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Archive for the ‘Department of Children & Families (DCF)’ Category
A letter by Florida child advocacy attorney Howard Talenfeld was published today in the Daily Business Review’s Practice Focus section. Entitled, “Disability Rights: More Must Be Done for At-Risk Children and Their Parents,” the letter noted how advocates can only hope that state leaders learn that cutting budgets at the expense of at-risk children rarely delivers the result one expects – and it could lend to a class action that is certified and a federal court injunction.
Talenfeld, of Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky, Abate & Webb, wrote that, “To any Florida attorney who fights to protect the rights of and prevent damages to severely disabled children, the past several years have been tough to watch.
“Children with highly complex medical conditions and who had been cared for by their parents or guardians have been wrongly denied skilled, private duty nursing hours to assist in the care. Left little choice, some parents were forced to send the children to institutions, including nursing homes.
“Many children suffered. A few died.”
Read Talenfeld’s entire letter here.
To any Florida attorney who fights and sues to protect the rights of and prevent damages to disabled, vulnerable or foster children, the past two years have been tough to watch. Over that time, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration has been attempting to balance its budget on the backs of Florida’s Medically Fragile Children and their parents who want to care for them at home by violating the Federal Medicaid Act and chopping the number of hours that they are willing to reimburse parents for medically necessary private duty nurses.
Through their contracted agent, eQ Health Solutions, Inc, AHCA ignores the medical histories and the number of hours these parents have received and are entitled to in attempt to force the parents, many of whom have full time jobs to care for these children — many of whom are on ventilators, have trach tubes to breath and are fed through G-tubes. AHCA ignores the capacities or lack of capacity of many of the parents to assess emergencies and intervene with life saving procedures.
The ground is shifting. The rules are changing. In the Legislature and AHCA itself, change has come, according to this Miami Herald story.
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When jurors this week convicted Geralyn Graham of abusing and kidnapping foster child Rilya Wilson, who had been left in her care and later lost for almost two years by the Florida Department of Children and Families – but deadlocked on the murder charge — it represented a partial victory for the system and little Rilya. The kidnapping charge comes with 30 years to life in prison, with the aggravated child abuse bringing 30 years with five additional years for child abuse. But 10 years after her disappearance, questions and concerns still remain for those concerned about avoiding child abuse, personal injury and damages t0 Florida’s most vulnerable.
Although justice was done today when the jury finally convicted Graham of kidnapping and aggravated child abuse, Florida DCF has forgotten many of the lessons learned from the Blue Ribbon Panel about the 193 other children who are listed n DCF’s web site as missing from their placement today.
They are ages 6 through 18 and the public has no idea how long each of the children has been missing. One is as young six years old girl, and DCF does not know where she is today.
How many other Rilya Wilsons are out there. How many will perish? How many are victims of physical and sexual assault? How many are in harm way?
These are questions we need asked – and answered. Read more about Geralyn Graham’s verdict here.
Several years ago, Rilya Wilson went missing while under the care of a foster parent – and the apparent watchful eyes of Florida Department of Children and Families case workers. Now, word has emerged that Dontrell Melvin hasn’t been seen by county and regional child protective services since summer 2011.
Another child slipped through the cracks and is lost. The news raises serious questions about the Florida Department of Children and Families, its children hotline and the wisdom of recent budget cuts. To be sure, these two cases are dissimilar. Rilya was in foster care; Dontrell is more a case of investigative woes by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Child Net’s failure to provide protective services.
Yet, the end result is the same. A child is missing – and no one knows where he or she is. Read the story here.
More to the point, in the case of little Dontrell, no one even looked for about 18 months. Now, Hallandale Beach Police are on the hunt.
Unlike Rilya’s case, where her foster mother, Geralyn Graham is being tried in Rilya’s purported death (as no body ever has been found), one can only hope for a positive outcome. UPDATE: Police on Friday reportedly found human remains in the Melvin yard.
