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Archive for the ‘Damage Claims’ Category

Florida Child Advocates, Guardians, Attorneys Demand ‘No More Nubias’

February 13th, 2012   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims

In an editorial this weekend, the Miami Herald proclaimed, “No More Nubias.” The editorial board – like foster child advocates, guardians and attorneys who strive to protect children from child abuse, damages, personal injury and other heinous crimes – called for tougher child-protection laws being made the priority. It’s too late for Nubia Barahona, the 10-year-old child allegedly killed by her adoptive parents. But maybe her death was a wake-up call for the system.

The Herald wrote, “If state lawmakers really want to prevent any other child in the state from meeting Nubia Barahona’s tragic fate, then they will do everything possible to toughen child-welfare laws before attaching her name to them in her honor. So far, it’s been a mixed bag, legislatively speaking. Some proposals bring a dose of accountability and common sense to make the system better. Others, however, show that some lawmakers need to get real.”

Read the entire editorial here.

Disappearance, Presumed Death of Miami Foster Child Rilya Wilson Puts Florida DCF in the Spotlight

September 10th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Court Cases, Damage Claims

By Gloria W. Fletcher

The tale of Rilya Wilson is as heartbreaking as they come – even if the Florida Department of Children and Families, child care attorneys, legal advocates, guardians and others don’t know for certain the whereabouts of the Miami foster child. Wilson was 4 when she disappeared in 2000. Her case raised an uproar among child welfare advocates who let it be known that there were over 400 missing foster children like Rilya on any one day in Florida.

Although there were exhaustive efforts to find Rilya and some systemic reforms implemented to find other missing foster children, some 11 years later, no one has seen her since – and her onetime caregiver, Geralyn Graham, stands accused of kidnapping, abusing and smothering her. Indicted in 2005, she is scheduled to stand trial for first degree murder later this year.

Throughout the intervening years, the Florida Department of Children and Families has borne the brunt of criticism of its handling of such cases. Such was the case with the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona and the critical injuries suffered by her twin brother, Victor, allegedly at the hands of adoptive parents Jorge Barahona and his wife, Carmen. The couple faces the death penalty, if convicted.

(more…)

Mental Health Privatization Plan Could Harm Mentally Ill, Result in Lawsuits and Damage Claims

August 9th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims, Mental Health Issues

The Department of Children and Families plan to privatize mental health services has been called by one judge a “rush to privatization…that will harm Broward’s mentally ill” and mental health patients, and one that’s “going to take a bad system and make it even worse” by Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein. Worse still, attorneys and advocates believe it could result in harm, injuries, even avoidable, wrongful death — and personal injury lawsuits and damage claims.

The Sun-Sentinel wrote, “The privatization wave that has swept over so much of state government was supposed to come to Broward’s mental health administration by 2013. But budget cuts to Florida’s Department of Children & Families have prompted a speedup, with DCF now trying to hand off oversight duties to a private Miami-Dade-based outfit by Oct. 1.”

Read the entire story here.

Legal Advocates: Barahona Adoption, Death Prompts Needed Changes at Agency Monitoring Foster Kids

May 22nd, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Is change in the wake of the horrific death of Nubia Barahona and the critical injuries sustained by her twin brother sufficient to prevent future abuse to foster and adopted children in Florida? Without such change, lawsuits, damages, claims of personal injury and wrongful death will only continue, notes Florida child advocacy attorney Howard M. Talenfeld, president of Florida’s Children First.

Nubia Barahona

Nubia Barahona

The Palm Beach Post reports this week that “leaders of the private agency once charged with ensuring Nubia Barahona was safe with her adoptive family say the girl’s death has led to changes that could help caseworkers detect threats to foster children.”

“This case has caused a shift in [caseworkers'] thinking. — ‘Are these foster parents the good people? Do they want to adopt for good reasons?’” Our Kids CEO Frances Allegra, told the paper. Allegra recently co-wrote a 10-page plan to improve its case management in response to the death.

The paper notes that the final version of the plan has been reviewed and approved by Department of Children & Families Secretary David Wilkins. Read the Post’s story here.

Foster Care Award Limits Stripped From Florida Senate Committee Medicaid Bill

April 6th, 2011   No Comments   Damage Claims, Legislative & Regulatory Issues

A sweeping Florida Senate rewrite of the state Medicaid program, approved today by the health and human services budget committee will steer 2.9 million low-income Floridians into health coverage provided by managed care companies. Left behind: legal caps and liability limits for foster care providers.

