Rockledge, FL – February 7, 2019 – WFTV 9 – Group home worker arrested years after woman with mental capacity of child gave birth A group home resident with the mental capacity of a small child gave birth in 2015, and an employee at the facility was arrested Tuesday.
Jacksonville, FL – February 4, 2019 – First Coast News WTLV – Foster home on Jacksonville’s Westside closes amidst DCF investigation A foster home on Jacksonville’s Westside has closed its doors amidst a Department of Children and Families investigation that started after the home’s director was accused of covering up child abuse.
Largo, FL – January 17, 2019 – The Tampa Bay Times- The fallout from state review of 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau’s death State Sen. Lauren Book accuses the Florida Department of Children and Families of passing blame in the death of 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says foster care in his county is not as fractured as a review found.
Live Oak, FL – January 15, 2019 – Fox News- Three children in Florida die after locking themselves inside freezer: police Three children in Live Oak, Florida, died Sunday after they accidentally trapped themselves in a freezer while playing outside, the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office announced early this week.
Tampa, FL – December 27, 2018 – The Tampa Bay Times- Nowhere to call home: Thousands of foster children move so much they risk psychological harm A Tampa Bay Times investigation finds Florida’s overburdened foster care system repeatedly bounces children from home to home and family to family.
Orange Park, FL – December 6, 2018 – WPLG Local 10 News- Grandmother, aunt kept Florida boy locked in box, police say A 13-year-old Florida boy’s grandmother and aunt beat him, locked him in a box and chained him to a couch, police said.
Palm Beach County, FL – November 18, 2018 – CityBizList South Florida- Florida’s Children First Honors Child Advocates in Palm Beach County at Annual Fundraiser and Awards Event Florida’s Children First (FCF), a statewide advocacy organization focused on protecting the legal rights of at-risk and foster care children, recently recognized Palm Beach County child advocates and former foster youth at FCF’s 2018 Palm Beach Advocacy Awards & Reception in West Palm Beach.
Duval County, FL – October 23, 2018 – First Coast News- On Your Side: Why is Duval County leading the state in child deaths? More infants and children are dying in Duval County than any other county in the state this year, according to Department of Children and Families data.
Tallahassee, FL – October 4, 2018 – The Sun-Sentinel- Florida AG Bondi launches site for tips on past sex abuse by priests Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a tip site as part of an ongoing investigation of past sex abuse by Catholic priests.
Tallahassee, FL – September 26, 2018 – Florida Trend- Florida Awarded More Than $50 Million to Fight National Opioid Crisis Today, Governor Rick Scott directed the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to begin utilizing a new federal grant to increase access to medication-assisted treatment, reduce opioid-related deaths and equip professionals with the necessary tools to combat the national opioid epidemic in Florida.
Tallahassee, FL – August 28, 2018 – The Tampa Bay Times- Scott names interim heads for DCF and DJJ As the state prepares to count ballots in the contentious party primaries for his replacement, Gov. Rick Scott named two interim heads for the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Children and Families Tuesday.
Tallahassee, FL – August 18, 2018 – The Tampa Bay Times- Romano: A fresh start for Florida to protect abused children The worst job in Florida is available, once again. Mike Carroll has announced his pending resignation as secretary of the Department of Children and Families, giving someone else the privilege to be an underfunded, second-guessed punching bag.
Tallahassee, FL – August 10, 2018 – The Miami Herald- Head of Florida’s long-troubled child welfare agency steps down The head of Florida’s long-troubled child welfare agency is stepping down, the state announced Friday, after a four-year stint that saw him serve longer than the agency’s other recent chiefs.
Boca Raton, FL – August 7, 2018 – The Sun-Sentinel- Protesters target prison-and-detention operator Geo Group in Boca Raton More than 100 people gathered Tuesday at Geo Group’s temporary headquarters in Boca Raton to protest the company’s business in prisons and immigration detention involving children.
Tampa, FL – August 4, 2018 – The Miami Herald- Two days before mom was charged with murdering her daughter, DCF said she was ‘safe’ Two days before police say 4-year-old Je’Hyrah Daniels’ mother dragged the screaming girl into the Hillsborough River and left her to die, child welfare investigators determined the girl was in “no impending danger.”
Tallahassee, FL – July 31, 2018 – WCTV- Tallahassee man charged with child abuse A Tallahassee man has been arrested on child abuse charges after the Department of Children and Families received multiple complaints.
Carrollwood, FL – July 23, 2018 – The Tampa Bay Times- Group homes brace for radical overhaul of federal foster care funding Since the 1940s, abused, abandoned and neglected teens have found refuge at Lake Magdalene, a group foster home run by Hillsborough County.
Walton County, FL – July 14, 2018 – The Miami Herald- As staffer laughed, boy was sexually assaulted at Florida juvenile program, deputies say The Walton Academy for Growth and Change is supposed to provide a “secure residential treatment program for males, ages 13 to 18,” according to law enforcement in the Florida Panhandle town.