Still, police are asking anyone who knows anything of Dontrell’s whereabouts or details to call 954-457-1400 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Florida child advocates, attorneys and legal guardians who have seen physical abuse, mistreatment and neglect of the state’s most medically and at-risk disabled children applaud the U.S. Department of Justice proposed overhaul of the state’s programs for these vulnerable populations – even as leaders from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Healthcare Administration defend their practices.
The federal government this week pressured state leaders to improve its care and treatment of those children who suffer from severe medical conditions. The harsh indictment of Florida’s program and history of care for this population came in the form of a 17-page settlement proposal from federal civil rights lawyers, who offered “a comprehensive blueprint for overhauling the state’s system of care for frail youngsters,” wrote the Miami Herald.
In it, the DOJ “demands the state stop slicing in-home nursing services for frail youngsters, stop ignoring the requests of family doctors who treat disabled children and stop sending hundreds of children to geriatric nursing homes — where they often spend their childhoods isolated from families and peers,” the paper wrote.
Meanwhile, leaders from heads of three state agencies, including the Agency for Healthcare Administration and the Florida Department of Children and Families, defended at a Tallahassee news conference the state’s process of housing of hundreds of disabled children in nursing homes.
Read the entire article here.
As parents this week complained about the care of their disabled children – claiming the state chooses to warehouse these medically fragile youths in senior nursing homes instead of letting them be cared for by family in their own homes – Florida child advocates, attorneys and legal guardians wonder when the state’s practice will stop. The lack of appropriate oversight, as well as the potential physical abuse, mistreatment and neglect of the state’s most medically and at-risk disabled children, leaves this vulnerable populations crying for better care.
In one case, lawmakers heard about Christian Perez. Twice in the past year, state health administrators ignored the boy’s pediatrician’s prescribed care regimen and reduced how many hours caregivers assisted the severely disabled boy at his Miami-area home.
Parents at the meeting rebuked state agency leaders who said private vendors contracted to administer care and oversight huddled with children’s primary care physicians before making decisions regarding care.
Read the entire story here.
The case was dramatic – where most tend not to be. In a hearing room, a single mother – present with her severely disabled 10-year-old daughter – fought state healthcare administrators to give her child the care doctors say she needs. With child advocacy attorney Howard Talenfeld at her side, the woman alternated between stating her case – and providing the type of care she insists the child will not get if sent off to a geriatric nursing home, like so many such disabled children are under Florida guidelines and practices.
She’s not alone. “In September, the U.S. Justice Department said Florida had ‘planned, structured and administered a system of care that has led to the unnecessary segregation and isolation of children, often for many years,’ in geriatric nursing homes,” reported the Miami Herald.
“Children in such homes often spend their days in virtual seclusion, lying in bed or watching television, the civil rights division wrote.” With Talenfeld at her side and handling the case pro bono, the single mother sought to fight the way Florida cares for its most at-risk, disabled children.
In the wake of the death of Marie Freyre – the 14-year-old Tampa child with cerebral palsy forcibly removed from her home and placed in an adult nursing home, where she soon died – the Florida Department of Children and Families now is pushing to curb the practice of steering foster kids to such institutionalized care.
Administrators are demanding “high-level approval” before kids can be admitted to a nursing home or moved from one to another. The agency also will recruit foster parents with the skills to care for the state’s most fragile and at-risk children.
Christina Spudeas, executive director at Florida’s Children First, the state’s premier child advocacy organization, told the paper that DCF must do more than slow the move of kids into nursing homes. It must remove them all children from such institutions.
“It’s a travesty,” Spudeas told the Herald. “There is no doubt at all that children need proper supports in the home environment.”
The original policies not only seemingly made little sense – in Marie’s case, taking her from her mother, who’d provided care for all her life. In-home care and oversight can be far less expensive than in-facility services.
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Child advocates and child welfare attorneys are watching closely as a trial sparked by the disappearance of a young girl gets started. In the balance hangs how the state tracks youths – and how lawsuits, damages and personal injury stemming from children being physically abused or sexually abused, neglected or the subject of wrongful death may hold the state accountable.
As the murder trial starts for Geralyn Graham – the caretaker for foster child Rilya Wilson, who was last seen alive more than a decade ago while under the supposed watch of the Florida Department of Children and Families – many questions remain.
