Watch Florida child advocate and Florida’s Children First founder Howard Talenfeld discuss one in the recent spate of deaths of children under the watch of investigators from the Florida Department of Children and Families. He calls for an “outside commission, not an inside commission” to review at least one of the deaths – in hopes of stopping even more.
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Author ArchiveAnother Florida DCF Child Dies; When Will ‘Oversight’ Actually Protect the Children?
The latest story: Ezra Raphael, 2, who was found non-responsive this week in his Miami-Dade County home. This comes after Florida DCF had already investigated the boy and his 22-year-old mother – and closed his case after finding no cause to remove him. The county medical examiner has classified his death as a homicide. (more…) Florida Child Abuse Attorney: Another Child, 1, Dies Who Was Known to DCFAnother child has died. And again, in an alarming trend, the child was one known to officials at the Florida Department of Children and Families. Though the child’s death was considered “mysterious” by some, the toddler’s death is under DCF investigation. According to news reports, the child was cold and unresponsive when found in his crib in his Cape Coral home. He was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. A DCF report revealed that some two weeks earlier, the child arrived at an area hospital suffering multiple skull fractures. Doctors were told by his mother and her boyfriend that the boy hit his head after being knocked over by the family dog. The two gave “conflicting reports” regarding the night the boy died. Tampa Area Foster Care Advocates Among Honorees at Florida’s Children First Event June 13Florida’s Children First (FCF), the statewide advocacy organization focused on protecting the legal rights of at-risk and foster care children, recognized and honored Tampa area child advocates and former foster care youth at its awards reception and fundraising event on June 13. The event, held at the law offices of Holland and Knight, was led by FCF Executive Director Christina Spudeas and FCF Deputy Director Robin Rosenberg. Host Committee Chairs included Jennifer Voss and Rosemary Armstrong. It drew more than 100 child advocates, elected officials, judges and community and business leaders. WTSP Channel 10 Anchor Grayson Kamm served as emcee. Florida Child Abuse Attorneys, Advocates Watch as Another Child Dies Under Agency’s WatchChild advocate attorneys who fight for at-risk youth are watching closely as Florida officials investigate the death of Antwan Hope, 4, who died a week after being reunited with his mother – and under the watch of the Florida Department of Children and Families and a contracted community-based care provider. The death of the boy, whom his aunt described as “cute and innocent” and in need of being “rescued” from his situation, has left child advocate attorneys again asking questions. How could a boy already on DCF’s radar for past claims of abuse fall victim to the very abuse social workers were called in to prevent? In 2011, he was removed from his mother for her allegedly trying to suffocate him; in 2013, he’s gone after an unsupervised visit with her. Coral Springs police call his death “suspicious.” “The boy’s distraught relatives said it was clear Antwan’s mom was disturbed and that she should not have had unsupervised access to him,” the Miami Herald reported. “‘They put him in the hands of death,’” the paper reported Antwan’s aunt, Deborah Jackson, as saying. DCF officials, who contracted the boy’s case through a private Broward foster care agency, declined to discuss the matter. “We take child deaths very seriously, and we take this case very seriously,” spokeswoman Alexis Lambert told the Herald. It’s a horrible story – one all too often repeated throughout Florida’s at-risk populations. Read the entire Miami Herald story here.
Florida Legislature Appropriates $323,000 for Medically Fragile Foster Kids, Earns Thanks from Attorneys, AdvocatesAdvocates, guardians and attorneys for Florida’s at-risk youth are commending the Florida Legislature for approving more than $300,000 to provide legal counsel and representation to the state’s medically fragile foster children. Appropriation 744, as part of Senate Bill 1500, provides $323,000 in recurring general revenue funds for the Justice Administrative Commission to contract with attorneys selected by the Guardian ad Litem Program to represent dependent, foster children with disabilities in, or being considered for placement in, skilled nursing facilities. UPDATE: The news was covered in a Daily Business Review story. The need for such representation for medically fragile foster children with no parents or legal guardians has never been greater. In the past year, children in nursing homes and private residences have seen funding for vital nursing care cut. Without legal representation, it is likely these children will spend their childhood in nursing homes without any chance of living with a family, said Howard Talenfeld, president of Florida’s Children First, the state’s premier advocacy organization for foster children and at-risk youth. “It’s been a crisis situation for children and their families, especially foster children, who have suffered significant cuts in the number of hours that skilled, private-duty nursing care is being provided,” he said. “We acknowledge the Florida Legislature for recognizing how important this money is. It represents an important step in securing attorneys who will represent these children and helping ensure they have a better chance of getting the medical care and families they desperately need.” Florida Child Attorneys & Advocates Celebrate National Foster Care MonthMay is National Foster Care Month. In Florida, foster children and their advocates, guardians, attorneys and foster families have more reasons to celebrate this annual event than ever before. The Florida Legislature passed a “Normalcy” law that allows kids to live lives more like those of their non-foster peers. As fellow child advocate Gloria Fletcher wrote in Ocala.com, foster kids on school field trips, play dates and sleepovers required approval from case managers, at best, or at worst, fingerprints and background checks. “Some 19,000 kids in Florida foster care cannot live the life of a normal child and participate in normal childhood activities.” The new law changes that. In another change, the Legislature extended the age that young adults “age out” of the foster care system from 18 to 21 years of age. Amid it all, we must remember the work of dedicated foster families. Regardless of whether we step up and choose to be foster families ourselves, we should support those who do. Theirs is a vital role played in the lives of young, developing children. As Florida and the nation celebrate National