- 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.