Houston, TX – July 12, 2018 – The Washington Post- Abuse, neglect and a system that failed: The tragic lives of the Hart children One day, she thought, the three kids would come back and find her. They would return to Houston and reunite with the woman who fought to keep their family together.
Sunrise, FL – July 13, 2018 – WFLA News Channel 8- Parkland shooting commission uncovers more system failures The Tampa Bay area sheriff overseeing an investigation into the Florida school massacre says the state’s mental health evaluation law would not have prevented suspect Nikolas Cruz from buying guns.
Miami, FL – July 1, 2018 – The Florida Bar News- Panel asked to study pre-trial depositions of child sexual abuse victims Miami-Dade State Attorney Kathy Fernandez Rundle is asking a Florida Bar committee to study a potential ban on the pre-trial deposition of child sexual abuse victims.
Orlando, FL – June 21, 2018 – ABC Action News Tampa Bay- Job postings may shed light on life for unaccompanied migrant children at Homestead shelter What IS life like for migrant children in federal custody without their parents?
Orlando, FL – June 19, 2018 – The Daily Business Review- South Floridians Honored at the 2018 Florida Bar Convention An array of South Florida legal professionals returned from this year’s Florida Bar convention with awards honoring their service.
Bradenton, FL – June 12, 2018 – The Miami Herald- They knew she was a suicide risk. Girl, 15, was still able to hang herself in the lockup. Florida juvenile justice administrators knew that Alleny Carbone was at risk of taking her own life: During at least a dozen stays in state custody, she had been placed on suicide alert.
Tallahassee, FL – May 24, 2018 – WCTV- Make a difference, become a foster parent A staggering statistic: 24,000 children are currently in Florida’s foster care system, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Clearwater, FL – May 5, 2018 – WTSP News 10- Clearwater couple accused of child abuse after baby stops breathing A man and a woman are facing child abuse charges after an 18-month old girl stopped breathing, Clearwater police said.
Tallahassee, FL – April 26, 2018 – WTXL ABC 27- Identifying signs and red flags of child abuse April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. The Tallahassee Memorial Behavioral Health Center says there are signs and red flags of child abuse.
Tallahassee, FL – April 3, 2018 – The Capitol News Service- Ann Scott Leads Ceremony for Child Abuse Awareness Month April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and to spread awareness for the cause First Lady Ann Scott led this year’s Pinwheels for Prevention event with a group of students.
Tallahassee, FL – March 27, 2018 – The Tampa Bay Times- After years of waiting for damages, these people will finally collect In one case, a ladder flew off a state truck, leading to a fatal accident. In another, an infant died after a paperwork error at a county health clinic. In another, a foster child sexually assaulted another boy.
Tallahassee, FL – March 26, 2018 – Florida Trend- Gov. Rick Scott signs 74 bills into law Today, Governor Rick Scott signed the following bills into law: Relief of C.M.H. – This bill directs the Florida Department of Children and Families to provide over $5 million in relief to C.M.H., an individual formerly in the care of the Department.
Tallahassee, FL – March 13, 2018 – The Palm Beach Post- Lawmakers OK $5 million payment by DCF to abused former Wellington boy More than four years after a Palm Beach County jury ordered the Florida Department of Children & Families to pay $5 million to a former Wellington boy who was sexually assaulted by a foster child whom the state department placed in his home, state lawmakers have finally agreed to pay up.
On Thursday, March 8, the Florida Legislature approved a Claims Bill regarding a West Palm Beach jury verdict, which would provide $5 million to a victim of sexual abuse. The bill is the result of a verdict against the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) on behalf of a young man (“C.M.H.”) who was sexually assaulted at age nine by an 11-year-old foster child (“J.W.”) that DCF had placed at the home. Children’s rights attorney Howard Talenfeld represented C.M.H.
Foster Child Suicide Shows Florida’s Failed Child Welfare Privatization Experiment
When the Florida Department of Children and Families responded to a records request by the media regarding the suicide of Lauryn Martin-Everett with the line, “We remain deeply saddened by the tragic loss of this child,” some could argue the admission itself was a reflection of the state’s failed experiment with privatization and outsourcing of child welfare services.
The 16-year-old girl was a ward of the state; her parents knew little about her care or what led to her death by hanging. Though she spent eight years in “the system,” a DCF “child fatality summary” was less than three pages long.
Whether Gabriel Myers; Naika Venant, the 14-year-old who hanged herself in a Miami Gardens foster home little over a month later, or Lauryn, we’ve learned that privatization of the child welfare system has done little to improve the welfare of the state’s children.
Again, child abuse attorneys and others who fight for the rights of abused, neglected, sexually abused, or those minors otherwise harmed or the victims of wrongful death while in the Florida child welfare system are left to wonder: When will the final stories of these children’s sad lives amount to a three-page summary? And when will the lessons be learned?