Rilya’s body has never been found. It had been more than a year since a state worker last saw the child. She’s long since been presumed dead. But the impact of this little girl has been dramatic upon Florida DCF, its leadership and the way kids under its watch are actually watched, documented and protected.
DCF went through an administrative house cleaning after news of Rilya’s disappearance emerged. Hearings were held. DCF employees were fired; the top administrator in Miami resigned and the DCF secretary left. A report was issued. The Florida Legislature got involved.
Advocates demanded transparency and accountability from the organization. Maybe this case will help deliver both. Read a Miami Herald article on the case here.
This investigative series from the Tampa Bay Times explores the sad story of unlicensed religious children’s homes in Florida. While most promise righteousness through military-like exercise and recitation of Scripture, the stories reveal claims of practices that border on or include physical abuse, personal injury, wrongful death and other actions. It also highlights responses and findings from the Florida Department of Children and Families. For many advocates, guardians or attorneys keen to protect the rights of foster children or any in Florida’s at-risk population, the package deserves reading. Visit the entire package here.
(UPDATE) According to the Lakeland Ledger, the DCF promises to investigate the situation.
Following a scathing federal report that revealed that the Florida Department of Children and Families had forced foster children and other vulnerable kids from their families and into state-contracted nursing homes – possibly as a cost-cutting measure, the DCF has voiced denial of the activity.
“Everyone, including this fragile population, deserves to be cared for with the least restricted means,” Liz Dudek, the secretary of the state Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, said to reporters at a news conference this week. “That’s where we want children to be.”
The report from the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was scathing. It accused Florida healthcare agencies of “warehousing” sick, disabled and other at-risk children in adult nursing homes. In response, Dudek’s agency claimed it was in “full compliance” with federal laws that require governments to house and treat disabled people in community settings, whenever possible, the Miami Herald reported.
Read the full story here.
With all the horror stories of children who are victims of neglect, physical and sexual abuse and other crimes and personal injury against minors at private foster service agencies, it’s both disturbing and rewarding to hear that this week the Florida Department of Children and Families pulled one such contract.
DCF reportedly terminated its 10-year contract with Child and Family Connections, a Palm Beach County community-based agency hired to provide services to the county’s foster children. According to news reports, DCF cited “poor performance and ‘serious concerns’ by local judiciary officials.”
The review lasted several months and followed news of leadership changes at the organization, including the resignation in June of CEO Judith Karim. Reports also cited staff turnover and poor performance, the Palm Beach Post reported.
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Jacksonville, FL – September 20, 2024 – Action News Jax- Duval County teacher under investigation after 8-year-old is injured A Beauclerc Elementary School teacher is being investigated by Duval County Public Schools after a physical incident with an 8-year-old student.
Miami, FL – September 3, 2024 – Miami Herald- Rising costs of care could strain funding for Florida program for brain-damaged kids Facing withering criticism from parents, advocates, lawmakers and insurance regulators, Florida’s compensation program for children born with catastrophic brain injuries opened its bank account three years ago and improved the lives of some of the state’s most disabled children.
Orlando, FL – September 2, 2024 – Orlando Sentinel- Autism drowning deaths prompt push for children’s specialized swim lessons Drowning is the number one cause of death for kids with autism and Florida leads the nation in fatalies.
Aventura, FL – August 5, 2024 – WSVN News 7- Parents arrested after leaving toddler in hot car while they shopped at Target in Aventura, police say A man and woman were arrested on child abuse charges after allegedly leaving their 2-year-old child in a hot car while they shopped at Target in Aventura.
Austin, TX – July 18, 2024 – WPLG Local 10- Largest housing provider for migrant children engaged in pervasive sexual abuse, US says Employees of the largest housing provider for unaccompanied migrant children in the U.S. repeatedly sexually abused and harassed children in their care for at least eight years, the Justice Department said Thursday, alleging a shocking litany of offenses that took place as the company amassed billions of dollars in government contracts.