According to the Palm Beach Post, “Trial lawyers and children’s advocates have been fighting the lawsuit limits, especially in the wake of the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona and near death of her twin brother, Victor, allegedly at the hands of their foster parents who are now facing murder charges.”

Read the entire story here.

Medicaid Reform Would Limit Families of Child Abuse, Injury, Death Right to Sue

March 30th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Advocacy, Damage Claims, Department of Children & Families (DCF), Legislative & Regulatory Issues, Medicaid

A Medicaid-reform effort has lawmakers seeking to limit the rights of poor people to sue doctors, hospitals and child-welfare companies. “In the midst of expanding HMO-style management in Medicaid, the Legislature is passing a raft of proposals that limit the liability of Medicaid doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and private community-based care companies,” writes the Miami Herald.

Backers of the legislation include doctors and hospitals, the paper writes. Because they’re working for the state (which itself is shielded from lawsuits and some damage awards), the Medicaid providers and child-welfare companies should receive the same protections.

Opponents of the proposed legislation, including Democrats, child advocates and trial attorneys, claim such legislation will hold no one accountable in such cases like Nubia and Victor Barahona. The two Miami children allegedly were abused by their adoptive parents. Such legislation also would help the insurance industry, the paper wrote. Read the entire story here.

Palm Beach Post Editorial: Protection for Child Welfare Failure?

March 11th, 2011   No Comments   Advocacy, Damage Claims, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

An editorial in today’s Palm Beach Post raised serious issues regarding calls by private lead agencies serving the Florida Department of Children and Families ( DCF ) to provide sovereign immunity protections that will cap personal injury damage claims by lawyers.

Many attorneys and child welfare and foster care advocates agree: Such protections will save no money. In fact, there will be a total loss of accountability for these providers’ services. More importantly for children harmed or injured while under the care of these companies or agencies, there will be no claims for damages.

Attorneys for children like Victor Barahona, who was critically injured (while his sister, Nubia, was killed), won’t be able to sue these private providers. Damages would be capped. Meanwhile, Victor’s hospital bills will far exceed any coverage limits.

As the Post wrote, “As the secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families acknowledged this week, 10-year-old twins never should have been adopted by Jorge and Carmen Barahona.

(more…)

Broward Sheriff Settles Negligence Lawsuit During Trial; Recovery Almost $3 million in Law Suit Against BSO, Florida Department of Children & Family Services (DCF), Department of Health, Other Health Care Providers

February 4th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims, News & Events

A $1.575 million settlement brought an abrupt end to a Fort Lauderdale trial that questioned the Broward Sheriff’s Office for its management of abuse allegations involving an infant who suffered injuries and brain damage, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

“Sheriff Lamberti did the right thing by resolving the 5-year-old child’s claim as a result of a lawsuit for a negligent protective investigation, which occurred during a prior administration,” said Howard Talenfeld, one of the plaintiff attorney’s trying the case.

The newspaper went on to report that the insurance company for the Sheriff’s Office reached the deal Wednesday with attorneys for Jace Manning, now 5, who was left developmentally disabled after his skull was fractured in February 2006.

Two months before the boy’s severe injuries, Jace was hospitalized with an unexplained bruise under his chin, and his grandmother implored authorities to remove him from the Coral Springs apartment where he lived with his mother and her boyfriend. Read the entire story here.

DCF Review: Injuries, Hints Led to Concerns Before Death of Boy, 2

January 13th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims

Despite medical experts’ suspicions that 2-year-old Deondray Ashe had growing issues in his home, doctors couldn’t be certain that injuries revealed before his death in June were the result of abuse.

Deondry AsheAccording to a review by the Florida Department of Children & Families and a story in the Lakeland (Fla.) Ledger, a child protection team physician who examined Deondray on March 27 diagnosed the child “with chronic bilateral subdural hematoma, healing rib fractures not in typical position, growth retardation, evidence of cerebral palsy, severe developmental delays, acute sinus infection, pneumonia, sagging skin in which the BMI is below normal, the Ledger reported.

While state child welfare officials had expressed some concerns about Deondray’s physical condition, newly released details show they had no proof, either, the Ledger noted.

Read the entire story here.