Foster Care Month, we have reason to celebrate indeed. Florida Youth Shine: We Came, We Spoke, They Voted – Thank you to Florida’s LegislatorsA note from Florida Youth Shine: Since 2010, Florida Youth Shine has been working with on bills that would ensure normalcy while in care and that would extend foster care to 21. As a part of our outreach, you all have come to the Capitol time after time to share your stories during meetings with legislators, for conversations with Senate staff, and to testify countless times before House and Senate committees. This year, in partnership with the Guardian ad Litem program, your hard work paid off during the 2013 legislative session when “The Quality Parenting Act” and the “Nancy C. Detert Common Sense and Compassion Independent Living Act” were passed in both the House and Senate. Congratulations to all of our members of Florida Youth SHINE who have shared their story and their voice over the last 3 years. You did it! A special FYS thank you goes out to Senator Detert for sponsoring both of these wonderful bills in the Senate and to the entire Senate for co-sponsoring SB 1036 on Independent Living. We also send a heartfelt thank you to Representative Albritton for sponsoring The Quality Parenting Act, Representative Perry for sponsoring HB 1315 on Independent Living, and to so many of our Representatives who signed on as co-sponsors to both of these bills. These substantial changes became law because of you. We came together to identify these challenges, we spoke to our legislators and shared our stories, and they voted in favor of a stronger support system for each of you. Congratulations for being part of Florida’s history! Sen. Nancy Detert Testifies Before U.S. Congress About Florida’s ‘Normalcy’ Law for Foster Kids Florida Sen. Nancy Detert Florida Senator Nancy Detert testified today before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means about the new law in Florida to allow children in foster care to live more normal lives. Florida HB 215, is called the “normalcy” bill because it gives foster parents more power and less liability in approving normal activities for their foster kids. It was signed into law last month by Gov. Rick Scott. Detert also testified about SB 1036. This bill will extend care for foster children until age 21 for those young adults who choose to remain in the system. The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature, and will be presented to Gov. Scott for signing. Read Detert’s full testimony here. With only 5 minutes to speak, in part here’s what Detert said: Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary and Legal Needs of Children Commission Among Honorees at Florida’s Children First Miami Event June 12Florida’s Children First (FCF), the statewide advocacy organization focused on protecting the legal rights of at-risk and foster care children, will recognize and honor Miami-Dade child advocates at an awards reception and fundraising event. The event will be held Wednesday, June 12, 2013, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the law offices of Carlton Fields in Miami.
The Miami event will also serve as the official venue for FCF and the Law Offices of Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez to introduce the Crossover to Justice Project and EJW fellow Hasti Barahmand, Esq. Sponsored by The Florida Bar Foundation and Greenberg Traurig, the Crossover to Justice Project will assist crossover youth with legal representation in dependency matters as well as unmet civil legal needs with an emphasis on educational services. This project aims to empower and foster the voice of crossover youth, to create and sustain a working network of resources and advocates who provide support and accountability to crossover youth, and to promote a child’s access to counsel in dependency proceedings. Advocates, Attorneys and Foster Child Lawyers Support National Child Abuse Prevention MonthIt’s important that we all know that April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. People need to be made aware of the plight of Florida’s and America’s abused and neglected children, including foster care kids or just those at-risk. The unsettling point, though, is that we need such a month to stop these despicable and preventable acts. Thousands of children throughout Florida are abused – and some are killed – at the hands of adults. It’s our responsibility to be the community that helps care for and protect these children. It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s every Floridian’s responsibility to protect our children from abuse and harm. If you witness or suspect child abuse, it’s your legal obligation to stop it or report it to authorities.Florida law requires that any individual who suspects that a child has been abused by any person to report that to the Florida Abuse Hotline. The Florida Department of Children and Families investigates all allegations of abuse or neglect of a child by a caregiver. Allegations of child abuse by someone other than a caregiver that are reported to the hotline will be immediately electronically transferred to the appropriate local law enforcement agency where the child lives. |
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Credentials, Transparency Lacking With Florida Department of Children and Families Investigators
The deaths of several children under the watch of the Florida Department of Children and Families have raised serious issues regarding the credentials – or lack thereof – of DCF investigators.
In one case, the Miami Herald reports that “The Miami child abuse investigator who resigned under pressure last May after an infant she declared ‘safe’ was later baked to death in a sweltering car had been working for two years without required certification — a violation of state law.”
In an editorial entitled, “DCF, Heal Thyself,” the Miami Herald wrote, “Something is horribly wrong with the Florida Department of Children & Families’ investigative process. Four children have died in the past six weeks alone. Their troubled parents all were known to DCF. But all four tots died while in the custody of supposed caretakers.
“In each instance, DCF had the chance to remove the child from potential danger. Instead, the agency’s overarching priority of keeping families together (too often without adequate resources or supervision) is putting kids in harm’s way….DCF Secretary David Wilkins acknowledges that mistakes were made in some of those cases. But where’s the urgency to stop returning children to abusive households? Why does this keep happening? The problems lie within DCF itself. Its investigator training lacks accountability, the quality of investigators’ work and their judgment-making ability remains hampered by Mr. Wilkins’ top-down rigidity…”
Things must change – or the pattern of children’s deaths will not.