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Florida DCF Report: State Child-Welfare Oversight Left Wanting in Barahona Twins Case

March 8th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Shoddy, lacking and frustrating are just some of the terms that can or have been used to describe the work of state Department of Children and Families child welfare workers in the case of Nubia and Victor Barahona, the Miami twins at the center of a horrific death and abuse case.

“In the immediate aftermath of a Miami girl’s death, state child-welfare workers acknowledged privately that the work of agency investigators left much to be desired,” wrote the Miami Herald. In the meantime, the children’s adoptive mother, Carmen Barahona, has been charged with murder.

“Four days after Nubia Barahona’s decomposed body was found in the flatbed of her adoptive father’s pickup truck, state child-welfare authorities…concluded that a series of abuse investigations lacked ‘a sense of urgency’’ and contained several instances of shoddy case work,” the paper reported.   Read the entire story here.

Palm Beach Post Commentary: Private Child Welfare Providers Must Carry Adequate Insurance

March 8th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Advocacy

By CHRISTINA SPUDEAS

How dare they? As The Post’s Pat Beall reported Friday, Florida’s privatized child welfare companies want to limit their liability and accountability by asking the Legislature to let them off the hook for having to pay for kids who are badly injured while in their care.

These companies should be cringing, knowing that their bill came out in the midst of a public investigation into the Barahona case in Miami-Dade County, one of the most horrific child-abuse cases involving foster care our state has ever seen. This bill should be called the Barahona Child Abuse Enabling Act.

Spudeas is Executive Director of Florida’s Children First, the leading statewide child advocacy group. Read her entire Letter to the Editor here.

Adoptive Parent Beat Nubia Barahona to Death Day After Child Welfare Visit: Police

March 7th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Victor Barahona, who’s 10-year-old twin sister, Nubia, was found dead last month, heard their adoptive parent beating her to death one day after a child-welfare worker visited the home, police say Victor told them.

According to the Miami Herald, “Miami-Dade police believe 10-year-old Nubia Barahona was murdered by her adoptive parents the day after a child welfare investigator visited the family’s west Miami-Dade home, according to arrest reports unsealed Monday.”

The paper continued, “Nubia’s twin brother, Victor, told detectives that he heard his adoptive father, Jorge Barahona, beating his sister to death on Friday, Feb. 11, while Victor remained bound and locked in the bathroom of the house. Barahona’s wife, Carmen, later told Victor that his sister “had been sent away,” the police reports say.” Read the entire story here.

Twins Nubia, Victor Barahona Foretold of Mortal Fears Before Adoption

March 4th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

The tale of adopted Miami twins Nubia and Victor Barahona grows more distressing with day’s news and revelations. A panel investigating the child-abuse death of Nubia and serious injuries on twin brother Victor learned that the two had told a psychologist of their fears of death or injury.

According to the Miami Herald, in the months before a Miami-Dade judge approved their adoption by longtime foster parents, the 7-year-old twin siblings told a child psychologist they sometimes had thoughts of killing themselves.

Nubia also confided that she wished she had more friends. And that she was “sure that terrible things are going to happen to her,” the Herald reported.  Despite their fears, the judge approved their adoption in May 2009.

In time, the children’s worst — and professed — fears came true. Read the entire story here.

Miami Herald: Therapist’s Call to Abuse Hotline Reveals Details in Barahona Home

March 1st, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Tales of alleged abuse were recounted in the transcript of a Feb. 10 call received by Florida’s child abuse hotline, the Miami Herald reports. Lisa Reiss, a children’s therapist, made the call after speaking to a child who was related by adoption to 10-year-old twins Victor and Nubia Barahona. Nubia now is dead; Victor is recovering from critical acid burns.

A task force formed by new Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins to investigate the Barahona twins’ case continues its meetings today.

Read the entire Miami Herald story here.

Howard Talenfeld Appeared on CNN to Discuss Red Flags Missed by DCF

February 21st, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Court Cases, Department of Children & Families (DCF), Foster Care, News & Events

Florida Child Advocates Shocked as Adopted Twin Found Dead in Pickup Truck, Others Removed by Department of Children & Families

February 16th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Shock and horror gripped Florida child advocates Monday following the death of a 10-year-old adopted girl — who only a week before had been the subject of a call to the Department of Children and Families abuse hotline warning of possible abuse of the girl and her twin brother.

According to the Miami Herald, DCF took into custody two other children who were adopted by Jorge L. Barahona, the twins’ adoptive father. Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman has asked that the children be placed back into foster care.