Daytona Beach, FL – July 9, 2024 – WESH 2- Police: Man arrested in Daytona Beach after dangling, dropping child off second-floor resort balcony A 31-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after allegedly dropping a 4-year-old off the second floor of a Daytona Beach resort, according to an affidavit from the police department.
Palm Coast, FL – July 7, 2024 – WSVN 7- Florida woman charged with child neglect after good Samaritan finds 2-year-old son wandering near busy road alone A good Samaritan found a 2-year-old boy wandering in a Florida neighborhood all alone, and now the child’s mother is facing charges after she was found fast asleep inside their home.
Homestead, FL – May 16, 2024 – WPLG Local 10- Homestead couple accused of murdering their 6-month-old baby girl Two 24-year-old parents brought their 6-month-old to Homestead Hospital in cardiac arrest Sunday afternoon; doctors found that the baby had no pulse and signs of severe child abuse, according to police.
Brevard County, FL – May 16, 2024 – WESH 2 Orlando- Family sues Brevard County day care for alleged child abuse and negligence An incident at a Brevard County day care involving a child and teacher has led to more allegations of child abuse and negligence after the Department of Children and Families studied surveillance video.
Chicago, IL – May 7, 2024 – WSIL – TV- Lawsuit alleges pervasive child sexual abuse at Illinois juvenile detention centers for decades A group of 95 people filed a lawsuit in Illinois on Monday alleging they were sexually abused as children in juvenile detention centers across the state for over two decades.
Wildwood, FL – May 4, 2024 – Fox 35 Orlando- Florida DCF worker accused of abusing 11-year-old foster child A Kids Central employee was arrested after he aggressively threw an 11-year-old foster child onto a couch and hurt her, according to an arrest affidavit from the Wildwood Police Department.
Tallahassee, FL – May 3, 2024 – The Tampa Bay Times – Nearly 600,000 Florida kids shed from government health care, study says Nearly 600,000 Florida children lost their government-provided health insurance last year after the federal government ended the national COVID-related health emergency, more than any other state except Texas, according to a newly released report by the Georgetown Center for Children and Families.
Miami, FL – April 22, 2024 – WSVN 7- Mother charged with child neglect after dropping baby in water at Miami Beach while intoxicated, police say
A judge on Monday had words of advice for a mother accused of being under the influence while caring for her young child.
St. Petersburg, FL – April 10, 2024 – WPLG Local 10- DeSantis signs 5 bills to crack down on sexual predators Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference in St. Petersburg Wednesday morning.
Tampa, FL – March 24, 2024 – News Channel 8- Toddler suffers 2nd, 3rd degree burns at Florida day care, family says A 10-month-old in Central Florida faces months of recovery, surgeries, and treatments after 30% of his body was burned while at day care, NBC affiliate WESH reported.
Chicago, IL – March 8, 2024 – The Center Square- Legislator questions whether new DCFS director brings needed changes Concern is growing that conditions at the long-troubled Illinois Department of Children Family Services may be getting worse for many of its abused or neglected children.
Largo, FL – March 6, 2024 – Fox 35 Orlando- Parents arrested after fleeing with 3 children from Largo custody meeting: Police Two parents were arrested and booked into the Pinellas County jail after taking off with their three children from a mandatory visit at the Department of Children and Families office in Largo.
Miami, FL – February 5, 2024 – The Miami Herald- Florida man who faced death penalty over child sex abuse takes life-in-prison plea deal Though Florida prosecutors sought the death penalty for a man accused of sexually abusing a child, making use of a new law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year, the accused man instead pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
Miami, FL – January 31, 2024 – The Miami Herald- After Herald investigation, women report coach’s alleged sexual abuse to Key Biscayne police A woman who says she was repeatedly sexually abused 13 years ago by a Key Biscayne gymnastics coach finally told her story to police on Tuesday.
Gainesville, FL – January 19, 2024 – WCJB 20- Gainesville man arrested for human trafficking of an 11-year-old girl A registered sexual predator was arrested after Gainesville Police Department officers say he sexually abused an 11-year-old girl.