Law Firm Lobbyists Convince Florida Legislature, Governor to Pass Claims Bill to Help Former Foster Child Raped by Foster Father

June 7th, 2010   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims, Foster Care, News & Events

Lobbyists and attorney advocates from the Fort Lauderdale law firm Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. successfully convince the Florida Legislature and Governor Charlie Crist to pass a claims bill to help  a former foster child raped by her foster father.

According to the Naples Daily News, Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a bill that will release $1.2 million to the guardian of a mentally retarded woman who had a baby after being raped as a teen by her foster father in Immokalee.

The claims bill Crist signed Thursday afternoon was approved by the Legislature and releases the remainder of a $1.3 million settlement by the state Department of Children and Families to Darlene Achille, the guardian for her sister, Pierreisna, 26, and her 9-year-old daughter.

“The next step is obviously getting the money,” said attorney Richard Filson of Sarasota, who filed the lawsuit in 2002. “I talked to Pierreisna and she is very happy. … They’re living in a small apartment. It’s good news to them.”

Read the entire story here

Lead Agencies, DCF Seek to Cap Personal Injury Damage Suits By Foster Children

May 27th, 2010   No Comments   Abuse, Damage Claims, Foster Care, News & Events

MIAMI (AP) — A few months after a 10-year-old child was placed with eight other children in a Tampa foster home overseen by a single mom, a 13-year-old boy sneaked into his room and raped him in 2005.

But Hillsborough Kids Inc., a state contractor that placed the boy, says it’s not liable because it subcontracted with another agency which directly cared for the boy. They contend the state Department of Children and Families is ultimately responsible for overseeing its providers, according to court documents.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of the boy has dragged on for three years and is the crux of an ongoing argument between DCF and the contractors it hires to place and monitor foster children: Who should be financially responsible when one of the children is harmed?

That question has major repercussions for both taxpayers and the children. If it’s the state, the contractors would be off the hook and a victimized foster child would be limited by law to receiving $200,000 in damages from the state unless the Legislature approves a higher amount. If it’s the contractors, an injured child could receive whatever damages a court awards up to a $3 million per incident and it would be paid by the contractor and its insurance company.

Child advocates say DCF and its contractors are trying to dodge responsibility and are wasting taxpayer money as discussions drag on. In the end, they say, it leaves abused children with little legal or financial recourse. The state spent more than $740 million this year on foster care, employing 21 contractors to oversee between 9,000 and 10,000 foster children.

“It’s sad and a complete waste of resources when we see each blame the other or duck behind technical defenses while the innocent foster child is suffering and waiting to get help,” said Howard Talenfeld, a child advocate and Broward County attorney.

Read the entire story here

Care Providers Can Reduce Liability and Lawsuit Risk When Helping Florida Foster Children

September 4th, 2009   No Comments   Damage Claims

Child Advocate Lawyer to DCF Dependency Summit: Reduce Risks & Damage Awards in the Child Welfare System

Attorney Howard Talenfeld, who focuses his practice on protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals in civil rights cases, personal injury cases and systemic reform litigation, presented at the Florida Department of Children & Families Dependency Summit on August 27 to DCF employee’s, lead agencies and other providers on Preventative Law and Early Risk Assessment.

Presenting with Talenfeld were DCF’s John Copelan, Esq., Karen Nissen of Vernis & Bowling of Palm Beach, and Derrick Roberts of ChildNet.

As an attorney and child advocate, Talenfeld has been involved in many of the significant and innovative child advocacy claims handled throughout Florida and the country. Talenfeld is perhaps best known in the child advocacy legal arena for his work as one of first attorneys nationally to utilize a federal civil rights damage statute to recover damages for injured foster children. In its 2001 case Roe v. Florida Department of Children & Family Services, the firm recovered a $5 million damage award – an amount in excess of Florida’s sovereign immunity limit of $100,000 – on behalf of six foster children.

To protect the developmentally disabled and the mentally retarded, the firm in Baumstein v. Sunrise Communities successfully argued in the Third District Court of Appeal to establish a private cause of action for damages based upon the violation of Florida’s Bill of Rights for the developmentally disabled. This decision was the first to recognize this approach which led to a significant settlement of this wrongful death damages claim.

Talenfeld represents children injured while in state care because he knows that after children in DCF custody turn 19, no one to help them get the care, treatment and support they need to face the future.

