Florida Child Advocate.com -- The Florida Foster Care Survival Guide -- is the one-stop resource for protecting the rights of children under the state’s care. We created this site for children, the families who love them, the caregivers who serve them, guardians who advocate for them, and the attorneys who counsel them in how to access resources and agencies, understand their rights, and address dependency, damages or disability claims.
Florida attorneys associated with Florida Child Advocate represent current foster children, former foster children and the physically disabled and developmentally disabled in negligence, abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse, civil rights and damages claims against the Florida Department of Children and Families, its lead agencies and community based care providers, and other child welfare providers. These attorneys have helped recover hundreds of millions of dollars in damage claims in one of the largest and most successful Foster Care and Disabled Persons practice areas in the county.
This site is sponsored by the law firm Talenfeld Law. Attorneys involved with this site include Howard Talenfeld, Stacie J. Schmerling and Lisa M. Elliott.
Every foster child needs attention. Let Florida Child Advocate.com be your legal resource.
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If a Florida foster child, vulnerable person or concerned citizen makes a call to a state-sponsored abuse hotline, can he or she be assured help will come?
That’s the question citizens, child advocate attorneys and others are asking as revelations of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) Abuse Report Hotline are going public.
At issue: The state’s admitted “screening” process that takes some calls seriously, while ignoring others.
“Hot-line calls are cries for help on behalf of a child,” said Howard Talenfeld, the Fort Lauderdale-based chairman of Florida’s Children First, an advocacy group. “Any call that is screened out is a cry that falls on deaf ears.”
More than 100 child advocates, lawyers, judges and politicians gathered at the Gunster Yoakley law firm offices in West Palm Beach recently to honor those in Palm Beach County who are making a difference in the lives of foster children.
“These individuals have proven that you can help change outcomes for foster children by simply getting involved in a foster child’s life,” said Howard Talenfeld, President of Florida’s Children First, and a partner with Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate PA.
The event raised more than $20,000 and honored local foster care advocates and Obadiah Payton, a young adult who successfully made it through the system. Read the Sun-Sentinel On The Scene coverage here…
Florida’s Children First will hold its Miami-Dade Child Advocate Awards and Reception on December 3, 2009 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
Child advocates, community and business leaders, and all other persons concerned about the future of Florida’s children, especially abused, abandoned and neglected children and youth are welcome. A $100 contribution is suggested; all proceeds will benefit Florida’s Children First, the leading child advocacy organization in Florida.
The event will honor three children’s advocates, including the Honorable Carlos Martinez, Andi Steinaker, and foster care “graduate” Julia Villamizar. (more…)
Two national reports failed the state of Florida with regard to preventing child abuse in the child welfare system, and they highlight the need for representation of children in the system.
Although Florida is making process in its child welfare system, the two reports still point out we have a long way to go.
“… the issue of providing more attorneys for children is being discussed statewide,” writes the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The Florida Bar has a committee working on legislation for the upcoming session seeking more attorneys for foster children with special needs, such as the disabled, older teens and children being prescribed psychotropic drugs.”
“It only makes sense that Florida join the other 40 states that give these kids their own lawyer, ” Howard Talenfeld, chair of The Florida Bar committee, told the News-Journal.
Event Raises More Than $20,000 to Help Foster Children
Michael Carris, Howard Talenfeld, and the Hon. Mark Pafford
More than 100 Florida child advocates, lawyers, judges and politicians gathered at the Gunster Yoakley law firm offices in West Palm Beach recently to honor those in Palm Beach County who are making a difference in the lives of foster children.
FCF Board of Directors: Richard Filson, Denise Manning, Julie Talenfeld, Howard Talenfeld, FCF President and Alan Mishael.
Florida’s Children First (FCF) Executive Director Christina Spudeas and President Howard Talenfeld, a staunch child advocate and partner with Colodny Fass Talenfeld Karlinsky & Abate, led the event, which raised more than $20,000 and honored local foster care advocates and one young adult who successfully made it through the system.
“Even in a down economy FCF is fortunate to be supported by individuals who open up their hearts and their purse strings to support programs for our state’s foster children,” said Spudeas.
This year’s honorees included Nora Collins-Mandeville, Mari Frankel, and Rita and Les Gorenflo for their foster child advocacy work. Foster care “graduate” Obadiah Payton was also recognized for his successful transition into independent living.
Christina Spudeas and 2009 honoree Nora Collins-Mandeville.
“These individuals have that you can help change outcomes for foster children by simply by getting involved in a foster child’s life,” said Talenfeld.