As of late Tuesday, Barahona was charged with aggravated child abuse. More charges are expected, police spokesman Chase Scott said. Meanwhile, child welfare administrators released scant details. “We are in the preliminary stages of a very tragic and extremely complex investigation,” said Mark Riordan, a DCF spokesman. “We are working side-by-side with law enforcement in two jurisdictions, and protective investigators in two jurisdictions….our primary concern is the safety of these children.”

Read the entire story here.

Florida Adoption of Foster Children a ‘Chance at Redemption’

November 12th, 2010   No Comments   Adoption, Advocacy

For foster children and hopeful parents, adoption is redemption and a chance at a new life for children – and adoptive parents. At a recent Miami event as part of Carla’s National Adoption Day, 50 children were given new, permanent homes.

For the children, the adoption was among 50 that took place at the Miami Children’s Museum as part of Carla’s National Adoption Day. The event was renamed in memory of Miami child advocate Carla Merhige, who was killed last year by her mentally ill brother, according to the Miami Herald. The national event is intended to raise awareness of the 129,000 children in foster care nationwide awaiting permanent homes.

“Adoption is not just about taking care of a child until they turn 18. Adoption is forever,” said DCF Secretary George Sheldon to the families before their adoptions were finalized. Read the entire story here.

Opinion: 33 Years Later, Florida Gets It Right On Gay Adoption

October 20th, 2010   No Comments   Adoption

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel editors wrote an opinion column on gay adoption of foster children and other children in need of a permanent home. It’s a compelling tale — hopefully one that eulogizes the end of Florida’s 33-year ban on gay adoption.

It would have been a fitting funeral for Florida’s archaic, bigoted gay adoption law if it had gone all the way to the state Supreme Court before finally being shot down.

That didn’t happen, but the next best thing did — the Florida Department of Children & Families is at last giving up the ludicrous, wasteful and self-defeating fight.

Floridians should demand to know how much time and money was wasted by the state of Florida in an attempt to retain the backward distinction of having the most stringent gay adoption ban in the country. For 33 years — during which countless kids were denied a good, loving home because of bigotry and misplaced moral fervor — Florida law said gays and lesbians could not be adoptive parents.  Read the entire column here.

Child Advocates Celebrate Funding Program for Adopting Disabled Florida Foster Kids

October 1st, 2010   No Comments   Adoption, Foster Care

The news is good for disabled foster children hoping to find permanent homes through adoption. Advocates applaud a new Florida program that could enable adoption of hundreds of disabled kids.

A new program from the Florida Department of Children & Families and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities will earmark financial resources for care and services for foster kids with special needs. The hope is this will help encourage adoptive parents who might not be able to adopt and raise the children otherwise.

It’s a big issue. Some 638 Florida foster children had developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism and other issues. . Some 224 of the kids are on a waiting list for services.

To learn more, read a recent Miami Herald story on the issue.

Tale of Florida Law, Court Ruling & Gay Foster Parent Adoption Captures Wide Attention

September 27th, 2010   No Comments   Adoption, Court Cases, Foster Care

Advocates, children’s rights attorneys and others aren’t the only people closely following the story of Martin Gill and his two foster children. The story has caught the attention of local and national media.

The experienced foster parent and his partner took the brothers several years ago when the boys had nowhere else to go and the Florida Department of Children and Families sought a home for them. Then, Gill hoped to adopt the boys.

One problem: Florida law says gay couples cannot adopt foster children.

A Florida state appeals court struck down the law last week. While the story is not yet final, it still has captured national attention. Read some of the coverage here, in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Slate Magazine.

Court Rules Florida Gay Adoption Ban is Unconstitutional

September 23rd, 2010   No Comments   Adoption, Court Cases

A Miami appeals court ruling that Florida’s 33-year-old ban on gay adoptions is unconstitutional is certain to heighten discussion among adoption supporters, advocates of foster children, and others who have argued for and against the law — the only such ban in the country.

As reported in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a cultural flashpoint was ignited Wednesday when a Miami appeals court ruled that Florida’s 33-year-old ban on gay adoptions is unconstitutional. The ruling only affects Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

“It’s about time Florida enters the 21st century and starts looking out for its children rather than paying heed to extremist political views,” said Allan Barsky, a professor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, who lives with his partner Greg Moore and daughter Adelle, 7, in their Fort Lauderdale home.

The social fault line was stirred by the 3rd District Court of Appeals, which upheld a lower judge’s ruling allowing a North Miami gay man and his partner to adopt two young brothers. In a 28-page opinion, a three-judge panel said Florida’s ban on gays adopting was unconstitutional because it singled out gays as unfit parents. Judge Gerald Cope, who wrote the opinion, said there was no evidence to show gays were less effective than heterosexual parents. Read the Entire Story Here.

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