His role on this panel, though, blended both his litigation successes as well as his specialized knowledge of how to protect the rights of foster care and other children in the state’s care. (more…)

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  • Child Advocacy News

    - Las Vegas, Nevada - May 5, 2012 - National Center for Youth Law Wins Major Victory for Las Vegas Foster Children The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) has won a major victory on behalf of foster children in Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a lower court's dismissal of the foster care reform case brought by NCYL on behalf of Clark County's abused and neglected children. The Appeals Court ruled that these children have a constitutional right to safety and adequate medical care. The Court also said that the county, and county and state officials, are liable if they fail to ensure that those constitutional rights are protected.

    - Tallahassee, Florida – May 5, 2012 - Florida DCF Blog, Social Media to Share Families’ Stories Florida's Department of Children and Families (DCF) is sharing the stories of families across the state with a new blog and Facebook page. Words from adoptive mother and TV personality Kim Parrish will be one of the first post on the blog. New media also will have custom tabs featuring DCF resources, such as how to apply for benefits and report abuse to the state hotline, that can be automatically installed on any Facebook business page.

    - News-Press – Tallahassee, Florida – May 7, 2012 - Florida Department of Children and Families to Use Report-Card System to Monitor Foster Kids Florida DCF is taking steps to reduce the number of youth in foster care who wind up without an education by requiring report cards – not on how the kids are doing in history and English, but on whether they're in a stable situation that enhances their.

    - News-Press – Fort Myers, Florida – May 5, 2012 - Parents Addicted to Pills Leave Kids on DCF Radar Pills are a scourge to Florida kids. The number of children under DCF supervision is at its highest in two years despite a push to keep families out of the system. Prescription painkillers are largely to blame, said child welfare leaders. They have seen addictions to drugs like oxycodone deepen in the past year and numb many residents’ ability to be watchful, nurturing parents. Parents are relapsing and spending money on drugs instead of food and clothes for their children.

    - Tallahassee, Florida – May 1, 2012 - Florida DCF celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month Listen to a happy song to release stress. Replace your snack food with healthy “brain” food. Do a crossword puzzle to improve critical thinking. These tips and more are part of the Florida Department of Children and Families celebration of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Starting May 1, events around the state will help bring awareness to a healthy mind and body and to positive outcomes for those with mental illnesses.

    - St. Augustine Record – St. Augustine, Florida – April 13, 2012 - Man Facing Child Sex Charges Ruled Incompetent A man accused of sex crimes against two children won’t go to trial, at least not in the near future. David Lavern Stratton Jr., 36, was placed into the care of the Department of Children and Families on Thursday after a mental health evaluation found him incompetent to stand trial.

    - Naked Politics / Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – March 29, 2012 - Scott Expands Role of DCF Secretary to be Head of 'State Operations' As if being head of the Department of Children and Families weren't enough, Gov. Rick Scott today appointed David Wilkins to a new role as Florida’s Chief Operating Officer for Government Operations. According to a statement from the governor's office, Wilkins "will serve in this role in addition to his role as Secretary of the Department of Children and Families.''

    - News Press – Fort Myers, Florida – March 27, 2012 - DCF was Investigating Family of Slain North Fort Myers Infant At the time an 8-week-old baby was allegedly killed by her father in their North Fort Myers home, the state Department of Children and Families was already investigating the family.

    - Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – March 7, 2012 - Judge Ends Visits Between Alleged Molester and Daughter, 4 A teenage foster kid at a child welfare office saw in chilling detail what a state social worker did not: A father, during a supervised visit with his daughter, wrapping his hands around the 4-year-old’s neck as he pushed her face toward his groin. “That’s when [the 4-year-old] screamed,” the foster child told an investigator.

    - Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – March 3, 2012 - Wife of ‘Monster’ Dad Jailed in Son’s Stabbing Death A mom whose sons were returned to her and her husband despite reports they were abused was charged in the killing of one of the boys.

    - Miami Herald – North Miami Beach, Florida – March 2, 2012 (WSVN) - Florida DCF Releases Documents in Child Neglect Case Child welfare officials released hundreds of pages of documents involving the case of a boy who was found wandering the streets, naked and starving. The Department of Children and Families released over 700 pages on Thursday that drew few, if any, conclusions as to why a 9-year-old boy was found malnourished and bruised in the street in January.

    - Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – December 30, 2011 - Barahona Judge’s Efforts to Ferret Out Leaks Detailed Court records released to The Herald document a judge’s efforts to identify lawyers or child welfare administrators she suspected of leaking secret material to the newspaper.

    - Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – December 17, 2011 - South Florida Charter Schools Admit Few Special Needs Children From South Dade to the northern reaches of Broward County, only a handful of students with profound disabilities make it into charter schools, according to a Miami Herald / State Impact Florida analysis of student enrollment data. The trend holds true across the state, where 87 percent of charter schools don’t serve any students with the most intense support needs.

    - Associated Press – State College, Pennsylvania – December 16, 2011 - Penn. Deputy Attorney General Cites PSU 'Inaction' A graduate student waited a day after allegedly seeing a child being sexually assaulted on Penn State's campus before telling his supervisor, football coach Joe Paterno. Paterno waited another day before calling the university's athletic director, who looped in a school vice president. "I think it's a sad, sad, sad day, when you think about all of these victims, and you saw the inaction by a number of supposedly important, responsible adults. And there's a lot of inaction in this case," Marc Costanzo, a senior deputy attorney general, said after the preliminary hearing.

    - USAToday – State College, Pennsylvania – December 13, 2011 - Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky Waives Right to Hearing, Will Face Accusers Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky waived his right to a preliminary hearing today, sending the case directly to trial at a later date.

    - Palm Beach Post – Miami, Florida – December 9, 2011 - Barahona Records: Neighbor Says Jorge Barahona Was 'Super Paranoid' Jorge Barahona was given to paranoia and fears of conspiracies around him that he expressed to a neighbor, according to investigative materials released this week by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office, fears that may have led him to murder his adopted daughter and almost kill her brother, Victor.

    - The Miami Herald – Miami, Florida – December 9, 2011 - Pleas by Nubia Barahona’s Family Went Unheeded — Until It Was Too Late Relatives of Nubia and Victor Barahona were convinced that the children were being abused by their adoptive father. But they couldn’t get anyone to listen. Nubia Barahona, 10, was found dead in the back of her adoptive father's pickup truck in Broward on Valentines Day.

    - Associated Press – State College, Pennsylvania – December 8, 2011 - Ex-Penn State Coach Sandusky Jailed on New Child Sex Abuse Charges Based on 2 New Accusers Former Penn State University assistant coach Jerry Sandusky spent Wednesday night behind bars after new child sex abuse charges were filed against him based on the claims of two new accusers, including one who says he screamed in vain for help while Sandusky attacked him in a basement bedroom.

    - Gainesville.com – Plant City, Florida – Mentally Disabled Man Forced to Stand on Ant Hill A 21-year-old worker at a group home was arrested, and the facility where he worked was later shut down after authorities said he forced a mentally disabled man to stand barefoot on fire ant hills as punishment for stealing money. Florida MENTOR's Ike Smith Group Home's license has been suspended. Florida MENTOR continues to operate other facilities throughout the state. The Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities are investigating.

    - Orlando Sentinel – Orlando, Florida – December 3, 2011 - Orlando Mom Was Foster Parent to Hundreds of Kids Dorothy Pearl Johnson didn't have children of her own. However, as a foster parent for four decades, she mothered about 400 children. Johnson, 87, continued to nurture children until a few months ago, when her failing health forced her to stop. After battling leukemia, she died on Tuesday in the home on Trentonian Court where she had cared for hundreds of children as if they were her own.

    - New York Times – New York – November 22, 2011 - Drugs Used for Psychotics Go to Youths in Foster Care Foster children are being prescribed cocktails of powerful antipsychosis drugs just as frequently as some of the most mentally disabled youngsters on Medicaid, a new study suggests.

    - USAToday – State College, Pennsylvania – November 16, 2011 - Penn State Case Presses Others to Tighten Abuse Laws Lawmakers and university officials across the USA are moving quickly to tighten up rules on who must report sexual abuse on campus in the wake of the Penn State scandal.

    Reuters – State College, Pennsylvania – November 13, 2011 - A Long History in Penn State Child Abuse Case It will not be so easy to wipe out the stain on Penn State's reputation from the alleged abuse and what critics see as a cover-up by university officials who were told that Sandusky was seen raping a young boy in a shower in 2002. The case has drawn comparisons to the child abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Church, whose top officials are also accused of covering up child abuse over decades.

    Forbes – State College, Pennsylvania – November 11, 2011 - Conrad Murray, Penn State and Why the Powerful Enable Evil After Dr. Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson, the blogosphere, rightly, called him an enabler in a long line of celebrity enablers. Allegations that Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky raped a pre-teen boy in the college shower seem less shocking than the nauseating cover-up that follows.

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