Nora Collins-Mandeville was honored for her passion for children who have aged out of foster care, her natural ability to connect with young people and her search to find a better way for Florida’s child serving systems.
Pro Bono Lawyers, Advocates Sought to Help Southwest Florida Foster Children
In Florida courts for abused and neglected children, attorneys represent the Department of Children and Families, the Guardian ad Litem, and parents, but rarely is one there just for the child. Some have proposed changes to the system.
Howard Talenfeld, president of Florida’s Children First, a statewide advocacy organization, chairs the Florida Bar’s Legal Needs of Children group that is proposing the changes. “There are so many amazingly qualified guardians, but it’s time to recognize that the system is so splintered, so broken that these kids need more.”
Judge James Seals, who presides over Lee County’s dependency court, and Alicia Guerra, supervising attorney for the local guardian program, which provides court advocates for children, are trying to recruit pro-bono lawyers for children with complex legal issues and teenagers aging out of foster care. Read the entire article here…
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…)
This article from the News Service of Florida reveals Florida Department of Children & Families Secretary George Sheldon’s belief that the agency at the center of state foster care issues is changing its culture.
“Gov. Crist made it very clear that if you make a mistake, admit it and try to fix it,’’ Sheldon said.
“Despite recent critical reports, Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon said this week that he is convinced the beleaguered agency is beginning to change a long-engrained culture,” the article began. “A recently-completed internal report raises questions as to whether the agency has the right kind of employees who are willing to use common sense to avoid ongoing mistakes, such as one that came to light with the suicide of a 7-year-old child in South Florida.
“These mistakes wind up costing taxpayers millions of dollars because the state ends up settling lawsuits that accuse the agency of negligence.”
When the Associated Press reported that the state of Florida will pay more than $3 million to two foster children for not preventing them from abuse and starvation in their Hernando County home, Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon termed the case “horrific.”
John Joseph Edwards Jr., 19, and his half-sister, 15, received $700,000 and $3.275 million, respectively. Their foster parents, Lori and Arthur “Tommy” Allain, received 25 years in prison for child abuse and neglect in 2006. Not only were the kids put in a dangerous home, a DCF panel that investigated said countless child welfare workers missed or ignored signs of abuse and found they allowed it to escalate.
Putting foster kids in dangerous homes, with little follow-up, and then paying settlements when things go horribly wrong has become an expensive reality — one that Sheldon is trying to correct. (more…)
The Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) has made strides of late, both in recognizing the need for — and furthering its protections of — children in the state’s foster care program.
But it has much to do and still farther to go. In a story, DCF Report Rips Way Kids Get Meds by the Fort Myers News-Press, Stan Appelbaum, chairman of the Local Advocacy Council for mental health, said “I’m not a happy camper with the way medications are being used. The first thing that I’d take away from this review is that it’s not a perfect system.” The article also called medicating children in state care an “unregulated, haphazard process in which drugs are prescribed to help caregivers calm difficult children instead of treating them,” according to an initial state review.
As the Miami Herald recently reported: A panel found that “Florida’s mental health system for foster kids relies far too often on drugs, with little oversight, according to a draft report on the suicide of 7-year-old Gabriel Myers.” Read the full article here. (more…)
Plantation lawyers Howard Talenfeld & Jesse Diner hope to improve legal representation of kids in state care.
Jesse Diner, left, and Howard Talenfeld are working together to help Florida’s foster care and vulnerable children.
Two Broward lawyers are hoping to work toward a major change for kids who have been taken from troubled homes.
Howard Talenfeld and Jesse Diner, both of Plantation, say they want to make sure every child in state care has a voice when moving through the court system. Both have taken on lead roles in recent months with the Florida Bar Association and one of their main priorities will be to improve the legal representation of children in foster care.
“I realized the single greatest improvement we can make in the child welfare system is to give every child a voice when they are taken away from their parents,” said Talenfeld, a longtime foster care and child advocate attorney.
Tracey K. McPharlin, a partner in Fort Lauderdale law firm Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate P.A., and specialist in foster children, foster care abuse, and damage claims, was elected 2009-2010 Chair of the Florida Bar Public Interest Law Section (“PILS”) on June 26 at the Florida Bar’s 2009 Annual Meeting.
McPharlin had served a statewide capacity as PILS Chair-Elect for the past year, during which she worked closely with outgoing Chair Maria Elena Abate, also a partner at Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate. Together, the two worked to build the PILS membership base through added CLE programming and awareness efforts.
Both Abate and McPharlin, who works extensively on the firm’s cases involving foster children, foster care abuse, and damage claims, chaired the PILS Legal Needs of Children Committee in successive terms. (more…)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