Miami Beach, FL – January 12, 2024 – WPLG Local 10- Miami Beach parents jailed after signs of ‘severe physical abuse’ in 2-month-old, police say Authorities arrested a Miami Beach couple on felony charges Thursday after they said the couple’s 2-month-old son was found unresponsive with signs of “severe physical abuse,” including more than a dozen rib fractures.
Miami Beach, FL – January 12, 2024 – WTVJ NBC 6 – Miami Beach couple arrested after severely injured infant found with 18 fractured ribs A Miami Beach couple is facing charges after their infant son was hospitalized with severe injuries including 18 fractured ribs, authorities said.
Fort Myers, FL – January 7, 2024 – Fort Myers News Press – Keeping at-risk children, families intact takes a community After a decade of work inside Florida’s child welfare system, I could see there had to be a better way.
Miami-Dade County, FL – January 5, 2024 – WPLG Local 10 – Boy, 6, calls 911 to report mom left him, little brother alone in filthy Miami-Dade home, cops say A 6-year-old boy called 911 Wednesday night to tell Miami-Dade police his mother left him and his 2-year-old brother home alone. Police said they arrived to find disgusting conditions.
Chicago, IL – January 3, 2024 – WGN 9 Chicago – DCFS still failing to find appropriate care for kids, leaving them locked-up, report shows An annual report to legislators, prompted by a WGN Investigates series, shows the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is still leaving kids in crisis in psychiatric hospitals and juvenile jails longer than necessary.
Chicago, IL – January 3, 2024 – WBEZ Chicago – What’s next for Illinois’ beleaguered Department of Children and Family Services? The Department of Children and Family Services is officially transitioning leadership. But the agency has long faced systemic issues.
West Palm Beach, FL – October 3, 2023 – The Palm Beach Post – Child abuse or bad parenting? Jury hears case of Jupiter dad who kept teen locked in room in garage Was it aggravated child abuse? Or simply bad parenting?
Tallahassee, FL – September 7, 2023 – Tallahassee Democrat – Florida legislative watchdog says DCF may be at odds with sex trafficking law Florida does not know if its Department of Children and Families is following state law for the care of teens found to have been commercially sexually exploited according to the Legislature’s watchdog, the Office of Program Policies and Government Accountability.
Miramar, FL – September 5, 2023 – WPLG Local 10 – Miramar man accused of raping trafficked teen who ran away from foster care A Miramar man faces multiple felony charges after authorities accused him of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who ran away from a Miami Gardens foster facility and subsequently ended up becoming a human trafficking victim.
Chicago, IL – September 1, 2023 – State of Illinois – Illinois DCFS Launches Child Welfare Dashboard and Study of Child Protection Services to Increase Transparency and Accountability Keeping with his pledge to bolster Illinois’ child welfare system, Governor JB Pritzker unveiled today a new online data dashboard featuring unprecedented insights and performance indicators maintained by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
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Advocates Wonder About Another Lost in South Florida Child Protection Maze
Several years ago, Rilya Wilson went missing while under the care of a foster parent – and the apparent watchful eyes of Florida Department of Children and Families case workers. Now, word has emerged that Dontrell Melvin hasn’t been seen by county and regional child protective services since summer 2011.
Another child slipped through the cracks and is lost. The news raises serious questions about the Florida Department of Children and Families, its children hotline and the wisdom of recent budget cuts. To be sure, these two cases are dissimilar. Rilya was in foster care; Dontrell is more a case of investigative woes by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and Child Net’s failure to provide protective services.
Yet, the end result is the same. A child is missing – and no one knows where he or she is. Read the story here.
More to the point, in the case of little Dontrell, no one even looked for about 18 months. Now, Hallandale Beach Police are on the hunt.
Unlike Rilya’s case, where her foster mother, Geralyn Graham is being tried in Rilya’s purported death (as no body ever has been found), one can only hope for a positive outcome. UPDATE: Police on Friday reportedly found human remains in the Melvin yard.
Still, police are asking anyone who knows anything of Dontrell’s whereabouts or details to call 954-457-1400 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.