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).
Tallahassee, FL – August 21, 2023 – WCTV – Florida leads nation in 2023 hot car child deaths Florida is leading the nation with the number of children dying after being left in a hot car. Of the 18 deaths reported across the U.S. so far in 2023, six of those deaths happened in Florida.
Tampa, FL – June 30, 2023 – WFLA News Channel 8 – ‘We never want the child to sleep in an office’: DCF secretary discusses agency’s past and future It has been a trying three years of leading the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) for Secretary Shevaun Harris, but she is optimistic about eliminating a staffing shortage and office sleepovers.
Boca Raton, FL – June 16, 2023 – CBS 12- Man from Boca Raton made over $257K while trafficking women, including one minor In a joint effort by several agencies, a Boca Raton man, who had human trafficked multiple women for several years and made over $257,000, was arrested.
Hialeah, FL – June 12, 2023 – WPLG Local 10- Police: Hialeah man arrested after 1-year-old son found unresponsive, positive for Xanax Police arrested a Hialeah man after they said first responders found his 1-year-old son, who later tested positive for Xanax, unresponsive early Sunday morning.
Hialeah, FL – June 12, 2023 – Local 10 WPLG- Police: Hialeah man arrested after 1-year-old son found unresponsive, positive for Xanax Police arrested a Hialeah man after they said first responders found his 1-year-old son, who later tested positive for Xanax, unresponsive early Sunday morning.
Tallahassee, FL – May 19, 2023 – Tampa Bay Newswire- Florida Youth SHINE Secures Passage of a Bill Requiring DCF to Ramp Up its Education of Youth Just as a National Report Shows Decline in Services and Outcomes The relentless advocacy of Florida Youth SHINE (FYS), a statewide advocacy organization run by and for youth who are or were in Florida’s child welfare system, paid off recently when Senate Bill 272 passed unanimously in both houses in the Florida Legislature.
North Lauderdale, FL – May 12, 2023 – WPLG Local 10- Hospital releases nearly a dozen minors amid child neglect investigation in Broward, deputies say Doctors released a group of nearly a dozen minors who were in the hospital for checkups after Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies evacuated a house where they lived, according to a deputy’s update on Friday morning.
Broward County, FL – May 9, 2023 – WPLG Local 10- Veteran BSO special victims detective lied to sexual battery victims, closed cases prematurely, deputies say A longtime detective with the Broward Sheriff’s Office now finds himself on the other side of the law.
Miami, FL – May 8, 2023 – WPLG Local 10- Police: Man sexually assaults 8-year-old boy swimming in Goulds public pool Police accused a 24-year-old man of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy in public and in broad daylight at a southwest Miami-Dade community pool Sunday.
Miami, FL – May 8, 2023 – WPLG Local 10- Jewish private school fires teacher accused of sex abuse at previous schools A South Florida teacher has been arrested and charged in at least two incidents of inappropriate behavior with children.
Plantation, FL – May 7, 2023 – The Miami Herald- ‘Just another baby for them.’ Parents, feds fight for kids stuck in Florida nursing homes At the Plantation Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Northwest Fifth Street, frail men and women with wheelchairs, walkers, and hearing aids live out their last years in an institutional setting.
Baltimore, MD – March 16, 2023 – Associated Press- Report details ‘staggering’ church sex abuse in Maryland More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused over 600 children over the past 80 years, according to a state report released Wednesday that accused church officials of decades of cover-ups.
Miami, FL – March 31, 2023 – Local 10 WPLG- Man, 77, accused of sexually abusing 7-year-old girl in Miami-Dade A 77-year-old man was arrested Thursday after being accused of sexually abusing a girl in Miami-Dade County, authorities said.
Miami, FL – March 16, 2023 – Local 10 WPLG- Man accused of using Instagram to find minors for prostitution in Miami-Dade A 25-year-old man stands accused of using Instagram to prey on minors for prostitution in Miami-Dade County, according to prosecutors with the human trafficking task force.
With Advocates’ Guidance, Florida Department of Children and Families Embraces Needed Reforms
As it promises change and improvement in the interest of the safety of foster children and at-risk kids statewide, the Florida Department of Children and Families has asked organizations to lend guidance of its child safety model. The work of at least one policy group – Casey Family Programs – has gained the attention of DCF Interim Secretary Esther Jacobo and other child advocates and attorneys.
Casey’s report found DCF’s safety measure lacking. This comes in the wake of the deaths of 20 children whose situations were known to DCF and its community-based care providers. Casey found that DCF must broaden its focus from children in danger to include children at-risk of becoming so.
Noted Casey’s Alan Puckett and Dee Wilson: “The safety model…does not clearly convey the cumulative emotional and developmental harm which children may suffer from chronic neglect or from the combination of chronic neglect with physical abuse or sexual abuse. In many chronically referring families, children may be neither in present or impending danger nor truly safe given the cumulative developmental and emotional impact, and occasional significant harm, which may result from low level chronic maltreatment.”
DCF’s embrace of the Casey recommendations comes as advocacy groups chided DCF for reducing quality-assurance positions since 2008. Florida’s Children First President and child advocate attorney Howard Talenfeld said at a recent town-hall meeting that DCF must restore those positions to better monitor children under its care.
Now, DCF must embrace wholesale change.
“The Casey Family Programs report makes it clear that more work is needed before Florida’s new model will achieve its intended purpose,” wrote Christina Spudeas, FCF executive director. “Pushing ahead with training and piecemeal implementation is a waste of time, talent and money. It’s time for DCF to stop, regroup, and invest needed resources to make sure our new model does what we need it to do — protect Florida’s kids and support families.”