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Archive for the ‘Abuse’ Category

Credentials, Transparency Lacking With Florida Department of Children and Families Investigators

July 4th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Commentary, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

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.

Another Florida DCF Child Dies; When Will ‘Oversight’ Actually Protect the Children?

June 26th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Four children under the watch or previously known to be at-risk by the Florida Department of Children and Families have died – with others no doubt suffering personal injury and physical abuse or sexual abuse – at the hands of their families or caregivers in the past six weeks. This is a horrible statistic that points to a terrible trend that must be investigated and stopped before more children die.

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 DCF

June 20th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

Another 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.

(more…)

Advocates, Attorneys and Foster Child Lawyers Support National Child Abuse Prevention Month

April 20th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Advocacy

It’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.

(more…)

Latest in Rilya Wilson Case: One-Time Legal Guardian Pamela Graham Probation Terminated

April 17th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Court Cases

Pamela Graham, the former caretaker of the foster child, Rilya Wilson, who went missing and never was found, had her probation terminated this week and her expected jail time eliminated, according to news reports. This comes after nine years of Graham’s cooperation with prosecutors in the trial and conviction of Geralyn Graham, the caretaker convicted of kidnapping and torturing Wilson.

Pamela Graham, who is not related to Geralyn Graham, in 2004 pleaded guilty to two counts of child neglect. Then last year, she testified against Geralyn Graham, her one-time live-in lover. Today, Geralyn Graham is serving out 55 years in prison for her crimes. The jury deadlocked on a first-degree murder charge and the prosecutor has said the office plans to retry Geralyn Graham on that charge.

Though Rilya – whose name is an acronym for “Remember I Love You Always” – lived a short, tortured life, her case resulted in changes at the Florida Department of Children and Families and greater awareness on how foster kids are followed by the department and other organizations.

Rilya Wilson Foster Parent Gets ‘Life’ Sentence, But Was Lesson Learned by DCF?

February 12th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Advocacy, Court Cases

Child care advocates and attorneys who sue for the rights of foster children abused, harmed and who suffer personal injury and wrongful death at the hands of foster parents or caregivers had some reason to celebrate this week.

In a case that received national attention, Geralyn Graham this week received a 55-year sentence for the kidnapping and child abuse of little Rilya Wilson. Though the child is presumed dead, no body was ever found and the jury deadlocked on the murder charge.

Child advocate and children’s rights attorney Howard Talenfeld penned this opinion piece recently for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The lingering question remains: Though the lessons seemed clear to the community, and the Florida Department of Children and Families has instituted some changes, has it heard the message? One can only hope.

Sexual Assault of Teens at Kids Shelter Has Foster Child Abuse Attorney Concerned About Security

January 25th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Court Cases

Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky, Abate & Webb shareholder and foster child advocate and personal injury attorney Howard Talenfeld was interviewed on WSVN 7 News Miami regarding a suspected sexual abuser who attacked two teens at Kids in Distress in Wilton Manors. In the aftermath of the assault, two child care workers at the emergency shelter for abused and neglected children were fired. But the two victims could suffer life-long mental pain following the assault, Talenfeld said.

Meanwhile, police continue to search for man who jumped the fence, sexually assaulted the two teens, then ran off. Police now are distributing a police sketch of the man, who police believe has a tattoo on one shoulder and the scar from a gunshot wound on the other shoulder, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

Foster Child Attorney: Proposed Federal Changes to Florida Disabled Child Program Welcome

January 11th, 2013   No Comments   Abuse, Aging Out, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

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.

Pro Bono Attorney: Florida’s Practice of ‘Warehousing’ Disabled Children in Geriatric Nursing Homes

December 30th, 2012   No Comments   Abuse, Court Cases, Department of Children & Families (DCF)

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.

Children’s Rights Attorneys, DJJ Officials Dismayed at Juvenile Guard’s Reported Abuse of Teen

December 13th, 2012   No Comments   Abuse, Department of Juvenile Justice, News & Events

Attorneys and guardians who advocate for children’s rights and protection from abuse and neglect are alarmed after a video was released showing a guard at a juvenile prison battering a teenage detainee. The guard, Shannon Linn Abbott, 33, was arrested. Yet, after she bailed out of jail, she returned to her job the next day supervising children. Administrators with the Department of Juvenile Justice expressed dismay.

This week, the department officially requested that the privately managed youth prison’s director remove Abbott from having any access to children, the Miami Herald reported. A video is available on the Herald site.

“It is our expectation, at the very least, that this staff member will have no contact with youth in any of our programs,” wrote Laura K. Moneyham, a DJJ assistant secretary.

Florida Foster Child News Update: Mistreated Disabled Adoptees Get $9.7 Million in NYC Settlement

December 11th, 2012   No Comments   Abuse, Adoption, Court Cases

The Daily Business Review in Miami / South Florida reports on the 10 severely disabled adults, including four who are homeless, who will get help under a $9.7 million settlement with New York City for abuse they suffered as children or young adults in an adoption scam perpetrated by Judith Leekin.

Two South Florida law firms – one whose partner is Howard Talenfeld, considered among the top child abuse, personal injury, damage claims and wrongful death attorneys focused on foster child and at-risk populations – negotiated the settlement.

The lawsuit filed in New York federal court in 2009 in collaboration with Children’s Rights Inc., a New York-based nonprofit law firm.

“The partial settlement could not have come at a better time because four of these young adults are homeless and need the settlement immediately just to survive,” said Talenfeld, with Fort Lauderdale firm Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky, Abate & Webb said. “We’ve come too close to losing one or two former Leekin children, and we had to act.”

The other attorney, Ted Babbitt of Babbitt, Johnson, Osbourne & Le Clainche in West Palm Beach, said $3 million each would go to two adoptees placed with foster mother Judith Leekin through a city-run adoption office. The city’s liability was higher in those cases because of its direct involvement.

Read the entire story here.

Plaintiffs Awarded $9.7 million in New York City Case of Foster Child Fraud, Physical Abuse

December 7th, 2012   No Comments   Abuse, Court Cases, Damage Claims

In a 15-year-old court case against a “colossal breakdown” of New York City’s foster care system, damages were awarded to 10 disabled people whom their plaintiff attorney said were fraudulently adopted and subsequently subjected to years of horrible child abuse and physical abuse. The $9.7 million award settlement for damage claims in the case of foster parent Judith Leekin, who moved to Florida and now at 67 is in prison for a fraud conviction, comes at “a crucial time” for the plaintiffs, said plaintiff attorney and Florida child advocacy lawyer Howard M. Talenfeld, as quoted in the New York Times. The former foster children now are mostly in their 20s. Some are homeless. All have special needs, from physical and developmental disabilities, to retardation and autism. Because of the precariousness of the plaintiffs’ situation, Talenfeld told the paper, trusts or structured settlements will be used to ensure they “will have resources to protect them in the future.”

City officials admitted no fault in the settlement. The city was the first of four defendants in the case. Cases against three private adoption agencies that had contracts with the city are pending. In all, Ms. Leekin collected $1.68 million in foster child subsidies by using aliases to adopt the children. Instead of providing them care, she restrained them with plastic ties and handcuffs, beat them with sticks and hangers – and personally lived a lavish lifestyle.

Read the entire story here.

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