimately failed the young girl.

“What I really think they should’ve did is took the little girl out of the house,” a neighbor told the news media. “The little girl would go to crying and shaking and stuff like that she was very afraid of her.”

DCF reportedly isn’t saying much. Some recall the case of Phoebe Jonchuck, the 5-year-old whose father threw her off a bridge into Tampa Bay. Her father, who later was charged with her murder, was known to be a risk to the child.

If the Department of Children and Families knew of problems in the Parker household, then questions will arise anew about what DCF officials knew, when they knew it, and – if they failed to act – why the girl was left in harm’s way.

Florida Child Abuse Attorney Named ‘Super Lawyer’

July 1st, 2015   No Comments   News & Events, Personal Injury

Howard Talenfeld, the premier child abuse attorney and child sexual abuse lawyer who represents abused, disabled and injured kids, has been named a South Florida “Super Lawyer.” Talenfeld won the award for the civil rights category and is recognized as among the top attorneys in Florida.

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
Super Lawyers Magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-accredited law school libraries. Super Lawyers is also published as a special section in leading city and regional magazines across the country. In the United States, Super Lawyers Magazine is published in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., reaching more than 13 million readers.

Since the 1980s, Talenfeld has focused his practice exclusively on protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals in civil rights cases, personal injury cases and systemic reform litigation. He has litigated cases that have resulted in multimillion dollar settlements and jury verdicts that changed how governmental and private institutions care for children and the elderly.

As one of America’s leading children’s rights, injury, and child disability attorneys representing the needs of abused and neglected children, especially in cases of foster child abuse, child sexual abuse, child rape, and other harm and abuse of children in the child welfare system, Talenfeld’s work has resulted in multimillion dollar damage awards and has created systemic change in how government agencies and private institutions care for those vulnerable individuals.

He began his career involving at-risk children, seniors and the developmentally disabled in the 1980s and 1990s, when he represented the state of Florida in its major class-action lawsuits dealing with the foster care system, children’s mental health system, juvenile justice system, state psychiatric hospitals and the provision of Medicaid services to the developmentally disabled, among others.